Only sacks, not trucks, of rotten aid buried in Leyte – Soliman

Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman denied a report that “truckloads” of rotten relief goods for victims of super typhoon “Yolanda” were buried in Palo, Leyte.

In an interview over Inquirer Radio 990AM on Friday, Soliman said only sacks of aid were buried.

“It’s true that they buried relief goods (but these are) only one sack of used clothing, one sack of biscuits, one sack of cup noodles, and half a sack of rice,” she said in Filipino.

According to a newspaper report, truckloads” of relief goods that had gone bad were buried, drawing the ire of the alliance People Surge which hit government for inefficient aid distribution.

Soliman said the agency would conduct an inquiry on why the goods were not immediately distributed.

The sacks of relief goods apparently had gone bad after it had been drenched in the rain as it was being transported to barangay San Jose in Palo, Soliman said.

She added that there was no warehouse in the barangay to house the relief goods. The goods were only placed in the municipal hall, Soliman said.

After it was discovered that the goods were unfit for human consumption, these were buried in an open dump in Barangay (village) San Jose on February 5 and March 6, Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer Nina Balderas said in the report.

Reconstruction efforts are underway since Yolanda hit Central Philippines on November 8, 2013. The world’s strongest typhoon on record has claimed over 8,000 lives.

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