STARLETS AS NATION MOURNS HUNDREDS
MANILA, DECEMBER
21,
2011 (TRIBUNE) By Virgilio Bugaoisan - Noy slammed for
partying amid Sendong's destruction.
Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but that is not what Malacañang's
denial is all about.
The presidential spokesmen are denying that President Aquino partied with
starlets while the country was mourning hundreds who were killed by Typhoon
Sendong.
They claimed that Aquino merely showed up for a few minutes, with one
spokesman saying Aquino stayed for just 30 minutes, while another spokesman
claimed that the president stayed some two hours at the party for the
Presidential Security Group.
A few days earlier, Aquino was also partying even as US' National Aeronautics
and Space Administratiopn (NASA) was already predicting the Ondoy-like rains
hitting northern Mindanao.
The Palace, as well as the weather bureau was unprepared for the disaster,
and Aquino showed up only three days after northern Mindanao was ravaged by
Sendong.
Aquino has been getting a lot of flack for his partying in the face of death
and disaster from the social media, as well as other groups.
National youth group Anakbayan on Monday expressed its "utter disgust" at
what it called "insensitivity" by the president toward the victims of the
Northern Mindanao floods, as well as the administration's "direct hand" in the
lethal deluge.
In several posts by actress Valerie Concepcion in the mini-blogging site
Twitter, she accidentally revealed that Aquino was partying with members of his
Presidential Security Group (PSG) on the same day the flood death toll hit 652.
"At first, we were puzzled why Aquino will only visit the flood-affected
areas post-Christmas. But with Concepcion's revelation, we can guess that
Noynoy's calendar is jampacked with Christmas parties and he does not want to
miss a single one" said Vencer Crisostomo, national chairman of Anakbayan.
The president's "antics" with Concepcion, however, is "just the icing on the
cake" for youth activists outraged with Noynoy's policies that contributed to
the tragedy.
The Kabataan party list also yesterday denounced Aquino, saying that
"President Aquino, being the head of the state, should have made it his priority
to be hands-on in alleviating the situation in Mindanao instead of attending a
Christmas party in Malacañang. It smacks of utter insensitivity on the part of
the President to merrymake while hundreds have been killed and thousands
struggle to survive in the wake of typhoon Sendong," said Athena Gardon, deputy
secretary general of Kabataan Party-list.
Gardon added the President Aquino should also be made answerable for vetoing
the disaster preparation in the P5 billion calamity fund for 2011 which she said
weakened government capacity to prevent natural disasters from causing enormous
devastation.
Malacañang justified Aquino's decision to have a party in the Palace instead
of coordinating rescue efforts during the onslaught of Typhoon Sendong in Iligan
and Cagayan de Oro City that killed hundreds, said to hit 900 as of yesterday,
by claiming that the president only stayed for a few minutes during the
Christmas Ball of the Presidential Security Group and was fully aware of the
tragedy that was unfolding at that time in Northern Mindanao.
At the same time, Lacierda said the Palace will be addressing reports that
illegal logging caused the massive flash flood that devastated Northern Mindanao
and has instructed Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
officer-in-charge Mujiv Hataman to immediately investigate the matter.
"These concerns on illegal logging will be addressed by the OIC of the ARMM,"
said Lacierda said at a press briefing.
Justifying Aquino's presence during the PSG Christmas Party, Lacierda said
the president did not want to deprive the PSG "this singular family activity."
"The PSG by nature of its job is on alert 365 days of the year. Christmas Day
is not an exception. Separation from their loved ones is part and parcel of the
job and holidays are not exceptions. The Christmas celebration is meant most
especially for the younger members of their families who refer to this one day
where the importance of the family is emphasized. It would be most unfair to
deprive them of this singular familial activity," Lacierda said.
"Just to let you know, the President stayed only for a few minutes and,
according to Col. Chito Dizon whom I spoke (with) this morning, it has already
been paid for so… And the President also mentioned to Colonel Dizon that he
wouldn't be staying long in deference to the Mindanao flood and he did not sing.
He just sat and watched for a few minutes the party, and then he left
immediately," he added.
According to Lacierda, Aquino just dropped by the PSG Christmas Party and
immediately informed Dizon "that he was just dropping by to say hello to the
family members."
"This is one opportunity where the members of the troops of the PSG, the
family members could get to see the President and this is in appreciation of the
service that the PSG is providing the President on a daily basis, " said
Lacierda.
Lacierda said that Aquino is set to visit Iligan, Cagayan de Oro and
Dumaguete City today to personally oversee the ongoing relief and recovery
efforts in the areas ravaged by Sendong.
"He wanted to visit as early as yesterday but the weather conditions and upon
the advice of the PSG and the DND, they recommended that the visit be made
tomorrow and so that's the decision made. However, just to let you know, the
President was in touch with the various secretaries. He was in touch with
Secretary (Jesse) Robredo and Secretary Dinky Soliman, giving instructions and
requiring updates on a regular basis. He was also in touch with (defense)
Secretary Voltz Gazmin who, together with the (NDRRMC) executive director Benito
Ramos, went to Iligan and Cagayan yesterday. So the President was very much
aware of what was going on and he made sure that all relief efforts and all
necessary efforts insofar as search and rescue are given to the people
affected," he said.
Lacierda said Aquino also intends to get into the bottom of the flash floods
that devastated Iligan and Cagayan de Oro City and tasked to Hataman to look
into reports that it was caused by illegal logging in the ARMM.
Secretary Hermino Coloma also admitted that Aquino partied, but defended his
partying, saying: "Yes, it's true the President was there, but let us place it
in the proper context. It was a celebration by the PSG, by soldiers whose role
is to protect the life of the President 365 days a year...It was to give them a
bit of morale and welfare," Coloma pointed out, in Filipino, adding that Aquino
stayed for some two hours, while Lacierda said 30 minutes.
Coloma appealed to the public, particularly the outraged online social
networks, to give the President a break. "It was maybe just two hours or an hour
of his time. He only listened to two or three songs performed by Valerie
(Concepcion). Give the president a break," he said, adding that the party was
scheduled long before the typhoon came.
"They didn't know there would be a disaster on the same weekend," he said.
The online furor started with actress Valerie Concepcion tweeting on Sunday
night: "Done w/ work...Tnx for having me..:) It was nice to see Pres. P-Noy
laughing at my jokes & enjoying my performance...#Malacañang #PSGNight,"
thereby confirming Mr Aquino's whereabouts at the time in the midst of rescue
and relief operations for "Sendong" victims. With Part C.
Santos, Jason Faustino and AFP
FROM ANAKBAYAN ONLINE http://www.anakbayan.org/links/
Anakbayan disgusted with presidential 'show of
insensitivity', culpability for Mindanao flood tragedy by Anakbayan
on Dec 19, 2011 • 1:43 am •
The national youth group Anakbayan today expressed its 'utter disgust' at
what it called 'insensitivity' by President Benigno Aquino III towards the
victims of the Northern Mindanao floods, as well as the administration's 'direct
hand' in the lethal deluge.
In several posts by actress Valerie Concepcion in the mini-blogging site
Twitter, she accidentally revealed that Aquino was partying with members of his
Presidential Security Group (PSG) in the same day the flood death toll hit 652.
(Screencap picture attached below)
"At first, we were puzzled why Aquino will only visit the flood-affected
areas post-Christmas. But with Concepcion's revelation, we can guess that
Noynoy's calendar is jampacked with Christmas parties and he does not want to
miss a single one" said Vencer Crisostomo, national chairperson of Anakbayan.
The president's 'antics' with Concepcion, however, is 'just the icing on the
cake' for youth activists outraged with Noynoy's policies that contributed to
the tragedy.
Anakbayan slammed the prevalence of large-scale mining in the country, pushed
in part by the current administration, which has led to the denudation of many
mountains, especially in Northern Mindanao.
The group's chairperson pointed out that massive denudation of mountains
lessens the capacity of mountainside soil to absorb water, meaning it takes less
rainfall to cause floods. Such a condition aggravates the record rainfall caused
by recent storms in our country, which in turn are caused by climate change.
Despite this, Aquino continues to push for large-scale mining. In fact, one
of the largest NPA (New People's Army) attacks against mines this year took
place in the same region last October 3, in the province of Surigao del Norte.
However, the president defended the massive destruction caused by the Taganito
Mining Corporation, and instead ordered the formation of 'mining private
armies'.
Further aggravating the situation is the fact that Noynoy vetoed, or removed,
spending for disaster preparedness projects and initiatives in the 2011 national
budget. Instead, the president ordered funding for post-disaster response
activities, something which Crisostomo called 'blatantly stupid.
"Anyone with half a brain would rather spend on preventing floods, instead of
spending for post-flood expenditures, say like victims' coffins" said the youth
leader.
"It's natural to experience heavy rains in a tropical country like ours,
especially with climate change. Disaster preparedness and risk reduction is the
'safety net' which can lessen the rains' impact on the people. But the
combination of Aquino's pro-mining policy and the removal of disaster risk
reduction funds is the equivalent of pushing the Filipino people off the ledge
and then removing the safety net" said Crisostomo.
FROM ABS-CBN NEWS
Palace defends PNoy for attending PSG party by
Willard Cheng, Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News Posted at 12/19/2011 2:05 PM | Updated as
of 12/19/2011 2:05 PM
PNoy cancels party for Cabinet secretaries
MANILA - Malacañang defended President Aquino for attending the Christmas
party of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) Sunday night at a time when parts
of Mindanao are still reeling from devastating floods brought by typhoon
Sendong.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the President "just dropped by"
to show his appreciation to the services of the PSG members and their families.
Lacierda said the President "stayed only for a few minutes" and that "he did not
sing."
"The President stayed only for a few minutes...in deference to the Mindanao
flood. He did not sing. He just sat and watched for a few minutes the party and
he left immediately," Lacierda told reporters.
"The President was very well aware. Nung pagpunta pa lang po ni Pangulong
Aquino, when he dropped by in that particular Christmas party of the PSG, he
immediately informed the head of the PSG, Colonel Chito Dizon, that he was just
dropping by to say hello to the family members. As you know, marami po sa mga
PSG members, 'yung kanilang pamilya ay galing pa po ng probinsya at gusto pong
magpasalamat ni Pangulong Aquino," he added.
Lacierda said that the President has also decided on Sunday to cancel the
Christmas party for the Cabinet secretaries that would supposedly be held
Monday.
Lacierda said that the President has also been in touch with concerned
officials and "made sure" that relief and search and rescue efforts are in
place.
Meantime, the President has asked the concerned agencies to submit a
"comprehensive report" of what has been done in the run up to and in the
aftermath of the typhoon. But Lacierda would not say if this is meant to hold
negligent officials accountable, if any.
"The President has asked all the agencies concerned to submit their updates,
what they have done regarding the incident. We would be receiving that before
anything else," Lacierda said.
Coloma: PSG party just a 'brief respite' for PNoy
Meantime, one off President Aquino spokespersons believe there was nothing
wrong with him attending a Christmas party of his security personnel even as the
country is mourning the death of hundreds after a devastating storm.
Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations
Office confirmed during a news forum on Monday that the President was at a party
of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) on Sunday night.
But he said the negative reactions, particularly on social media, might not
have taken into account the context of the event.
"Ito po ay party ng mga sundalo ng PSG. Ang nagdiriwang po ay mga sundalo,"
he said. "Baka naman puwedeng pagbigyan ng Pangulo ang mga nagtatanggol sa kanya
with his presence."
Coloma added Aquino stayed at the party for only 2 hours to show his support
for soldiers tasked to protect his life.
Earlier, Communications Undersecretary Manolo Quezon said Aquino "dropped by"
the party for only 30 minutes.
The party, Coloma said, had been scheduled long before the typhoon hit.
"Just for a brief respite, siguro naman po hindi ito kalabisan," Coloma said.
The secretary maintained that the President has been hands-on in dealing with
the disaster since Saturday afternoon, when he ordered the National Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management Council to mobilize government resources to help
the storm victims.
Aquino has also been expressing condolences and sympathy through social media
for those whose loved ones died in the tragedy, Coloma added.
"Actions speak louder than words," he said.
Coloma said Aquino is scheduled to visit storm-hit areas on Tuesday.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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rights reserved
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