Talisay City Hall exec in hot water for burial aid photo

The executive secretary of Talisay City Mayor Johnny V. De los Reyes may face legal action after he was accused by a family of using a photo of their mother’s wake to promote the city’s burial assistance program.

Will Velarde, a resident of sitio Purok Sequa, barangay Poblacion in Talisay City, said they were surprised when they saw a photo of his mother’s wake in Talisay City’s Hall official publication.

The story beside the photo stated that Talisay City Hall offers burial assistance to indigents.

Velarde said his family only received P200 from Mayor delos Reyes when he visited the wake.

The photo was supposedly taken by the mayor’s staff and used by the mayor’s executive secretary Solomon Paypa for the Talisay City Hall publication.

Aside from the P200, Velarde said the family didn’t receive a single centavo of burial assistance.

He said the mayor and his group visited their place to set up a new water pump.

Velarde said it was a coincidence that delos Reyes visited the wake and his staff took photos.

He said his niece went to the mayor’s office to see Paypa but was told by delos Reyes that Paypa attended a seminar.

Clarification

Velarde said he and his family only wanted a clarification on the erroneous use of the photo in the story.

“(I and my family are 100 percent sure that the picture used showed my mother’s wake in our house),” Velarde said.

He said he will meet his friend and a lawyer to discuss this before meeting with the mayor.

Velarde said he and his family were hurt because their mother was used to promote the mayor’s burial assistance program when they have not receive any assistance at all.

He said his sister, who works as a nurse in another country, saw the photo on Facebook and asked him where the money she sent to pay for burial costs went.

“The publication of that photo hurt my family because our deceased mother was used,” Velarde said.

Cebu Daily News visited Paypa’s office but was told that he was in a meeting.

Mayor delos Reyes said the photo was taken in barangay Lagtang, Talisay City.

He said he was invited by the Bacus family during a program in which he was one of the speakers.