P200 billion reasons

Instead of sympathy and understanding, the ranting in media by Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez has turned off many people, especially when he demanded the resignation of former senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Recovery and Rehabilitation (OPARR). The mayor made this demand at the height of his outburst in retaliation to Lacson’s public criticisms on his being allegedly being “uncooperative” and infusing politics in national efforts to rebuild from the ruins left by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Internationally called “Haiyan,” the entire nation observed the first anniversary of this deadly super typhoon last week. A review of the status of reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts one year after Yolanda was the center of public discussions and national attention. Logically, Lacson was the principal speaker on these discussions as the OPARR chief in charge of coordinating efforts of various government agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs), volunteers and donors, both local and international.  

President Benigno “Noy” Aquino III appointed Lacson to head the OPARR that would put together and craft the national government’s program for areas devastated by Yolanda that struck hardest Tacloban City last Nov. 8.

Despite being given coordinating functions without real powers behind it, Lacson headed the OPARR — a Cabinet-ranked post — that has oversight functions on all government agencies and instrumentalities involved in the reconstruction of Yolanda-hit areas.    

President Aquino appointed Lacson as OPARR chief last Dec. 6. Four days later, the President swore him into office and Lacson immediately jumped into action. Lacson’s enthusiasm to do the job right initially caused him frustration over the mediocrity, if not corrupt ways of the heartless in government service making illegal money-making activities out of post-disaster infrastructure projects.

With his long experience as former Philippine National Police (PNP) director general, Lacson utilized old networks and law enforcement assets to investigate complaints against these unscrupulous individuals, in and out of government. He also tapped various professionals and experts who opined the temporary bunkhouses for Yolanda survivors were not of international standards for a family of five.

Lacson locked horns with the most fair-haired boy among the Aquino Cabinet officials — Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson — to settle this issue. All’s well, that ends well, so to speak.  

Halfway before the first year anniversary of the Yolanda tragedy, Lacson reported the accomplishments so far of the OPARR. He admitted through media statements that the OPARR could have done much more, but was being slowed down by two or three Cabinet officials.

Certain Cabinet officials like Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas II publicly said he did not feel alluded to by Lacson. Roxas swore he and Lacson have good working relations when they were still both senators and now as fellow Cabinet members.

Roxas insists he and President Aquino have not mixed their politics during and now on the post-disaster efforts in Yolanda areas. The Liberal Party (LP) president-on-leave, Roxas is the presumptive presidential candidate of LP in the May 2016 elections.

Though he refused to identify these three stooges in the Cabinet, Lacson said he won’t be stampeded by anyone in his job to lead the synchronization of all available resources in “building better” plans for the future of Yolanda survivors and their families.

With all these officials he crossed swords with, nothing can stop Lacson to do right whoever gets hurt. Romualdez made the mistake to demand that Lacson resign from his Cabinet post last Tuesday as knee jerk reaction to the frank and candid public disclosure of the OPARR chief on what happened to the city of Tacloban one year after Yolanda.

Obviously still reeling from the criticisms that he was getting for his failure to fast track the rehabilitation of his city, Romualdez made the calculated move of putting the blame on Lacson and upon the Aquino administration.

That was a wrong move on the part of Romualdez. In a battle for credibility and trust between him and Lacson, the former senator who is a known stickler for a disciplined, good and straightforward leadership would surely win hands down.

Romualdez accused Lacson of playing politics. But it is clear as the skies who is playing it.

The real issue here, however, is the speedy rehabilitation of areas devastated by Yolanda, and that is not just Tacloban City but almost the entire region of Visayas.

And the man who was tasked to do that job is Lacson, and not Romualdez.

That it would not be enough for him to just work for the rehabilitation of the devastated areas, Lacson knows well enough that reconstruction — without giving the people a decent way to earn their livelihood and support their families — is useless and meaningless.

What Romualdez does not know is that Lacson plods on as OPARR chief not just to reconstruct the damaged houses and infrastructure in the affected areas, but also to rebuild the shattered dreams and lives of the people.

This, Lacson does by effectively working and closely coordinating with various local and international agencies like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and others.

The rehabilitation fund for Yolanda-hit areas reached almost P200 billion, Malacañang disclosed this week. Of the amount coming from loans, grants and international donations, just over half, or P106 billion, had been distributed, according to the Palace. Of the total, 85 percent was coursed through government agencies, and the remainder through NGOs.

Lacson says one of his greatest fears is that the P200 billion earmarked for the rehabilitation could fall, or end up in the wrong hands. The former police general who shunned jueteng  payola would not allow anyone to dip their sticky hands on public funds that will help Yolanda-struck areas achieve more disaster-resilient future soonest.

That’s why perhaps Romualdez has P200 billion reasons to get mad at Lacson.