Since the series of typhoons and floods hitting the country, the big fight between local hero Manny Pacquiao & Miguel Cotto has been the talk of the town. One sensitive issue on the unlawful use of gov't funds however needs to be revealed to the global community as it is the only way of hearing the victims of the said calamities. Some lawmakers have reportedly said they would give Pacquiao moral support in his fight. But Pacquiao is a boxing superstar even overseas, and there are enough Filipinos in the United States to cheer him on. He doesn’t need moral support from traveling Philippine lawmakers. There is no way lawmakers can justify watching a boxing bout as official business. If they cannot be dissuaded from watching the fight live in Las Vegas, with all the expenses such a luxury would entail, they should at least reassure the public that taxpayers would not be footing the bill.

Such profligate use of public money is particularly galling at this time, when the country is asking foreign donors to finance relief and reconstruction efforts in the wake of cataclysmic flooding and mudslides. Amid all the misery, lawmakers refused to part with some of their congressional pork barrel for relief and reconstruction efforts. Now they may use precious public funds for a ringside seat in the Pacquiao fight, showing Filipinos once again that membership in Congress is all about perks, not public service.