Ping resignation: No action yet

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang confirmed yesterday that Panfilo Lacson has tendered his resignation as head of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR).

But Malacañang clarified that the resignation was included in the transition proposal that the OPARR submitted to President Aquino last week.

“My understanding is that President Aquino accepted the proposal and the resignation is included in the whole transition proposal,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told reporters in Filipino.

“So my interpretation is that the whole transition proposal will be studied. There is no specific action on the resignation yet. I don’t have any feedback on what is the response to specific items in the proposal,” he added.

Lacson earlier explained he wanted out as rehabilitation czar because he already did his job and it is now time to transfer OPARR’s task to permanent government agencies, such as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), that will implement the rehabilitation phase of the government’s build-back-better programs for areas devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Lacson also said the scope of the NDRRMC should be expanded for it to be able to fulfill its mandate and rehabilitate areas that have been devastated by calamities.

“But that is only Secretary Lacson’s proposal. Perhaps what will happen is the conduct of review and vetting process in the Cabinet level because many government departments are involved,” Coloma said.

Among the concerned agencies that Coloma mentioned are the Departments of Social Welfare and Development, National Defense, the Interior and Local Government, and the National Economic and Development Authority.

These government agencies also have the capacity to continue OPARR’s job under the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, signed into law in May 2010.

Sens. Joseph Victor Ejercito and Vicente Sotto III yesterday expressed belief that Lacson’s decision to resign from OPARR was right, apparently because of OPARR’s lack of enough power and funds to speed up efforts to reconstruct areas affected by Yolanda.

“The decision of former senator Lacson to pass the work of OPARR to the NDRRMC is right. It’s hard because OPARR has no fund and mandate of the law,” Ejercito said in Filipino.

Ejercito also batted for a national disaster summit among local and national officials to allow concerned agencies to map out better strategies in addressing calamities.

He noted that politics had taken a toll on the rehab efforts in Tacloban City after the much-publicized spat between Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

Sotto, on the other hand, expressed belief that Lacson did his job well and it is time for Lacson to give attention to more worthy endeavors.

“Former senator Lacson is a straightforward person. If he says he is done, he is done. I’m sure his proposal will be good for the undertaking,” Sotto said in a text message. – With Christina Mendez