On the accusations of VP Binay’s Spokesperson that the Secretary was campaigning instead of “leading from the frontlines for the relief and recovery” of those affected by Typhoon Lando

This is in response to the statements made by the Vice President’s Spokesperson accusing me of being remiss of my responsibilities by attending a Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-organized event in Region XII instead of “leading from the frontlines for the relief and recovery” of those affected by Typhoon Lando.

Una’t higit, sa tingin ko ay mahalagang maipresenta ang buong larawan, at hindi pagtuonan ng pansin ang isang araw na bahagi lamang ng mahabang proseso ng paghahanda at pagresponde nu’ng tumama si “Lando”.

I would like to share that as early as October 14, the disaster response team of DSWD has been at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Operations Center (NDRRMC) when the council was still on blue alert.

Since then, the teams from our Central Office and the Field Offices along the path of “Lando” have been working round-the-clock to prepare for the relief operations and ensure that the local government units (LGUs) in the typhoon path have stockpiles of relief items.

DSWD, by then, has already prepositioned around 120,383 family food packs and P117,884,769.03-worth of food and non-food items readily available at Field Offices CAR, I,II and III for resource augmentation to LGUs.

On October 16, as the Vice-chairperson for Disaster Response of the NDRRMC, I was in the briefing the Council provided for the President and continued to work with colleagues in planning and implementing the disaster response plan.

The day after, I flew to Koronadal City to participate in an event celebrating the struggles and successes of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries in their journey towards rising above poverty. The event, which has been planned long ago, is organized by the DSWD Field Office as its participation in the United Nations’ commemoration of the International Day of Eradicating Extreme Poverty.

Sec. Mar Roxas and Rep. Leni Robredo were invited by the Field Office as resource persons.

Sec. Roxas talked about sustainable livelihood, which provided valuable insights in helping the beneficiaries attain self-sufficiency. He shared his experiences from bring the Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which exposed him to micro-enterprise development that is a strategy we have been employing to help the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries move towards self-sufficiency.

Cong. Robredo, on the other hand, discussed food security, this being one of her advocacies, and the legislation she is working on to help the poor.

A number of LGU officials where the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries come from were also present during the event. As local leaders, their presence assured the beneficiaries that support does not only come from the national government, but also from its local counterpart.

On the same day, I flew back to Manila after the event and went straight to the Operations Center to attend the NDRRMC meeting. On October 19, together with the President, we distributed relief goods and visited affected communities in Region III.

Given these, I believe that not only the management but the whole Department has successfully led the relief and recovery efforts,and even the preparation and planning phases.

Nakalulungkot na ginagamit ang mga kalimidad gaya nito bilang oportunidad na patamaan ang gobyerno upang maiusad lamang ang kanilang interes.

Kinukwestiyon nila ang ating pamumuno ngayong “Lando” gayong kahit ang United Nations ay kinilala ang mga paghahandang ginawa ng pamahalaan.

Moreover, they claim to commend the Department’s personnel but ironically, they failed to take into consideration the preparations made by these same people prior to the typhoon since they just highlighted one day in the whole process of disaster preparation and response.

Sa gitna ng mga ito, patuloy ang ating dedikasyon sa pagseserbisyo at pagtulong sa mga naapektuhan ng mga nabagyo. Nawa ay ito rin ang pagtuonan ng ibang grupo.