MANILA, Philippines — It appears that the man who would stop them is being frustrated at every turn.

Nueva Ecija Representative Eduardo Nonato Joson complained he has been trying to get his resolution heard in the House of Representatives but chamber leaders, he claimed, were not keen on taking up his proposal.

In April, Joson filed House Resolution 371 calling for a three-year travel ban for public officials.

Joson proposed that foreign trips should be justified as to purpose and cost.

“I really don’t know why they don’t want to have my resolution taken up by a committee. This has gained more urgency as we are facing a ballooning deficit (estimated to hit P300 billion this year) and the public is demanding more sensitivity to the typhoon victims’ plight,” Joson said, referring to the devastation left by tropical storms Ondoy, Pepeng, and Santi.

He reiterated his no-travel proposal in the midst of news reports that at least 20 members of the House, including Speaker Prospero Nograles, had left for the United States on business, vacation, and presumably to watch the November 14 fight in Las Vegas, Nevada, of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto.

Government officials are a fixture in every Pacquiao fight abroad. Essential House and government business are left hanging when there is no quorum in Congress.

“I call this being manhid (insensitive, callous). Many of our countrymen are still suffering from the typhoon devastation and they (congressmen) are spending a lot of money just to satisfy their whims,” Joson said.