Ronnie Puno: House members not afraid to bare travel records

Members of the House of Representatives have nothing to fear over Vice President Sara Duterte’s challenge to show their travel records, Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno of Antipolo said Tuesday.

Puno made the response after the Vice President said that members of the House should disclose records of their travel abroad amid criticisms that she was often overseas.

“Lahat tayo, maglabasan tayo ng travel. May dalawang klase ng travel ha. Official travel at personal travel. ‘Yung personal travel, hindi binabayaran ng gobyerno. Official travel, binabayaran ng gobyerno. Personal travel, nandyan sa leave mo, sa personal na oras mo,” Puno said in a a press conference.

(Let us all show our travel records, both official travel and personal. The government pays for official travel, while personal travel is charged to your leave, on your personal time.)

"Ako, payag ako. Pero wala naman siguro ang natatakot ‘yan rito sa Congress. Official travel, ilabas natin lahat, tapos i-hambing natin ‘yun sa actual travel," he added.

(I am all for it. And I don’t think members of the House will be afraid to do so. We can show our official travel records and compare them with personal ones.)

The Vice President has said she was always overseas to visit her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained in the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention center in the Netherlands due to alleged crimes against humanity over drug war deaths.

She said she also visited Filipino communities abroad because overseas Filipino workers had been unhappy with the administration.

Puno then said that travel records of the members of the House can be provided by the Office of the House Secretary General.

During the orientation for new House members last month, Secretary General Reginald Velasco reminded lawmakers to submit requests for travel authority three days before the dates of their departure.

Velasco issued the reminder after revealing that there were House members in the past who only asked for a travel authority from him while they were already on the way to the airport, or they were already in their country of destination abroad.

Back in March this year, the House of Representatives also granted travel clearance to the Vice President’s brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, for Congressman Duterte’s personal trip to 16 countries and Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China.

The travel clearance granted to Congressman Duterte was during the same month that his father, former President Duterte, was arrested on March 11 and eventually detained in the Netherlands. –NB, GMA Integrated News