He said, he said Written by Ninez Cacho-Olivares Tuesday, 11 November 2014 00:00 font size decrease font size increase font size Print Be the first to comment! The verbal tussle between rehabilitation secretary Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez appear to be no different from the verbal tussle that had occurred between Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Romualdez a year ago and almost on the same topic, which was reduced to a “he said, he said” incident. This time around, Lacson claimed that Romualdez who he said has been complaining about the national government (NG)’s slow response to the needs of the Tacloban typhoon hit victims a year after the monster typhoon hit the city, refused to cooperate with the NG. Lacson added that Romualdez had even asked him to have the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) advance three months’ worth of Tacloban’s Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) to help sustain the operations of the local government, but that when Lacson got the budget department not only to advance the IRA for three months, even was given six months IRA in advance, Romualdez rejected it. Lacson also claimed that Tacloban was not being left behind in rehab work, yet it is only in Tacloban that there were protests, while all other typhoon stricken areas do not have such, and were not complaining about the rehabilitation efforts. Then Lacson, with the usual police type intelligence claims that are usually unfounded, said that anti-government flyers and banners were found in the mayor’s vehicle, making it appear as a crime. But remember Lacson’s accusation, based he said on intel reports, that the local governments are making a pile of money from the construction? He failed to prove it. Romualdez, for his part, denied that he had asked for an advance of the city’s IRA, saying that he never asked for an advance on the IRA and it was Lacson who had offered this, which he rejected, for good reason. Romualdez said advancing his IRA was tantamount to a cash advance, which was not what they in Tacloban needed. “The city does not need to make get a cash advance on the basis of the IRA. What we need is assistance, not advance,” Romualdez said. “I’m a mayor. I’m not stupid. I don’t make a cash advance,” adding that advancing his IRA may lead the city to bankruptcy. “If you make a cash advance on the IRA, that means you’ll get all your money for six months and which we’ll spend for one or two months. So on the third month, we have no more money. So what, I’ll close down city hall because we’re bankrupt?” Romualdez said. “When it comes to help, they will help for five months, later for the others they’ll give doleouts, but for us, they are giving the IRA. What kind of help is that?” he said. This is but a continuation of what had happened days after “Yolanda” hit, the way the NG acted toward Yolanda. What it really is, is yet another case of the mayor being a Romualdez and the President an Aquino, even a year after the monster typhoon struck, only now Lacson has taken the place of Mar Roxas. But Lacson claimed: “I’m wondering why in the nearby municipalities, there are no issues involved. But in Tacloban, we are facing so many challenges.” Well, surely Lacson is no babe in the woods, and knows the reason the other areas aren’t complaining. That’s due to the fact that these areas are lorded over by the allies of Noynoy and the Liberal Party, but not Tacloban. Duh. Whom to believe in a he said, he said situation? Frankly, Romualdez makes more sense in the advanced IRA statements. Indeed, why ask for a three month advance in IRA, when the NG should be repairing and rebuilding, and assisting the Tacloban victims? As for the truth, it appears to be lodged with Romualdez. Not even he, as mayor, can get thousands of Yolanda survivors belonging to the People Surge movement to stage a two-day demonstration that started last Friday to vent their anger over alleged neglect on the part of the government. It stands to reason that if thousands of survivors have been protesting — and not just for two days but continuously, they are clearly suffering from the neglect of the Aquino government. Lacson shouldn’t be doing a Noynoy and Mar Roxas, passing the blame on others for their failures.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 16:05:49 +0000
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