Presidential aspirant Leody De Guzman on Sunday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to “stop the charade and swiftly act” on measures to help Typhoon Odette victims.
The Partido Lakas ng Masa standard-bearer made the statement after Duterte said on Friday that government funds had been depleted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The President explained that he talked with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for available money for Typhoon Odette-stricken areas.
“We are trying to raise the money. I was talking with the [Budget Department], depleted ang budget natin immensely (our budget ran out) because of the COVID-19. Naubos talaga ang pera natin (The budget has been used up),” Duterte stressed.
De Guzman, however, said that Duterte should stop with the “unbelievable drama” as there were lots of Filipinos affected by the storm, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
“Tungkulin ng gobyerno ang agarang pagtugon sa mga batayang pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayang tinamaan ng bagyong Odette. Inaasahan natin ang kahandaan ng pamahalaan sa ganitong mga sitwasyon,” he said.
(The government must immediately respond to the basic needs of our countrymen who were affected by Typhoon Odette. We look forward to the readiness of the government in these situations.)
The labor leader pointed out that there were billions in unused calamity funds from the 2021 budget which the DBM justified in May as a “stand-by fund” for emergencies such as calamities, epidemics, crises, and catastrophes.
He also noted that the Office of Civil Defense showed in its “Explainer 2020 and 2021 NDRRM utilization” statement that almost P12 billion was still available, and that the “National DRRM Fund cannot be depleted before midyear 2021 in preparation for the emergencies during the rainy season.”
“Maalala natin na si Duterte ay isa sa mga pulitikong sumikat sa agarang pagkilos noong tayo ay tamaan ng bagyong Yolanda. Mahigpit niya ring pinuna ang administrasyon noon sa kawalan nito ng kahandaan sa pagkakataong iyon,” de Guzman said.
(Let us remember, Duterte was one of the politicians who became famous for his immediate action when we were hit by Typhoon Yolanda. He also strongly criticized the former administration for its unpreparedness during that time.)
“Mukhang nabaligtad na ang sitwasyon. Ang kanyang pahayag ay malinaw na patunay ng kanilang kawalan ng paghahanda. Huwag niyang sabihin na ang nakalaang pondo para sa sakuna ay nadamay sa pondong winaldas ng Pharmally,” he added.
(The situation seems to have been reversed. Duterte’s statement is clear proof of his administration’s unpreparedness. He must not say that the funds set aside for disaster response were used on the Pharmally issue.)
De Guzman then proposed measures that the current government should adopt considering the problems that occurred during the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban in 2013.
These include price controls, rapid assessment of local government units, and the ramping up of supplies and flow of basic needs, including fuel.
He added that SSS, GSIS, LandBank, and DBP should make zero-interest loans accessible for additional financial assistance from the government.
Certain measures also need to be put in place to deal with the climate crisis, he said.
“Kabilang dito ang daglian at makabuluhang pagtalikod sa madumi at mapanirang enerhiya at teknolohiya at pagbubuo ng sustenable at maka-kalikasang ekonomiya,” he added.
(This includes the immediate discarding of dirty and destructive energy and technology, as well as the development of a sustainable and environment-friendly economy.)
— DVM, GMA News
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