Mar never claimed to be a hero, Roxas’ camp says

Even with a comic book on how he supposedly helped save lives when super typhoon Yolanda destroyed Eastern Visayas in 2013, Mar Roxas' campaign team said he never claimed to be "a hero" as one Catholic church official has said.

According to Mark Salazar's report on "24 Oras," Roxas' spokesman Akbayan Representative Barry Gutierrez insisted that the comic book was the initiative of supporters, not of the ruling coalition.

"Mar has never claimed to be a 'hero' with respect to his role in Yolanda or any other task he has performed in his long service in government. His statements on Yolanda have always been straightforward, factual narratives of what he directly experienced in the two weeks he worked at ground zero," Gutierrez said.

"In reference to the comics, we have repeatedly clarified that those were not produced, distributed, or approved by the campaign, but by supporters," he added.

Father Edwin Gariguez, Caritas Philippines executive secretary, earlier called the campaign material “shameful and unacceptable propaganda.”

“In conscience, I need to belie this hypocritical claim of Mar Roxas claiming to be a hero in the emergency response,” Gariguez said.

“We need to bring truth and decency in our electoral process. A call that I dare to make to all candidates,” he added.

Caritas Philippines is the social action arm of the Catholic Church.

Gariguez was referring to "Sa Gitna ng Unos," the comic book which is about Roxas' political career and his participation in the government response to the effects of typhoon Yolanda.

—NB, GMA News