Residents of Barangay Anibong in Tacloban City build houses after Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in 2013. RAFFY LERMA
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Philippines –Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez has expressed gratitude to the national government for the help extended to his city, considered ground zero of supertyphoon “Yolanda.”
“In behalf of the city of Tacloban, I would like to thank the national leadership, including the President (Benigno Aquino III), sa lahat ng tulong na naibigay sa Tacloban (for all the help given to Tacloban),” Romualdez said in a speech at the memorial park on Sunday inside the compound of the Tacloban Convention Center which once served as temporary shelter to 8,000 people after Yolanda’s devastation.
The city mayor said he would like to apologize if he had uttered hurtful words against the national government especially days after Yolanda’s onslaught.
He, however, stressed that the people of Tacloban were “grateful” for the assistance extended by the national government.
“Pasensiya na lang po kung nakakapagsalita kami ng maaanghang dahil kami ay tao lamang at kami at nasasaktan dahil napakasakit talaga ang nangyari sa amin (Please forgive us if we have said something hurtful because we are just human and we get hurt because what happened to us is really painful),” Romualdez said.
TACLOBAN City Mayor Alfred Romualdez. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
“Minsan po nakakapagsalita kami ng maaanghang na salita (Sometimes we say something nasty) but at no given time, we are ungrateful for all the help that were extended to us,” he added.
In an interview, Romualdez admitted that the hurtful words he had uttered in the past were a result of his disappointment and due to the unfair perception that the people of Tacloban were ungrateful.
“I’d like to reach out to everybody, tell them that we are very grateful. We just voice out our concerns but it does not mean that we’re ungrateful,” he stressed.
Earlier, former senator and rehabilitation czar Panfilo “Ping” Lacson” said that around P8 billion was poured in to Tacloban through various assistance and downloaded to different government agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Labor and Employment, among others. SFM