Medellin mayor asks ombudsman to probe food aid issue

CEBU, Philippines - Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez has sought for the assistance of the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas to compel the Provincial Government in clarifying the issue on the distribution of relief goods after the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda.

Ramirez wants the Capitol to enlighten them as to who was given the food packs, reportedly noted by the government as distributed to the Medellin, but was not received by the town.

The Capitol earlier reported that it gave more than 27,000 food packs to Medellin. However, Ramirez claimed that only over 12,000 food packs were actually received, as shown in the Requisition and Issue Slip (RIS).

Ramirez on November 25, 2013 wrote a letter addressed to Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office acting head, Evelyn Senajon, asking for clarification on the report.

"Despite more than one month of waiting, the undersigned never received any reply from Ms. Senajon," said Ramirez in his January 6, 2014 letter to Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas, Pelagio Apostol.

Ramirez said that by not responding to his letter, the Capitol is hiding something.

"If the Ombudsman doesn't act on this and or drags its feet on this request then I can say that nothing is changed and daan matuwid is just a cheap play on words for a slogan to fool people," Ramirez said.

Ramirez earlier expressed how displeased he was on the way the provincial government handled the distribution of aid and for coursing their request for aid through Bogo City, whose mayor is an ally of Governor Hilario Davide III in the Liberal Party.

Ramirez is a member of the One Cebu party, a local party ally of the United Nationalist Alliance.

He also accused Davide of tolerating his provincial chief security officer Loy Anthony Madrigal's "mishandling" of aid distribution in Medellin.

Davide denied the allegations and assured that the relief operations was implemented in a transparent and judicious manner and devoid of political color.  (FREEMAN)