Tuesday, Oct 22, 2013

Manila: A tug of war between national and local governments over the disbursement of aid to earthquake victims in Bohol and Cebuis is being investigated, sources said.

More than 190 people were killed in the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Bohol in central Philippines on October 15 and caused massive destruction in the region.

The alleged hoarding of relief goods by local government leaders meant for the affected people should be investigated, said Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas.

Policemen will be asked to assist in the distribution of relief goods, said Roxas, adding that, “It is not right that relief goods given by the national and provincial governments are hoarded at (municipal and district) offices.”

Meanwhile, Bohol Mayor Leoncio Evasco of Maribojoc said he drove out volunteers of the Philippine Red Cross because of unfair distribution of relief goods in his town.

“What I didn’t like was they just came in and we were not given the opportunity to discuss the mechanism on how to do it (distribution of goods),” said Evasco in a TV interview.

“(Our) people are dying. People were injured. People need food. Those (who were giving relief goods) kept on distributing (to) a (family composed of a) father, mother, and children who were in one line. As a result, a lot of other people were disenfranchised (or had no more share). This resulted in confusion. (So I told those who were giving relief good), ‘If you insist on doing this, better stop and get out of this place,” Evasco said.

“It is my last term in office,” said Evasco, adding he will not benefit anything from allegations that he wanted to take credit for the distribution of relief assistance.

He did not categorically say that local leaders wanted to take credit for distribution of relief goods, but PNR head, former Senator Richard Gordon, said that volunteers followed his office policy not to turn over relief goods to local government officials.

The hungry residents of Maribojoc suffered when the volunteers were prevented from distributing food packets, said Gewndolyn Pang, PNR secretary-general.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman also said that relief goods must be distributed at once and no longer endorsed to mayors.

Defending harassed local government leaders, whose isolated and damaged places could not yet be reached by land, Undersecretary Eduardo del Rosario, head of the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), said, “They are facing manpower problems.”

“We have a stockpile (of relief goods). There are a lot of people and groups who want to help, but our problem is logistics and distribution on the ground,” admitted del Rosario.

But the face of hunger could be seen in many affected towns and villages, where residents complained on radio and TV that relief goods never reached them. Some of them desperately wrote on placards, “Help!” which they raised high whenever they saw helicopters hovering over them.

Meanwhile, former congressman Augusto Syjuco Jr. filed an urgent motion to stop the president’s office from using the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) to extend relief goods and rebuilding of damaged areas in Bohol and Cebu.

“The release of DAP funds is unconstitutional,” said Syjuco.

”The office of the president should stop using the calamity in Bohol and Cebu as an excuse to release the DAP fund,” said Congressman Neri Colmenares of Bayan, a sectoral party at the House of Representatives.

Funds for Behol and Cebu could be taken from the budget department which has only spent about P1.5 billion (Dh125 million) of its P7.5 billion (Dh625 million) calamity fund; or from the P3.4 billion (Dh283.3 million) quick response funds of different agencies; or from the P14 billion (Dh1.1166 billion) school building fund of the public works department, said Colmenares.

The complaints were in response to a statement made by Budget Secretary Florencio Abad about the proposed realignment of DAP.

Earlier, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said that he received additional P 50 million (Dh 4.16 million) for his development fund last October 2012, after former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona was impeached at the Senate last May 2012.

Budget Secretary Abad eventually admitted that the additional funds for the lawmakers came from DAP, which is composed of savings or money not spent by line agencies.

Critics also howled following reports that senators have proposed to augment the calamity fund for Bohol and Cebu with portion of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), which the Supreme Court had ordered frozen, following complaints about alleged misuse of lawmakers development funds.

The quake left 190 people dead, damaged more than 50,000 homes, and forced 111,000 people to stay at evacuation camps. Damages were estimated at P750 million (Dh 62.5 million).

By Barbara Mae Dacanay Bureau Chief

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