Robredo told: Don’t capitalize on slow disaster ops for political gain
Vice President Leni Robredo.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Malacañang on Wednesday told Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo not to “capitalize” on “slow” disaster operations for her own political gains.
“The remark Ms. Robredo made saying that the relief operations were ‘slow’ suggests a cynical political mindset willing to capitalize on disaster,” Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
Abella was reacting to the statement of Robredo, saying relief operations in typhoon-hit areas were “slow.”
Robredo was in the United States for a vacation when typhoon “Nina” battered the Bicol region on Christmas Day.
The Vice President lamented that electricity was not restored in areas hit by the typhoon after eight days.
She also said a village chief complained of not receiving assistance from the government except the relief goods from her office.
“One wished she displayed more appreciation of the work of our disaster officials, our social workers, and other volunteers who were on Ground Zero even before ‘Nina’ made a landfall,” Abella said.
The Palace official said that as of Wednesday, a total of P182,473,574 worth of relief assistance have been provided to affected families in Calabarzon, MIMAROPA, and regions V and VIII, including those who were stranded in various ports in Regions V and VIII.
“The DSWD provided assistance worth P166,976,473 while LGUs and non-government organizations (NGOs) provided a total of P4,225,832 and P11,271,270, respectively,” he said.
“The Department of Energy (DOE) with support from local government units and private institutions, on one hand, has brought back electricity to priority areas in Bicol and Southern Tagalog regions before New Year,” he added.
Abella said “full restoration of NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines) transmission services in typhoon Nina-affected areas is expected today.”
“For transmission facilities in the on-grid area, the NGCP, after deploying 500 technical personnel, reported that as of December 31, the Naga-Daraga 230 kV line and the Naga-Pili-Iriga line have been restored servicing the provinces of Albay, Sorsogon and Camarines Sur,” he said.
Full restoration of NGCP transmission services in typhoon-affected areas is expected Wednesday. RAM
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