Mainit ngayon ang ulo ni House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda sa Singapore matapos lumutang ang diumano ay “exclusivity deal” nito sa production company ng paparating na concert ni Taylor Swift sa nasabing bansa.

Dahil dito, nanawagan siya sa Department of Foreign Affairs na humingi ng paglilinaw mula sa Singaporean Embassy hinggil sa sinasabing exclusivity terms na ipinagkaloob sa production company na AEG Presents ng Singapore Tourism Board at ng Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. 

Binigyang-diin din ni Salceda na kung totoo man, sasalungat ito sa diwa ng pagiging mabuting kapitbahay ng Singapore.

“Some 3 million USD in grants were allegedly given by the Singapore government to AEG to host the concert in Singapore. The catch was that they do not host it elsewhere in the region,” aniya.

Ito ay matapos ihayag ni Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin ang mga kondisyon sa nasabing grant.

“I give it to them that the policy worked. Regional demand for Singaporean hotels and airlines was up 30 percent over the period. I estimate that the exclusivity term caused an increase in industry revenues by USD 60 million. So, the grant produced 30 times more in economic activity,” dagdag ni Salceda.

Ikinalungkot din niya ang masamang epekto nito sa mga kalapit na bansa na pinagkaitan ng mga pagkakataon sa pagho-host at ang pagkawala ng potensyal na kita mula sa mga dayuhang concert-goers.

“I doubt the exclusivity terms were on the grant contract itself,” ayon pa sa mambabatas. “But I don’t think we should just let things like this pass. We should still officially register our opposition.”

“It also runs contrary to the principle of consensus-based relations and solidarity on which the ASEAN was founded.”

Photo credit: House of Representatives Official Website