Nograles, 20 other congressmen to watch Pacquiao-Cotto fight?

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Prospero Nograles will most likely watch the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight fight between Manny Pacquiao and Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto fight in Las Vegas, Nevada middle of this month.

Nograles is now in Washington for meetings with his United States counterpart, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other American lawmakers.

Before he left last weekend, the Speaker said he would be back in time for the resumption of session on Nov. 9.

In the past, Nograles justified his personal presence in all of Pacquiao’s fights.

He said he is a big fan of the Filipino boxing champion and he considers himself part of Team Pacquiao.

The Speaker is from Davao City, while Pacquiao was from General Santos before he moved to Sarangani province, where he plans to seek a congressional seat in the May 2010 elections.

If Nograles would be back for the resumption of session on Monday as he promised, other congressmen who are vacationing in the US and have planned to watch the Pacquiao-Cotto match are not expected to return until after the fight.

This scenario could pose a dilemma to House leaders since their chamber could again face the recurrent problem of lack of quorum.

Scores of House members are in the US and elsewhere in the world, mostly on vacation.

Before Nograles and three or four congressmen-companions left for the US, a group of four or five House members traveled to Geneva, Switzerland for an International Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference.

An equal number of secretariat officials led by Secretary General Marilyn Yap accompanied the IPU delegation.

From Geneva, Yap was scheduled to make a side trip to Paris, France and Los Angeles, California. 

Sorsogon Bishop:  Just watch on TV

Some religious leaders are opposed to lawmakers and government officials traveling to the US to watch Pacquiao’s fights.

In fact, a Catholic bishop yesterday urged politicians, who intend to go to Las Vegas and watch the fight on Nov. 15, to scrap such plans as the country is still reeling from the devastation brought about by the successive severe weather disturbances.

Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes suggested that government officials should just watch the Pacquiao-Cotto fight on television.

“What are they going to do there, enjoy themselves? To think that many of their constituents are hungry and impoverished because of the recent calamities. That’s an immoral thing. These politicians have no conscience,” Bastes said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas.

“Why do they have to go to America when they can just watch the fight on TV. The money that will be used for their travel will be coming from public funds. They should keep themselves busy on helping those who were affected by the calamities,” Bastes stressed.    — Helen Flores, Dennis Carcamo