Palace: PNoy’s return to Manila not due to SC decision on PDAF

Malacañang on Wednesday denied that President Benigno Aquino III returned to Manila from the typhoon-hit Visayas region because of the Supreme Court's ruling on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

"Hindi po totoo yun. There’s no correlation between the decision of the Supreme Court and his coming home," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press briefing.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the PDAF, the multimillion-peso discretionary fund received by lawmakers every year.

On the same day, Aquino returned to Manila after spending only three days in areas ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda.

On Wednesday, Lacierda said the President returned because he saw the improvements in the areas he visited.

He said Aquino also "expressed confidence in the work that the composite team on the ground has done."

"Things have turned out better than he expected that’s why tuluy-tuloy na iyong pagpasok ng relief goods," he said.

Aquino had earlier stated that he would stay in the region until he deemed the situation "OK."
 
Lacierda, reading the Wednesday's relief bulletin, said "normalcy has begun to set in an encouraging pace."

He said three ATM units were activated in Tacloban while selected grocery stores opened on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, he said the Development Bank of the Philippines is set to resume operations while counter transactions will also commence in the banks that are scheduled to open.

Aside from these, Robinson's and Gaisano supermarkets are also set to open on Wednesday. Before this, he said a hardware store and an agri-supply store have already opened there.

Quoting reports from the Philippine National Police, Lacierda said 1,283 augmentation and 328 organic personnel have been deployed to Eastern Samar and Leyte, in addition to army personnel tasked to escort supply convoys.

On the other hand, the Armed Forces reported that 2,870 service personnel have been deployed while 5,079 personnel from other agencies, rescue units, volunteer groups, and foreign teams are working on the ground.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the death toll from Yolanda now stands at 4,011, with 18,557 injured and 1,602 still missing. — BM, GMA News