Reluya says: My senses are intact

CEBU, Philippines —  San Fernando Mayor Lakambini Reluya said that her senses are still intact, two months after surviving an ambush that killed her husband and two other municipal employees.

“I am broken deep inside, but my senses are still intact,” said Reluya in an exclusive conversation with Cebu Vote.

Reluya, who is seeking reelection, said that a person who has a mental problem will isolate herself and does not want to be seen in public.

This was the answer of the mayor on a question posted by a Facebook user about her mental health condition.

Reluya said that despite the threat to her life, she continues to campaign in the town’s 21 barangays and still went to her office almost daily.

Reluya, who will soon undergo a surgery to remove a bullet still embedded on her left arm due to the ambush, is hopeful that she is going to win this coming May 13 elections with the help of her supporters who never left her and continue to push her not to give up the mayoralty race.

“They did not give up on me, so walay rason nga mo-give up ko sa akong kandidatura isip pagka mayor. Public service is my passion. This is my calling. We will continue the dream of my late husband to provide a better life of our constituents,” said Reluya, whose 26-year-old eldest child Richie Regine, replaced his father as the town’s vice mayoralty candidate.

Meanwhile, Mayor Reluya is calling the Department of Social Welfare and Development-7 to purge the list of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries in her town.

“Kay naay mga poorest among the poor dili member sa 4Ps pero naa pud uban dili angayan ma member sa 4Ps kay na member. I hope DSWD will resolve this,” said Reluya adding the listing of the 4Ps beneficiaries did not happen during her incumbency.

The FREEMAN tried but failed to contact DSWD-7 for comments.

Earlier on, Senator Sonny Angara said that 4Ps, the government’s conditional cash transfer program ought to be institutionalized to give millions of poor Filipinos a better chance of escaping poverty.

Angara said that the 12-year-old human development program is designed to keep children in school and keep them healthy, had been proven to be an effective tool for poverty alleviation.

First implemented in 2007, 4Ps invests in the health and education of poor households, particularly children aged 0 to 18 years old.

Patterned after the CCT scheme enforced in other developing countries, 4Ps provides cash grants to beneficiaries provided that they comply with the set of conditions required by the program.

Angara is one of the authors of a bill seeking to institutionalize 4Ps, which is now one step closer to becoming a law after the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the measure.

Angara added it is important to institutionalize the 4Ps through legislation to ensure its continuity and unhampered implementation by any administration. — GAN (FREEMAN)