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Batasan 6: Asean summit ‘extravagance’ reaches P1.71B


Six left-leaning party-list representatives scored Thursday what they called the “Imeldific" extravagance of the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Cebu that will start next week. The six, collectively known as the “Batasan 6" after facing rebellion charges over a supposed coup plot last year, authored a resolution branding the various expenses for the summit - amounting to P1.71 billion - as “neither necessary nor reasonable." Representatives Teodoro Casiño, Satur Ocampo and Joel Virador of Bayan Muna, Liza Maza of Gabriela and Crispin Beltran and Rafael Mariano of AnakPawis filed House Resolution No. 1441 to express their disappointment over the lavish and extravagant use of public funds. According to them, the national government, Cebu provincial government and the city governments of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Cebu have already reportedly spent a total of P1.71 billion for hosting the summit. “Like other Imeldific government projects of the past, the escalated project cost has elicited fears that the amount, being too costly and too grand, may be miscalculated and grossly overpriced," Virador said. Maza added the “most duplicitous" measure carried out by the city governments to present a grand and attractive city is the demolition of more than 1,500 urban poor families along various areas that organizers deem too ugly for the foreign visitors. Ocampo added it is the right of all taxpayers, especially their representatives in Congress, “to know just how their money is being spent and to express their disappointment whenever these funds are used for lavish and extravagant expenses." The authors said the resolution seeks to express that such extravagance is the height of insensitivity to the majority of Filipinos living in abject poverty. The Asean summit was supposed to have be held December 11 but was reset over what government officials said was due to typhoon Seniang (international codename: Utor). - GMANews.TV

Tags: aseansummit
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