House funding Mikey’s US trip

The House of Representatives is funding the trip to the United States next week of presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo.

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., who is in Seoul, South Korea to preside over a meeting of heads of parliaments, has approved a travel authority for Arroyo that is good for 11 days, from June 1 to 11.

However, De Venecia granted the presidential son a daily allowance of $300 for only five days, or a total of $1,500.

Additionally, he allowed the President’s son, who has declared a net worth of P76.5 million with no liabilities, to charge his business class ticket costing more than P100,000 to the House.

Arroyo is going to the US upon the invitation of associations of Filipino-Americans. On June 4, he will be the guest of honor at the Philippine Independence Day ball in Chicago.

He has insisted on going ahead with the trip despite criticism from well-meaning House colleagues and Arroyo administration critics.

Some colleagues have told him that it would not look good if he left the country at a time when he, his father, his uncle, Negros Occidental Rep. Jose Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo, and even his mother, were being accused of receiving jueteng money or protecting jueteng operators.

His father, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, left for Singapore last Friday. The President’s husband’s whereabouts are not known, though brother Iggy Arroyo has said he traveled to South Korea from Singapore and would be back this week.

Mikey Arroyo said he was "duty-bound to fulfill my commitment to visit and participate in the activities of Filipino-American groups in the US who have been very supportive of our country without any regard to politics."

"I gave my word to them as far back as last November that I would be there with them for the Philippine Independence Day celebration to likewise give them our full support," he said. He added that those who had invited him are looking forward to his visit.

On Wednesday, Representatives Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casiño and Joel Virado added their collective voice of caution against their colleague’s US trip.

"He is obviously running away from the intense heat of the jueteng controversy under the pretext of attending an Independence Day ball in the US," the three said in a joint statement.

They also chided Mrs. Arroyo for allowing her family members to leave "in a huff." Ocampo and Casiño are estranged EDSA II allies of the President.