Written agreement of duties to speed up relief efforts

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has assured the people that government officials have delineated their duties “in writing” to expedite efforts to rehabilitate areas in the Visayas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Aquino gave the assurance amid reports that political intramurals and finger pointing have hindered relief operations to the detriment of typhoon victims.

“There was a written agreement, so it would be very clear who does what. This is to speed up the recovery of Tacloban and other areas in Leyte,” Aquino told reporters at the Ormoc City airport before he flew back to Manila last Tuesday.

Aquino also said that he, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, and Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson met with Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez to clarify the tasks each one should perform.

Aquino and Romualdez do not belong to the same political party. The President heads the Liberal Party while Romualdez is from the United Nationalist Alliance.

When Aquino asked why there were far more casualties in Tacloban compared to other typhoon-hit areas, this was seen as putting the blame on Romualdez who defended himself, saying they were victims themselves and their preparations just did not match Yolanda’s strength.

Officials said Aquino met several times with Romualdez while he was in Tacloban from Sunday to Tuesday and the mayor reportedly apologized.

Aquino said when he met with Romualdez, the mayor did not mention anything about not getting any immediate help.

“We are also trying to understand him because he is also one of the victims and our focus now is to help one another. I keep emphasizing this to everybody regardless of party affiliations,” the President added.

There were also observations that Roxas and Romualdez could not work together and were conducting relief and rescue operations separately during the first few days after Yolanda struck.

But for Aquino, these things should be behind them now because they have to take care of 900,000 families or 4.5 million people affected by the typhoon.

About 245,000 affected families or 1.4 million individuals are from Region 8.

“We have to take care of (them) every day and there are really unique challenges there,” Aquino said.

Having typhoon victims stay in evacuation centers or tents also pose problems such as those related to health. Some vaccines, like those for tetanus, would need cold storage but there is no power yet in hard-hit areas.

“(Transportation of relief items and equipment) will really become faster and faster in the coming days because all the transportation glitches are slowly and continuously being addressed to find ways to speed up the movement of those involved in delivery. It’s really a challenge but many sectors were able to promptly act on them,” Aquino said in Filipino.

The President also said the agriculture sector must be quickly revived and that it is good to see some market places opening up.

Despite the massive devastation especially in Tacloban, water supply has been restored and businesses are beginning to open, signaling the return to normalcy.

“The people are not allowing themselves to be defeated by this tragedy and they are really fighting. So that really builds up my morale as well,” Aquino added.