Rome, Italy 20/02/2014
In the news
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| Sister Edita Eslopor, chairperson of the 12,000-strong alliance called People Surge |
President Benigno
Aquino III refused to meet with survivors of super typhoon Yolanda who trooped
to Malacañang Monday to demand P40,000 in cash assistance per family and the
revocation of the no-build zone policy along coastal areas.
Sister Edita Eslopor, chairperson of the 12,000-strong
alliance of Yolanda survivors called People Surge said “We thought the President would meet with us. But a personnel from the records office came out to
receive their petition instead. Maybe he was afraid to face the
survivors of Yolanda. They said in two hours we will know their response. But
we haven’t heard from them yet,” the Benedictine nun said.
“We were like criminals entering the
Palace, with police escorts,” she added.
Eslopor also slammed Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman
for bragging about $6 million in aid from the UN Children’s Fund or UNICEF and
including it in the government’s dole program. “The problem with the DSWD is
that it is claiming credit where it is not due,” she said.
“We thank the UNICEF for the humanitarian
assistance. But the Aquino government should have rendered emergency cash
assistance and other kinds of relief three months ago, not today. That is sheer
criminal negligence. Does Dinky Soliman realize how many of the so-called most
vulnerable – including pregnant women and malnourished children -- have
suffered for the past months, and may have died, because the government balked
at releasing funds for the people while it was at the same time embroiled in
the pork barrel scandal? For the past three months, the DSWD has not been
carrying out any significant social amelioration program but has merely acted
as the facilitator for foreign and local donors.” Said Eslopor.
Dismissed and tagged as red pawns
Meanwhile, rehab czar
Panfilo Lacson on Thursday dismissed protesting survivors of typhoon Yolanda as
pawns of communist agitators out to destabilize the government.
“It is becoming
obvious that their agenda is destabilization and not the welfare of the Yolanda
survivors,” Lacson said in an interview, questioning the motives of People
Surge, which he said is being used by leftist groups to destabilize the
government.
“Based on intelligence reports, the super
typhoon also affected the cadre infrastructure of the New People’s Army in
Eastern Visayas. So they are now using the survivors to rebuild their network,”
said Lacson a former senator and police chief.
Presidential mouthpiece Edwin Lacierda said
the government would not be distracted from its plans to rehabilitate the
calamity-stricken areas.
Lacierda
dismissed the comments by People Surge leaders as political statements and said
the government would not be cowed by them.
“We
will not be deterred by those political statements. Our responsibility is to
bring them back on their feet. There will always be criticisms but our
determination will never diminish, will not wane, because that is our
responsibility,” he told reporters in a press briefing at the Palace. -- http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/02/21/ping-tags-protesting-yolanda-victims-as-communist-pawns-/
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