Alejano says Duterte's HK trip a wasteful junket

Magdalo party-list Representative Gary Alejano on Friday described President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Hong Kong as a wasteful personal junket that achieved nothing.

"Aside from giving a speech to about 2,000 mostly Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong and supposedly dining in a fastfood chain, all for PR purposes, what has his so-called ‘working visit’ achieved for the benefit of our country and people? Nothing!” Alejano said in a press statement.

Duterte returned to the country early Friday morning after attending the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan Province, People's Republic of China and his working visit to the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong.

Alejano pointed out that Duterte and his entourage — among them Foreign Affairs Secretary Peter Cayetano and outgoing Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa — did not meet any Hong Kong official, rendering the “working visit” a mere waste of taxpayers’ money.

The PNP public information office has clarified that Dela Rosa was not part of the entourage as he was in Bicol.

Malacañang called Alejano’s allegations “baseless.”

“Baseless criticisms do not deserve a response. The investments, bilateral agreements and enhanced relationship between China and Philippines prove otherwise,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a text message.

Alejano called it "hyprocrisy in the highest order" when Duterte sacked some of his officials for going on overseas junkets or trips and then doing the same himself in Hong Kong.

"With his family members and a large entourage, dining and sightseeing in that city, presumably with taxpayers’ paying for the considerable costs of their stay in Hong Kong. Isn’t this hypocrisy in the highest order?” he said.

Duterte's activities in Hong Kong included dining with friends. Based on photos released by Malacañang, among those present during the dinner at the Harbourview Hong Kong were Duterte’s common-law partner Honeylet Avanceña, Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, and Cayetano.

Alejano said millions of pesos must have been spent by Duterte and his entourage during their Hong Kong junket.

“Why weren’t these millions of pesos used instead to help poor rice farmers by buying their palay at even P22 per kilo so the NFA (National Food Authority) will immediately have stocks of cheap rice that they can sell at just P28 to P30 per kilo to poor Filipinos? How can poor Filipinos find cheap rice from the NFA if Duterte and his officials are spending taxpayers’ money enjoying the good life in Hong Kong and other overseas junkets,” he said.

He added that the country’s rice farmers should be accorded better treatment and services from the government and should not be left often at the mercy of traders many of whom exploit them.

"NFA is facing a crisis now. Instead of spending a lot of taxpayers’ money on frequent overseas trips, some of which are useless, Duterte should expand and strengthen his government’s assistance to rice farmers using savings that can be made by limiting foreign travels to the barest minimum,” Alejano said.

He also said that if rice farmers are empowered more with subsidy and other assistance, they can raise their production and perhaps  enable the country not to rely more on imported rice.

He further said improving the quality of life of the poorest of the poor Filipinos should be the top priority of the government instead of embarking on frequent foreign travels and bringing along unnecessary government personnel at taxpayers’ expense. —KBK, GMA News