Roxas wants rehab programs fast tracked

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Presidential aspirant Manuel Roxas II yesterday stressed the need to implement with speed rehabilitation programs that best suit the requirement of a specific calamity.

Roxas was reacting to a question on whether there is a need to form an agency to hasten the rehabilitation of areas devastated by typhoons and other calamities.

“What is necessary and crucial is a fast and effective execution of a rehabilitation program,” Roxas said during a visit to Ligao City for the “Pasasalamat sa Daang Matuwid.”

Senate President Franklin Drilon has expressed interest in establishing a rehabilitation agency, patterned after the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the US, in charge of relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Roxas denied allegations that the government neglected Tacloban City, the area worst hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda, because its mayor, Alfred Romualdez, belongs to a rival clan of the President’s family.