EDITORIAL - Why Las Vegas invasion is bad for lawmakers

The jaw-dropping prices of tickets to the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight are not only preventing ordinary Filipino fans from trooping to Las Vegas to witness two of the world's best fighters of today slug it out in the richest fight in boxing history.

They also forced many lawmakers to stay home, away from the hallowed halls of MGM Grand Garden Arena where fellow legislator Pacquiao fights the toughest battle in his boxing career one-and-a-half months from now.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. had said no congressman has so far asked permission from him to travel to Las Vegas to watch the fight, speculating that the expensive tickets are keeping lawmakers at home.

Fight promoters announced that prices for tickets for the general public ranged from $1,500 to $7,500. But there are tickets listed on the secondary market that are priced as high as $33,000. Those tickets are for the elusive floor seats.

Given these expensive tickets, and aside from the high travel and accommodation expenses, only rich Filipinos could afford to watch the fight live in Las Vegas. Of course, because our lawmakers are rich, it would be very easy for them to take the earliest available flight to be at the ringside.

In previous Pacquiao fights, it has become an ordinary thing seeing planeloads of legislators and other government officials shelling out huge amounts to witness the fight live whether in Las Vegas or Macau.

Now, with prohibitive ticket prices, invading Las Vegas on May 2 would be bad for their political image. And with all the corruption controversies exploding nowadays involving high government officials, common sense dictates that they stay put or else the public would find it revolting seeing them vying for photo op with the Filipino ring icon.

Our lawmakers should remember that even their constituents, who are their bosses, would find it a great privilege watching the fight for free in front of a small TV set at a full packed sari-sari store despite the cavalcade of commercials.