Missing-in-action President defended

President Benigno Aquino III. Inquirer file photo

You may not have seen him on television wading through floods or commiserating with typhoon victims, but don’t be misled into thinking he was hardly doing anything or that his heart was not with them.

The Palace on Sunday said President Benigno Aquino III stayed hands-on during the onslaught of Typhoons “Pedring” and “Quiel” but didn’t want to draw attention.

“What usually happens is that when he shows up in calamity areas, he becomes the focus, and not the victims,” Undersecretary Abigail Valte, the President’s deputy spokesperson, said yesterday over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.

“That’s precisely what the President wants to avoid,” Valte said. “His point is that we should make sure that the national government is giving help.”

Valte made the statement when asked about a reported comment by Senator Loren Legarda  that Mr. Aquino should be more “hands on” and not use the excuse that he was avoiding a perception that he was seeking publicity by visiting typhoon-ravaged villages.

Working behind scene

Contrary to some perceptions, Mr. Aquino was actually in contact with Cabinet officials for updates on Pedring even while he was in Japan, Valte said.

She said Mr. Aquino was also coordinating efforts on disaster prevention and relief operations while Quiel hammered northern Luzon.

While in Japan, the President, in fact, had to refuse some questions from a group of Japanese businessmen so he could get updates on Pedring, Valte said.

Once he was back in Manila, Mr. Aquino buckled down to work and coordinated with officials of departments in charge of disaster prevention and relief, she said.

Taken to task

Valte also said the President was waiting for the “situation to normalize” so he could personally check on the typhoon victims in northern and central areas of Luzon.

Otherwise, if he showed up now, he’d be the “focus of attention” and distract relief efforts, she said.

During a briefing at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, an upset President Aquino took to task government officials for failing to stop 30 Bicol fishermen from sailing in rough seas in the midst of a typhoon.

The fishermen were later reported missing.

Mr. Aquino drilled anew into the consciousness of officials the goal of disaster prevention: Save lives at any cost.

3 million affected

Mr. Aquino said there was sufficient “lead time” to reach out to these fishermen, and vented his disappointment on Local Government Undersecretary Austere Panadero.

The undersecretary said Department of the Interior and Local Government personnel had tried but failed to reach the fishermen.

“There are 85 million cell phones for 95 million Filipinos. I think there are only few communities without cell phones,” Mr. Aquino said.

In his presentation, NDRRMC Executive Director Benito Ramos said some 2.4 million people in 289 towns and at least 536,000 people in 140 towns were affected by Pedring and Quiel, respectively.

Forced evacuation

Mr. Aquino asked Philippine National Police Director General Nicanor Bartolome to study the possibility of enforcing forced evacuation on residents who refused to leave their homes despite rising floodwaters, without violating the law.

“We can force them if after the initial request to be evacuated they refuse. For the second and third time, we can bodily carry them,” Bartolome replied.

Mr. Aquino instructed Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson to speed up the rehabilitation of damaged roads and bridges worth P750.1 million.

Pressed by Mr. Aquino over the breaching of the Manila Bay seawall at the height of Pedring, Singson said there would be a need to redesign the wall.

But Singson stressed this had to be discussed with the Manila city government and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said rice supply was still sufficient, but Mr. Aquino ordered him to buy “salvaged palay” from farmers.