Aquino to mark Yolanda anniversary in Eastern Samar

President Benigno Aquino III is set to return to Eastern Samar on Friday to commemorate the first anniversary of the devastation brought by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

 

Aquino is expected to turn over housing units to Yolanda survivors in Guiuan town, one of the areas where the typhoon made landfall last year, leaving over 100 citizens killed.

 

Guiuan belongs to the lone congressional district of Eastern Samar, represented in the House of Representatives by Aquino ally, Rep. Ben Evardone. The town's mayor, Christopher Gonzales, is a member of the administration-aligned Nacionalista Party.

 

Aquino is not scheduled to visit Tacloban City in Leyte, another area hardest hit by Typhoon Yolanda.

 

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez is the nephew of Imelda Marcos, widow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Aquino's father, opposition leader former Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was assassinated on his return from exile during the Marcos dictatorship in 1983.
 

Mayor Romualdez earlier accused Aquino's government of failing to send immediate help to his constituents in Yolanda's aftermath. 

 

Tacloban is under the first district of Leyte province, whose congressional seat is occupied by another member of the Romualdez clan, Ferdinand Martin. Rep. Romualdez is head with the House independent minority bloc.

 

Last year, Aquino already visited Tacloban City and Guiuan town during Yolanda's aftermath.
 

The powerful typhoon cut a swath of devastation across central Philippines, leaving 6,300 people dead and displacing over 1.4 million families.

 

The government has been criticized for its supposedly slow response in Yolanda's aftermath, but Malacañang maintained that its efforts to rebuild areas devastated by the powerful typhoon met international standards. 

 

Aquino on Wednesday presided over Cabinet meeting to set the national government's priorities in rebuilding communities in Yolanda-hit areas. —NB, GMA News