Mayor Leon Calipusan of the riverside town of Loboc, one of the worst hit localities by Typhoon Odette, said the town has not received relief goods from the provincial government.
According to Calipusan, they have been distributing relief goods procured by the Loboc local government unit (LGU) and various groups in the private sector.
He said they have received assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, telecommunication giants Globe and Smart, former Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, Jr. and various other private groups.
“Daghan na mga pribado na taw na nanghatag og ayuda sa Loboc pero wa pa gyud mi nakadawat gikan sa provincial government” said Calipusan in an interview over station dyRD on Wednesday.
The provincial government has been delivering food and water aid to various towns in the aftermath of the onslaught of Typhoon Odette. Governor Art Yap initially posted a breakdown of recipient towns on Facebook but this was deleted after drawing heavy flak from hundreds of netizens who did not receive assistance.
Calipusan also accused the provincial government of politicizing its relief efforts after a water filtration machine which was supposedly allocated for the Loboc LGU was diverted by the Capitol to the upland barangay of Bahian where the device was not needed as much as in riverside villages.
According to Calipusan, the water filtration machine was donated by Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas(OPAV) Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino.
He said the device was instead deployed in Barangay Bahian where the village chief is the brother of Boboy Baguiao, Yap’s candidate for mayor in Loboc.
“Along ikataho sa tanang taga Loboc labina sa submerged area, sa diha untay makina na gikan sa OPAV na para sa lungsod na mag purify og tubig aron mahimong imnunon ang tubig pero subo kaayo itaho sa tanan na Lobocanon diri sa ubos na ang maong makina imbis ibutang diri sa LGU para maoy mo manage, tua gibutang sa ibabaw sa barangay Bahian na dili man to lugar na naapektuhan sa maong lunop,” said Calipusan.
The mayor added that Dino advised him to just get the machine but the mayor did not do so to avoid conflict.
For her part, Provincial Administrator Kathyrin Pioquinto called Calipusan’s statement a sign of “ingratitude.”
“Imbes na magpasalamat, nandaot pa. So sad… Gov. Art Yap said there is no politics in disaster. We send help to everyone, especially those who need them most,” said Pioquinto.
According to Pioquinto, Loboc was among the first localities to receive aid from the provincial government.
“Sa alleged statement ni Mayor Leon, ug mao jud na iyang gisulti, sya ang namolitika. Ang pinaka unang tabang sa Pgbh was in Loboc. Gov Art did not sleep the whole night Odette ravaged Bohol. He was on board the whole time,” said Pioquinto.
Pioquinto who accused Caliipusan of being “nowhere to be found” in the height of the initial relief operations said the provincial government set up a hot kitchen serving ready-to-eat meals and offered bottled water to displaced families in Barangay Poblacion and other villages in Loboc. (R. Tutas)