Residents in Imelda Marcos bailiwick lament ‘slow’ gov’t aid

Like many in this town of some 50,000 people, Rogelio Librada thinks the government has not given much attention to Tanauan and nearby towns because they’re known to be the political turf of former first lady Imelda Marcos, now Ilocos Norte representative. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

TANAUAN, Leyte—Like many in this town of some 50,000 people, Rogelio Librada thinks the government has not given much attention to Tanauan and nearby towns because they’re known to be the political turf of former first lady Imelda Marcos, now Ilocos Norte representative.

The wife of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos is a native of Tolosa, a coastal town adjacent to Tanauan. The Marcoses are known to be political nemesis of President Aquino and his family.

“I hope our officials bury their political differences for a moment and just concentrate on helping us,” Librada, 59, a farmer, said in the vernacular, wiping off the sweat from his face with a tattered shirt.

“That’s right,” Irene Nardo butted in. “Nobody wanted this to happen. They should spare us from politics.”

Since the monster typhoon annihilated this sleepy town located some 20 kilometers south of Tacloban City, Librada said he and other residents of Barangay (village) Canramos had received aid from the national government only once.

“Even if I want to return to farming, I have no choice. Our farm now looks like a desert. My carabao is missing. I don’t know if I can still till my land,” he said.

Senator Bongbong Marcos said the national government must find ways to speed up the delivery of aid and to reach far-flung communities.

He would not comment about observations that politics was getting in the way of bringing help to “Yolanda” survivors.

“I keep hearing that and the people are speculating that way. For me, I don’t want to think about it this time. Let’s just focus on helping those who need our assistance,” Marcos told the Inquirer.

“This is not the time to put blame on one another. Let’s just wait for everything to stabilize before we make criticisms,” he added.

Librada braved the scalding heat of the sun as he patiently stood in a 500-meter line waiting for food packs being distributed by a Korean group along the highway here on Monday.

Each food pack, given by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through the barangay council, had three kilos of rice, four tins of canned goods and instant noodles.

Marina Tolibas, Tanauan social welfare officer, said the municipality received 60 sacks of rice from the DSWD on Nov. 15, the first and last time they got aid from a national government agency.

She looked surprised when told that Interior Secretary Mar Roxas had said that each town in Leyte should get 60 sacks of rice every day from the “conveyor belt” of relief items being delivered by military trucks.

Asked if the town felt the assistance of the national government, Tolibas said: “Yes, of course. In fact, we have already distributed 3,555 food packs. The other day, the DSWD gave us 256 food packs.”

She said the National Food Authority office in Davao region also turned over 167 sacks of rice to Tanauan on Nov. 14.

As of Nov. 18, 367 bodies had already been recovered. Officials said at least 2,000 bodies had yet to be retrieved from collapsed houses and seaside communities.