Lacson, Drilon slam mayors for absence during ‘Ompong’

Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday slammed 10 mayors who were reported missing in action during the onslaught of Typhoon “Ompong.”

The local executives from the Cordillera Administrative Region and the Cagayan Valley, which bore the brunt of Ompong’s fury over the weekend, are facing investigation by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

READ: Anyare, mayor? 10 local execs to be probed for absence during ‘Ompong’

“Negligence or parang (similar to) being insensitive,” Lacson described the mayors in an interview with reporters.

Lacson said the mayors should not have left their respective municipalities since authorities have warned of the strong typhoon before it hit the country.

He said the mayors could only leave their jurisdictions to attend to a “life and death” matters outside their towns.

Drilon, meanwhile, said the officials should be sanctioned, calling their actions on the typhoon “gross neglect.”

“Bakit nandito sila sa Maynila habang ‘yung kanilang mga lalawigan at munisipyo ay dinaraanan ng bagyo? That to me is gross neglect and should be investigated,” he said.

(Why are they here in Manila when the typhoon was traversing their provinces and municipalities? That to me is gross neglect and should be investigated.) /cbb