TACLOBAN CITY—Mayor Alfred Romualdez would rather stay mum for apparently being on the receiving end of criticism for the government’s inefficient response to the Supertyphoon “Yolanda” catastrophe but his maternal cousin, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., stood up for the mayor and pinned the blame on the national government instead.
“There are a lot of people [affected] for days who were not able to eat, much less have water to drink, and they are even checking people on the list,” Marcos told the Inquirer as he tried to illustrate how the national government undertakes its relief efforts.
Marcos said the problem was being complicated by the confiscation of goods being done by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“Everyone is offering their boats and assets to ferry it (relief) for free, but the problem is the DSWD has confiscated the relief,” he said.
He cited the case of the goods that the Marcos and Romualdez families had tried to deliver to Tacloban and outlying towns, which, the senator said, had been confiscated by the DSWD for still unclear reasons.
Marcos said he tried to understand the act as part of government efforts to streamline the distribution of goods but the people could not understand as they starved and thirsted.
“That’s OK, but the thing is they won’t release them,” he said. Marcos said it appears the national government did not trust local leaders, too.
“They should trust their officials because not only are they victims … they (officials) are also the first responders in their village,” Marcos said.
Marcos said the devastation was so great “that it’s going to take years before Leyte folk will be able to get back on their feet.”
Romualdez had expressed displeasure with the national government, but refused to state it on record.
The mayor, though, said many lessons had been learned from the experience.
He said weather forecasting still needed improvement despite the advance warning given by the weather bureau.
He said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) had predicted Yolanda’s winds to reach 280 kilometers per hour but they went beyond 300 kph when the storm made landfall.
“I think that this is something that should be studied because this might affect our building code,” the mayor said.
He said the existing building code for schools prescribe that school buildings be able to withstand only 160 kph winds.
“There must be a different building code in areas like this,” Romualdez said. Light materials being used for houses and other structures, he said, “should even be outlawed.”
“Look at Batanes, it is built to withstand and save lives,” Romualdez said.
He, however, added that no amount of preparation was enough for a storm like Yolanda. “It is like getting caught and you can’t go anywhere,” he said.
“It is important for our future generations to know how to respond to a crisis like this. And it should be a template that nobody can change. It should be followed to the letter,” he said. Dennis Jay Santos, Inquirer Mindanao