ANGELES CITY- Please do not send traditional politicians to disaster-hit areas.
This appeal to Pres. Aquino was issued yesterday by the fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) after the President instructed Interior and Local Governments Sec. Mar Roxas to check on the extent of devastation caused by typhoon Pablo in Mindanao.
“It is politically incorrect,” Pamalakaya said in a statement, adding that “it is always bad to see a traditional politician exploiting the sorry situation of the people for political agenda.”
Pamalakaya said people would inevitably see traditional politicking in the move of the President since Roxas is “being prepared by the Liberal Party for the 2016 presidential elections.”
Pamalakaya vice chairperson Salvador France said “there are other government officials in the Aquino government who have no senatorial or presidential ambition who can lead the government in addressing the situation and the urgent needs of calamity stricken areas.”
“Please spare the victims of Pablo for political advertisement of presidential wannabes like Roxas,” he said.
He noted that the President had vowed to use some P8 billion sourced from the sale of Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI) in Taguig City for relief and rehabilitation efforts in the stricken areas.
“We hope the President will not use the occasion as another photo shoot opportunity for his most favored senatorial candidates in the Liberal Party just like what he and his senatorial candidates did at the height of Habagat,” France added.
This, as Pamalakaya appealed to the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to open their churches and parishes to accommodate tens of thousands of flood and disaster victims who need temporary shelter in typhoon-hit areas.
The fisherfolk group requested the opening of churches and other church-based establishments in Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Leyte, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Palawan, Bohol, Siquijor, Iloilo, Guimaras, Antique, Aklan and Capiz.
At the same time, Pamalakaya said the President should release more than just P6 billion from his P 21.7-B calamity funds allocated by Congress this year.
“Pres. Aquino should ready the calamity funds upon the request of people’s associations and local government units in Pablo-devastated areas,” Pamalakaya also said.
