Nueva Ecija gov says cash distribution after BBM rally aid for residents

Nueva Ecija Governor Aurelio "Oyie" Umali explained Thursday that the cash distribution after a campaign rally of presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was actually the local government's distribution of financial aid amid the pandemic.

In his Usapang Malasakit sa Lipunan aired on Facebook, Umali said he could not cancel the cash aid distribution for the residents just because Marcos, his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, and other senatoriables of the BBM-Sara UniTeam will arrive in the province.

"Noong bumisita po sa bahay ko si Senator Bongbong Marcos and Mayora Inday Sara, ay nakaschedule na po 'yung aming pagbibigay ng financial assistance sa aming kababayan. Dalawang barangay po nakaschedule and sabi nga natin, tapusin nang maaga dahil darating 'yung bisita natin, mga lunch time..." Umali said.

(When former senator Bongbong Marcos and Mayor Inday Sara visited my residence, we are also scheduled to distribute financial aid to residents. Two barangays are scheduled on that day and we intended to finish that early because of our visitors.)

"Since two days na lang ay darating, hindi po namin puwede i-cancel because kukulangin na kami ng araw. 'Yun naman po ay alam nila dahil ang intended rally nila ay sa Talavera, hindi po dito sa bahay ko at hindi po 'yun intended as a rally," he added.

(We could not cancel that because we will already lack days in distributing the assistance. Their intended rally was actually in Talavera and not in my residence.)

Umali's explanation came after reports that white envelopes containing P500 each were caught on camera being distributed outside his residence after Marcos' campaign rally.

"Kasi po napakaraming balita, noong pumasok po rito, noong nakita po ng senatorial candidates ay pinili po nilang pumunta sa stage at mangamusta at bumati dahil sila po ay nasa campaign mode na and kami naman po ay nasa ayuda mode pa rin kami, dahil ang paniniwala ko, this exactly my leadership in this pandemic stage na sa Nueva Ecija di kami titigil," he said.

(There were a lot of reports, the senatorial candidates went here, they decided to go to the stage and greet the people, they are on campaign mode while we in the province are still in ayuda mode.)

Umali decried the media's reports on the matter, saying that the information they released to the public seemed to be unvalidated.

"Nagkataon naman itong mga kandidato ng national and local positions, wherever they go sinusundan sila ng mga media, ang mga media yata ngayon eh basta makakuha ng balita maski di i-validate eh ilalabas na nila. Tapos tatawagan ka nila, gusto mo ba magsalita bibigyan ka namin," Umali said.

(It just happened that the candidates for national and local positions were here and they were followed by the media. It seems the media did not validate their report. They will just call you to get your side.)

"Hindi po pupuwedeng bigyan ako ng 10 seconds o 15 seconds na ano ninyo para masabi side ko, kung may deadline kayo, deadline ninyo 'yun para kayo'y may maibalita. Kami po ang deadline namin sa tao. Magkaiba ho tayo sa focus," he added.

(It's not enough that you will give me 10 to 15 seconds to air my side. If you have a deadline to file your report, we also have a deadline with our constituents. We have different priorities.)

Umali also said the local government intends to distribute the aid before the campaign of local candidates starts.

"Before March 24 ay doon na po kami hihinto dahil mayroon po kaming paggalang doon sa alituntunin ng Commission on Elections. Kaya relax lang po kayo," he said.

(We will stop distributing the aid before March 24 because we respect Comelec rules.)

GMA News Online has been asking the camp of Marcos for comment regarding the incident but it has yet to reply.

The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas said it abhorred the distribution of cash among supporters after GMA News caught on video the envelopes changing hands.—AOL, GMA News