Diamante: No public funds spent in South Korea trip

CEBU, Philippines – After receiving criticisms on their recent trip to South Korea with other members of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Cebu Chapter, Tuburan Mayor Democrito Diamante said no public funds were used and it was a “worthwhile” trip in preparation for the ASEAN economic integration in 2015.

Diamante, LMP-Cebu Chapter president, clarified that all 26 mayors that went to South Korea last Wednesday and returned yesterday used their personal resources for their fare while other expenditures, like the accommodation and food expenses, were covered by their hosts.

Diamante said that the trip was long-planned after they were invited by the Cebu Korean Association Incorporated.

“Gi-invite mi sa Cebu Korean Association Incorporated na mo-visit sa ilang lugar para motan-aw sa ilang tourism, at the same time motan-aw sa ilang preparations sa ASEAN integration,” Diamante explained.

Diamante said they were welcomed by former Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson and current Philippine ambassador to Korea Raul Hernandez and a lawmaker in South Korea, Jasmine Lee, who is a native of Davao City.

Diamante admitted that while the trip partly served as vacation for them, which was the reason why they shelled out from their own pockets, the trip was very useful since they were also able to talk about the concerns of the officials of South Korea on the safety of the 35,000 Korean nationals currently in Cebu.

In fact, Diamante said they will be coming up with a memorandum of agreement with the Cebu Korean Association Incorporated which will assure the continuous monitoring of the Korean nationals’ safety in the province and the assistance they can provide to them.

For his part, Governor Hilario Davide III pointed out that there was nothing wrong with the mayors’ travel to Korea.

Davide earlier confirmed that he authorized the travel of the officials.

“What’s the big issue? What’s the big deal? They went there and they paid for their own fare. If you ask Mayor Diamante, daghan sila na accomplish so dili ta motoo anang mga hugon-hugon. Maglagot ta maminaw ana nga “kwarta sa gobyero.” They went on their own,” Davide said.

Diamante also denied allegations that non-Liberal Party allies were not invited to join the trip. The LMP president stressed that it was open to all the members of the LMP-Cebu Chapter and everyone was welcomed to join.

“Walay’ gipili, welcome tanan. Sila tanan gi-invite namo,” said Diamante who is a member of the Liberal Party.

Diamante said that LMP remains to be non-political. He added that the mayors of Malabuyoc and Tabuelan are not LP allies but were with them during the trip. —/FPL (FREEMAN)