EDITORIAL - Personal pleasure

Cebuanos who have read last Thursday's page one story of this paper about a trip by some Cebu Provincial Board members would surely find it amusing why on earth Governor Hilario Davide III approved the mass exodus of these officials out of the country.

Although the trip to the United States is still subject for approval by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Davide should have thoroughly studied it before giving the green light.

As the news story tells us, at least 10  board members are set to fly to New York next month to participate in a program on drug rehabilitation. Each of them will have to shell out $1,5000 in taxpayers' money  for the workshop at a drug rehabilitation facility in New York's Daytop Village.

Well, there's nothing wrong with the trip. It has a good purpose, which aims to equip these officials with the knowledge that would help them deal with the serious drug problem in the province.

But there's the rub. The number of participants for just a single purpose would certainly raise controversy. And what made the trip more hilarious is the fact that the chairman of the PB committee on dangerous drug abuse prevention is not among them.

At first glance, it is just fine for the provincial president of Sangguniang Kabataan to be on the list. But his term will expire on November 30, which makes his study tour really useless as the SK would begin to cease by that date.

The Capitol leadership should have carefully studied the proposal for the US tour. Aside from the large number of participants, it should have questioned why the tour should push through without the chairman of the PB committee on drug abuse prevention. And it should have also looked into the SK president's participation despite his expiring term.

There's no question the benefits that the US study tour would bring. The only problem is the way it is used for a seemingly personal pleasure.