A mystery in the House: Who paid for members' US trip?

The Palace, the House of Representatives, and now the US government have all denied that they paid for the US trip of the congressmen accompanying President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. And the congressmen themselves did not pay out of their own pockets. At least not yet. "We only provided security." The US Embassy in Manila made this clarification yesterday in reaction to Speaker Prospero Nograles’ remark that host governments usually shoulder the basic expenses of visiting dignitaries. Nograles denied on Monday that the House of Representatives footed the bill. And at a press conference Tuesday, Susana Vargas, Malacañang's deputy executive secretary for finance and administration, denied that the Palace paid for the expenses of the 28 lawmakers, except for Nograles and Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Manuel "Lito" Lapid, who were part of the presidential party. The Office of the President spent a total of P19 million during the trip on the president herself, her security and staff, in addition to the three legislators, Vargas said. While the so-called lavish dinners in the US have known benefactors, the three denials this week indicate that the source of funds for the traveling expenses of the remaining 25 congressmen accompanying the president has become a mystery and raises the possibility that a non-official donor paid for the trip. None of the congressmen who have been interviewed about the trip claim that they knew for certain who paid for their trip. Nograles had earlier speculated that the US government and Malacañang split the bill for the lawmakers who were part of the Arroyo entourage, which has become embroiled in controversy over charges of extravagant wining and dining while the nation was mourning the death of former president Cory Aquino. Nograles' speculation was debunked on Tuesday by both the US Embassy and the Palace. "The US government only provided security protection for the visit, as is normally provided for foreign leaders meeting with President Obama," Rebecca Thompson, the US embassy's deputy press officer , told GMANews.TV in a text message when asked if the US government paid for any part of the Philippine lawmakers' trip. Nograles said at a press conference on Monday that in order to quiet the public backlash, he would compel lawmakers to cough up funds from their own pockets once Malacañang sends him a "statement of account" for the trip. "My take is that we will personally shoulder extra expenses," Nograles said later in a text message. Rep. Benny Abante said their official expenses would amount to at least P300,000 each, grossly underestimated if they all in upscale hotels, in addition to business-class commercial jet travel. An earlier report on this site said that each lawmaker intended to bring his or her spouse on the trip. The lawmakers were expected to pay for their spouses' expenses out of their pockets. But it's not clear how they could have done so if the source of funding for the official expenses is a mystery. Each congressman who brought his spouse, for example, would have had to reimburse the funding source for half of the cost of their hotel rooms, presumably double rooms. "When the bill (from Malacañang) comes, I will call those who went with us and say, 'let's pay for this on our own so the controversy will end," Nograles said. [See: Lawmakers on US junket with Arroyo will pay if billed] But apparently, that bill is not forthcoming, since the Palace has denied that it had advanced the payment under a "fly now, pay later" scheme. Before the US trip, the House disclosed a list of 23 members who would be traveling with the President along with their spouses. Nograles on Monday revealed that two more were added to the list but did not say who these were. - Joseph Holandes Ubalde and Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV