Former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr.. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Former Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. on Thursday expressed his dismay over the bitter rift between Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez.
“This is not the time for fault-finding. There is a proper forum for that,” Pimentel said in an interview on Inquirer Radio 990AM.
Pimentel, the author of the Local Government Code, said the national government and the Local Government Unit (LGU) should work closely together.
“The basic principle is that the LGU should not wait for the national government to respond. But on areas where the LGU can no longer handle the situation, the government can take over,” he said.
Asked about the letter Roxas required from Romualdez, he said that it is just an extra formality which is not actually needed.
The government, according to Pimentel, can enter if they can see that the devastation is getting worse.
“As far as government agencies are concerned, they should set aside partisanship,” he said.
He added, “Let the people decide later on who to reward and who to punish because they were the ones on the ground who really saw the devastation.”
Pimentel told Romualdez, “The time for crying is over. You should show that he has already mobilized his people to act on rehabilitation.”
He also said Roxas should take it easy because it’s part of his job.
“You have to do what you must do in accordance with the law,” he said.
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