Kris Aquino. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
TACLOBAN CITY—President Aquino’s celebrity sister Kris called Friday for unity amid the massive devastation brought about by Supertyphoon ‘‘Yolanda’’ even as she defended her brother from mounting criticisms about his alleged mishandling of the aftermath of the tragedy.
Kris said that instead of engaging in the blame game, it would be better for everyone to work together for the rehabilitation of the areas affected by Yolanda, including Tacloban City.
“I think it’s unfair for anybody, regardless of political color. The important thing is we work together because we are all Filipinos,” Kris said in a brief interview with local media.
The popular television host and actress was in Tacloban as part of the ABS-CBN community outreach program for the typhoon survivors there. Tacloban City bore the brunt of one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded in the world.
As of Dec. 11, the death toll in Eastern Visayas had reached 5,655, with 2,418 recorded in Tacloban City, according to the regional disaster risk reduction and management council.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), however, has reported the death toll to have reached 6,009 as of Friday.
Yolanda also caused widespread damage to infrastructure estimated at P3.53 billion and to agriculture costing P3.14-billion.
Several ABS-CBN talents staged a variety show at the Tacloban Convention Center, temporary shelter for more than 1,400 people who became homeless when Yolanda struck on Nov. 8.
Among the stars who entertained the huge crowd were actors Piolo Pascual, Coco Martin, Bea Alonzo, Gerald Anderson and Shaina Magdayao.
Also present were the station’s top officials, Gabby Lopez and Charo Santos Concio and Ted Failon, a former congressman of Leyte who defeated Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez in the 2001 congressional elections.
Romualdez earlier said that the national government under President Aquino had done little to help him address the crisis created by the typhoon.
“I don’t think my brother has shortcomings. And you cannot blame me for wanting to speak up for my brother because no leader would want this to happen to his country,” Kris said.
Kris led other ABS-CBN talents in distributing food, apples and toys to children of the evacuees at the Astrodome.
Kris did not meet Romualdez or any other city officials during her visit.
She also went to the Anibong area for a brief visit where she taped for her television show. Anibong is a coastal area that was among the hardest hit areas of Tacloban City.
This is Kris’ second visit to Tacloban this year. During the May 2013 elections, she personally campaigned for former representative Florencio Noel of An Waray party-list group, the main rival of Romualdez.