At least 20 Cebu town mayors are in Korea for a three-day “learning visit”.
Gov. Hilario Davide III confirmed yesterday that the overseas travel for the mayors, all affiliated with the Liberal Party, had his permission, adding that no public funds were spent for it.
The mayors who left last Wednesday were granted authority to travel by his office last week.
He said it was an “affair related to the League of Municipalities in the Philippines (LMP) Cebu Chapter,” Davide said.
“Yes, they were granted authority to travel and they paid for their own trip. Their learning visit to Korea is an LMP affair,” said the governor in a text message to Cebu Daily News.
Tuburan Mayor Democrito Diamante, president of LMP Cebu, went with the group.
Staff members of the LMP office, Nakayama Labella and Marilyn Irag, also joined the trip.
The mayors were invited by Cebu Korean Association Inc. and one of the hosts was Cordova Vice Mayor Therese Sitoy-Cho and her Korean husband.
The group will arrive in Cebu today.
Lawyer Ayesh Nogra, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)-7 legal officer, said international trips that are paid with personal funds do not need clearance from their office.
Only travels that last for more than three months and are funded by public taxes need government clearance, she explained.