Tacloban Mayor Asked to Resign and Claims No Rescue Efforts Were Made after Super Typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan
In an absolutely shocking trail of events, the Mayor of Tacloban City (one of the hardest hit areas from Super Typhoon Yolanda / Haiyan) says that there was “never a rescue up to today” and states that Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas ordered him to write a letter stating he could no longer perform his functions as a mayor after super typhoon Yolanda destroyed his city. This according to a report from the Manila Bulletin.
Here’s the full report from the Manila Bulletin:
Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez revealed that Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas ordered him to write a letter stating that he could no longer perform his functions as a mayor after super typhoon “Yolanda” destroyed his city.
In a televised Senate disaster hearing, Romualdez said his lawyer advised him not to write the letter that would seem like he was resigning.
When the national government took over the local government and decided what should be prioritized, Romualdez said, there was very minimal consultation with him. The mayor, a relative of former First Lady and now congresswoman Imelda Marcos and cousin to Sen. Bongbong Marcos, broke down in tears as he narrated the ordeal he and his people went through when the calamity struck.
Romualdez recalled that when Yolanda hit their area, there was no more land and everything was water. He said bodies were all over and there were practically no more roads.
He said they were not given the assistance they badly needed in Tacloban, even if he was already begging to the national government. He added that there was “never a rescue up to today.”
Romualdez said he was very frustrated because the reinforcement was not enough.
“What was so frustrating was there was no reinforcement. The focus was on relief goods. If you can muster enough security for President Aquino, why didn’t the national government spare some men to secure Tacloban?,” Romualdez asked.
He said there were soldiers on the ground but they couldn’t move without the Philippine National Police (PNP) under Roxas.
Romualdez then recommended that there must be a law that would define when and how the national government should come in during situations like what happened in Tacloban.
From the Manila Bulletin story titled: “Tacloban mayor reveals being asked to resign” by Mary Rose A. Hogaza here – https://www.mb.com.ph/tacloban-mayor-reveals-being-asked-to-resign/
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas ordered Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez to resign
There has been suspicions and conspiracy theories about political problems and politics being involved with the rescue efforts after the super typhoon that hit the Philippines recently. I myself have to admit that I thought they were all just hogwash theories and that none of them were really to be taken seriously. Especially since there were millions of fellow Filipinos out there who needed our help.
In fact, there were speculations about the political parties and about President Noynoy Aquino blaming the local government a bit too much. You can read about that here – https://www.wheninmanila.com/kris-aquino-campaigning-in-tacloban-and-philippine-president-blaming-local-tacloban-government-for-relief-efforts-failure/
But now, after hearing testimony from the Tacloban Mayor saying that he was seemingly asked to step down from his position, and after hearing him say that there were no rescues made in Tacloban, it really gets you thinking and wondering if there is indeed any hidden political agendas, while other Filipinos were dying and suffering.
What do you think of these statements from the Tacloban Mayor? Is he lying with his own political agendas? Or is the national government really behind a sinister political plan?
