MANILA, Philippines – Cagayan de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano lashed at National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) chief Benito Ramos for 'blaming' local governments for the high number of fatalities from tropical storm Sendong.
In a television interview, the city mayor said Ramos has no right to issue the statement as the people in the affected areas have long been residing in the devastated region before the NDRRMC official was appointed to his post.
Ramos said that LGUs should have relocated the residents of Isla de Oro, the worst-hit portion of Cagayan de Oro City as "it is the responsibility of the local government concerned".
"This is not the time to blame. The people in the area have been residing there for more than 50 years, and we are not blaming the national government for this tragedy," Emano pointed out.
Ramos passed the blame to the LGUs as he reiterated that the national government should not be blamed for the devastation of the storm.
"Before issuing any statement, Mr. Ramos should check his facts as the people that he was referring to were already in the area for more than 50 years already," he reiterated.
“This is not the time to blame. [It's] the time to help each other so we and our people could move on.”
More than 500 people have been recovered dead in Cagayan de Oro City. Earlier reports said that the number of people missing in the city remained at hundreds, which was bigger than the official count of the NDRRMC.
Ramos had said that the NDRRMC has "lost count" of the missing.
Iligan City, which is only a two-hour ride from Cagayan de Oro, is also badly-hit by the storm, with nearly 300 people dead and thousands more displaced.