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Tacloban mayor: No help from national govt in Yolanda's aftermath


(Updated 7:17 p.m.) Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez on Monday decried how Interior Secretary Mar Roxas supposedly asked him to cede control of the city and brought up clan politics instead of immediately sending help in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

During a post-disaster assessment at the Senate, Romualdez said he asked for additional security personnel from the national government a day after Yolanda's landfall, but Roxas did not grant his request.
 
Romualdez said Roxas instead asked him to write a letter stating that the local government could no longer function and that the national government should step in.
 
“Secretary Roxas said we should legalize everything... You have to remember: we have to be very careful because you are a Romualdez and the president is an Aquino,” Romualdez said.

Roxas' side

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who was presiding over the post-disaster assessment, said the committee wants to hear Roxas' side on the matter next hearing.

He, however, said that there seemed to be a “mix-up” on who should be in charge in Yolanda's aftermath, and that politics got in the way of rescue efforts.

“I believe, ang mananagot dito ay pulitika rin. Yung mga taga-Tacloban, ano ngayon ang magiging pananaw nila kay Secretary Roxas? Na ipinagkait sa kanila yung suporta dahil dun sa pulitika na 'yun,” Trillanes said.

GMA News Online has contacted Roxas' camp for his reaction, but was told he would issue a statement on Tuesday.

Roxas had earlier denied asking Romualdez to let the national government take over the city following the massive devastation there caused by Typhoon Yolanda.

Roxas said he merely asked Romualdez to write a letter to Aquino to request for a curfew in the city following incidents of looting in the wake of the typhoon.

“I asked them to write a letter so that the President has a basis for ordering said curfew,” he said, adding the city council has failed to pass an ordinance for the curfew due to lack of quorum.

Without mentioning names, Roxas warned those “spreading lies” to “better be careful.” He said the DILG has the mandate to act for a local government official rendered “ineffective” by a disaster.

Marcos kin

Romualdez is the nephew of Imelda Marcos, widow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. President Benigno Aquino III's father, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was assassinated on his return from exile in 1983 under the Marcos presidency.
 
The Tacloban City mayor said he questioned Roxas' demand since he saw nothing illegal about the national government taking over rescue efforts after Yolanda's onslaught.

“As far as I know, the president of the Philippines is also the president of Tacloban City,” Romualdez said.

The mayor also said he practically “begged” national officials for help, but to no avail.
 
“I could not understand why I could not get help from national government... Kung kaya ng police at military na ma-secure ang President, bakit 'di kami nabigyan ng security para ma-secure ang siyudad?” Romualdez asked.
 
Close to 6,000 individuals have been confirmed dead after Yolanda ripped through central Philippines last month. Tacloban City in Leyte was among the areas worst hit by the typhoon.
 
Some 2.6 million families were affected, and P35.5 billion worth of properties were damaged by the weather disturbance, based on latest government records. — with Marc Jayson Cayabyab/KG/KBK, GMA News
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