The House plenary debate on the Department of Tourism (DOT) lasted only a hour Monday, Sept. 26, with Deputy Minority Leader Basilan lone district Rep. Mujiv Hataman citing a special kind of "courtesy" to the agency.
Hataman was the final interpellator on the proposed 2023 budget of the DOT Monday morning and was thus given the task of terminating or ending the discussion of the particular allocation on the floor.
"As part of courtesy to our deputy speaker who happened to be under the battaliion commander of the , on the part of the minority, I move to terminate the period of interpellation and debate ," the Mindanao solon said, tongue-in-cheek.
The deputy speaker that Hataman was referring to was Cebu 5th district Rep. Vincent Frasco, who was present.
Heading the DOT contingent in the plenary was Secretary Christina Frasco, the wife, or--in the words of Hataman--the "battalion commander" of Rep. Frasco. The couple has four children.
But Hataman wasn't just there to tease his House colleague, Rep. Frasco. Earlier in his interpellation, the deputy minority leader also admitted that he was under the "command" of his better half.
"Kaya ko tinatanong ito distinguished sponsor, naalala ko dahil mayor, city mayor ng isang siyudad sa aking distrito ang aking may bahay, ang aking asawa, actually siya yung pinaka-commander sa amin (The reason why I'm asking this distinguished sponsor, it's because my wife--actually, she our commander--she's a city mayor within my district)," he said.
Hataman at that time was quizzing Isabela 6th district Rep. Faustino Inno Dy, the DOT budget sponsor, on the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP) under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
"Ito ba ay naka-anchor sa tourism plan natin? (Is this anchored to our tourism plan?)" the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor asked.
"Kausap ko at that time yung regional tourism director ng Region 9 at kausap ko rin ang DPWH. Ang sinasabi nila sa akin kung may kaugnayan to sa tourism road dapat si DOT ang magre-recommend nito (At that time I spoke to Region 9's regional tourism director and also DPWH. What they told me was, its the DOT that should make recommendations if has to do with tourism roads)," explained Hataman, whose wife is is former Anak Mindanao Party-list Rep. Sitti Hataman.
"The DOT identifies the DOT projects and then submits to the DPWH," replied Dy.
The DOT's proposed budget for 2023 is P3.573 billion.