‘You should resign,’ Mayor Romualdez tells Yolanda rehab czar Lacson

Published November 11, 2014 11:15am

(Updated 1:44 p.m.) Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez on Tuesday called on rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson to step down from his post, saying he was disappointed by the way the former senator criticized him for the slow pace of Yolanda rehabilitation efforts in his city.

In an interview on GMA News TV's News To Go, Romualdez said: "If you cannot fulfill your duties as a coordinating body—I don't know why you're named czar; you're not a czar, you're just a coordinating body... If you cannot fulfil your function... I think you should resign [from your position]."

Romualdez added: "If you have political agenda, which is very clear, we're not gonna get sucked into that. People here in Tacloban have suffered enough."

On Monday, Lacson singled out Tacloban City's rehabilitation and recovery efforts, decribing its performance as "below par."

Lacson, secretary of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR), earlier said Romualdez refused help from the national government.

For his part, Romualdez said Lacson made his remarks "in bad taste," adding that the secretary must "reach out to LGUs" and "not pick fights" with them.

"I am disappointed with what Sec. Lacson did. Number one, it is in bad taste. You don't talk that way in front of international communities that are helping us here. It was done in bad taste and [at the] wrong time," he said.

Romualdez did not turn down help from nat’l government

Romualdez also countered Lacson's claim that Tacloban City received the "biggest amount" extended to an LGU. The rehabilitation czar said the city was given about P6.1 billion to fund projects and programs, with P230.4 million coming from the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Lacson said Romualdez requested the budget for rebuilding Tacloban's city hall, public market, and the city center. "Then, he asked the funds to be realigned," he claimed.

"You're accusing us that we received P6 billion. We did not receive P6 billion," Romualdez said.

The mayor added, "Augmentation po, hindi bale," in response to Lacson's remarks about him asking to advance their internal revenue allotment (IRA), which the czar claimed he turned down.

For his part, Lacson clarified that Romualdez did not turn down help from the national government, but rather the advanced IRA that he had arranged with the DBM.

Lacson said the IRA that he asked DBM to advance in behalf of Romualdez was for expenses of the Tacloban City Hall, including its repair and the salaries of the employees there.

"Nu'ng January, lumapit siya sa akin, kasama niya si Congressman (Martin) Romualdez (his cousin). Ang sabi nila sa akin, wala na siyang panggastos sa city hall ... Ang kaniyang request, baka pwedeng makapag-advance siya ng kaniyang IRA, kahit one quarter man lang," he said, adding that he immediately went to discuss this with Budget Sec. Florencio Abad Jr., who offered an advance of one semester or six months.

"Bumalik ako sa Makati, naabutan ko si Cong. Martin. Ni-loudspeaker niya at sinabi ko ang magandang balita, na pumayag nga si Sec. Abad at ibigay sa akin, ako ang magfa-follow up. Then biglang tumanggi siya. Sabi niya, 'Mahirap na.' Marami siyang sinabi. [Para sa akin,] bakit gano'n? Very urgent 'yung kaniyang request. Ako naman ay sumagot at tumakbo sa DBM, tapos nu'ng nandiyan na, ayaw na niyang tanggapin," Lacson added. — Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/RSJ/KG, GMA News

Tags: alfredromualdez, panfilolacson, yolanda, yolandaanniversary