New York state of mind

It’s important for Cebuanos to know how much of taxpayers’ funds will be used to pay for a November exposure trip to New York by 10 members of the Provincial Board for a seminar on drug rehabilitation.

The final list of Lakbay Aral-type travelers, which may include some mayors, has yet to be sealed.

As part of protocol, the travel abroad also needs the approval of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

But this trip already has the blessings of Gov. Hilario Davide III, who will be sending them off on the heels of his first 100 days in office.

Air fare, hotels rooms and sundries will be charged to the Capitol’s travel budget. The registration fee alone is over US$1,000 or more than 60,000 per person.

It would be interesting to see if fortunate staff members will be accompanying the legislators.

The main person who requested for the New York trip was Provincial Board (PB) Member Carmen Durano-Meca who was supported with a resolution sponsored by PB Member Grecilda Sanchez-Zaballero.

We can understand Zaballero’s personal interest. Her younger brother Leodegreco Sanchez, a long-time drug dependent, had been bedevilling the family with demands for financial support until they had to call in the authorities and let a court commit Grego to a drug rehabilitation program.

No drug rehab center in Cebu wanted to take him in, she once explained. So her mission to build a facility in the province for others like him has a rationale.

But do you need nine other PB members to attend the same exposure trip in New York to achieve this purpose?

Are there no other drug rehabilitation centers in the Philippines that can serve as a model for Cebu legislators to visit and learn from?

In more prudent operations, two or three delegates would be enough to attend an international conference, with the duty of giving echo talks of their experience later.

Those who do go to New York should have a direct role in the province’s illegal drug campaign or the benefit of knowing the state of the problem in Cebu.

Surprisingly, we did not see any effort to justify the presence of PB colleagues, most of them party allies, in this proposed voyage.

Without that, it would seem the New York field trip was a good opportunity for newly elected officials to “see the world” and expand their horizons. There’s a thin line between an adventure on taxpayer’s pesos and a junket. Now that doesn’t square with Governor Davide’s famous frugality, or the reality of creditors and contractors knocking on the Capitol’s door to collect on unpaid bills.