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Hatid Tulong program lead convenor explains story behind LSIs gathering at Rizal Sports Complex
By ERWIN COLCOL,GMA News “A snapshot of a crowd in the baseball stadium does not tell the entire story at all.”
This was the statement of Hatid Tulong program lead convenor and Presidential Management Staff Assistant Secretary Joseph Encabo as he explained to the House committee on good government and public accountability the gathering of locally-stranded individuals (LSIs) at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
The incident, which was captured in photos that have since gone viral, drew the ire of netizens and some government officials for supposedly failing to observe social distancing protocols.
“Allow me to fill in those missing frames so that the public and this committee will have the chance to appreciate how the TWG (technical working group) managed and implemented the program," Encabo said during the committee’s hybrid meeting
He said the secretariat of the technical working group had sent text messages to all LSIs who pre-registered to avail of the Hatid Tulong program.
However, the said LSIs had passed the text messages to other LSIs who were also interested to go home, he said.
"In effect, the number doubled or even almost tripled at that. We don't have any choice but to accommodate and cater the plight of our LSIs. They are suffering, they are bone-weary, and they are disturbed and vulnerable," Encabo said.
Upon learning that many LSIs had gathered at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex days before their scheduled send-off, Encabo said the TWG convened and decided to cater them a day before their expected departure.
But then heavy rain poured, he said, and the normal reaction of people was to seek shelter to avoid getting drenched.
"In result, a photo was taken, a photo of overcrowded people in the stadium where the TWG was only expecting around 4,000 people can be accommodated," Encabo said.
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After the heavy rain, Encabo said a number of LSIs were transferred to the adjacent football stadium of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, still observing social distancing as part of the protocols set by the government.
"As part of the government, we are one with you in the observance of that principle or practice. That is why, it took time for us to implement because we experienced three to four hours of rain," he said.
"So once we implemented the transfer of these LSIs, we were confident that we were able to achieve the proper sitting arrangement or distancing of these people," he added.
Upon transferring the LSIs to the adjacent stadium, Encabo said the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the rest of the TWG continued to manage the gathering until all LSIs have been sent back to their home provinces.
Encabo recognized the criticism they received over the photos of the gathering that have since been published, but he assured lawmakers that they did all they could to protect the LSIs.
"I know that the photo was publicly disclosed, we were bashed, we were criticized, but again, we might not be on the same boat, but we are on the same storm. In this time of crisis, we should help each other and heal as one," he said.
Last Thursday, the last batch of LSIs had left, and the complex was closed for sanitation and disinfection.
But on Monday morning, LSIs once again flocked outside Rizal Memorial Stadium hoping to get a last-minute ride to their home provinces.—AOL, GMA News