Lacson shifts Partido Reporma’s focus to disaster response; partner party to deliver goods

Sen. Panfilo Lacson (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — Partido Reporma’s campaign team and even some of his staffers in the Senate have been instructed by Senator Panfilo Lacson to focus on responding to the needs of areas severely affected by Typhoon Odette, the party spokesperson said.

Aside from that, Partido Reporma spokesperson Ashley Acedillo said that the party, through its ally LPGMA party-list, will dispatch a landing craft tanker that can carry relief goods and heavy equipment that can help reconstruct homes for people who are without shelter since Odette wreaked havoc over southern Visayas and northern Mindanao.

“As a clearer but grimmer picture emerges on the extent of the damage wrought by Typhoon Odette, Senator and presidential aspirant Panfilo “Ping” Lacson directed various teams from his Partido Reporma, campaign volunteers, and even his own Senate staff to focus on helping the victims of the storm,” Acedillo said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Through its alliance with LPGMA Party-List, Partido Reporma will also dispatch a Landing Craft Tanker (LCT) to ferry heavy equipment, housing materials, food, and water to various affected areas in Visayas and Mindanao in the next few days,” he added.

According to Acedillo, simultaneous relief operations have been launched by their teams in Cebu, Leyte, and Siargao, while volunteers also helped the team in Southern Leyte, Negros Island, and Palawan.

“Since Saturday, December 18, simultaneous relief efforts have been undertaken by these teams in Cebu, Leyte and Siargao with additional volunteers joining to help in Southern Leyte, Negros Island, and Palawan,” he said.

However, Lacson said that he prefers providing assistance to calamity-stricken Filipinos without much fanfare, as he would like to work quietly.

Lacson, in an out-of-town engagement last Sunday, said that the intention to help people should go beyond lip service, and must translate to actual action.

“Ang pagdamay ay pwedeng ipakita sa gawa – hindi lang sa pagsasalita kundi sa gawa. Ganoon ang dapat na pagdamay sa ating kapwa, sa ating kapwa Pilipino na kasalukuyang naghihirap,” Lacson said in his speech.

(Empathy can be shown in actions, not just through talk, but through work. That’s how we should commiserate with our fellow man, our fellow Filipino in need.)

As of now, reports of devastation and casualties have started to gain traction, as communication lines are being restored, especially over Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands, Palawan, Negros Island, Cebu, Bohol, and Samar.

Latest numbers from the Philippine National Police  showed that 375 individuals have died amid Odette’s onslaught which started last Thursday, after it made landfall over Siargao Island carrying maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour.

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