Baler mayor hit over claims of not receiving relief goods

MANILA, Philippines - Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda yesterday criticized Baler Mayor Nelianto Bihasa for saying the town was not able to receive relief goods from administration standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II because the mayor was not a member of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) but of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban.

Lacierda said Bihasa should clarify his statement because according to the campaign team of Roxas and LP vice presidential candidate Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, photographs show that victims of Typhoon Lando in Baler received relief goods from the two.

“First of all, who is more important here? To give the relief goods to the mayor or to the people?” Lacierda said.

“And also PDP-Laban is not an opponent… It is part of the (administration) coalition… Why would they put political color on one thing that should not have any political color?” he added.

Lacierda explained that the relief goods being given by Roxas and Robredo were mere augmentation because the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had prepositioned goods in strategic areas.

Lacierda also said Roxas suspended his campaign and converted Balay, his group’s headquarters in Quezon City, into an area for packing relief goods.

“All of them, if you would notice, were not wearing yellow and were not talking or campaigning there. They directly handed out the relief goods, talked to the people and then left,” he added.

Roxas and Robredo also visited Pangasinan province yesterday to distribute relief goods to typhoon victims. The tandem visited the typhoon-hit towns of Infanta and Mangatarem after local officials requested for assistance in behalf of their constituents.

Pangasinan is the third most vote-rich province in the country after Cebu and Cavite. There are about 1.6 million registered voters in the province, which is located in the Ilocos region.

Roxas maintained that the distribution of relief goods is not for politics but to help typhoon victims, and his group does not use government resources for the distribution of relief goods. They used the donations given to the Mar-Leni team.

Roxas said he is not worried about what his rivals will say about the relief effort.

“The other side is always going to say whatever it is they are going to say, none of which will be complimentary. So why would I think about what they will say? It is clear to me that we are providing help,” he said.

P-Noy to visit more affected areas

President Aquino would also visit more areas affected by the storm, but Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. did not disclose the places that Aquino would check up on.

Baler and Casiguran towns in Aurora are in the list because these areas were heavily affected by the typhoon, but the Palace did not release details yet.

The President earlier visited Nueva Ecija High School in Cabanatuan City and led the distribution of relief goods there. He was supposed to go to Santa Rosa, Nueva Ecija where floodwaters submerged houses but the situation did not allow it. – With Alexis Romero, Helen Flores, Cesar Ramirez, Rainier Allan Ronda