Rehabilitation czar Ping Lacson hints resignation

Sec.Panfilo Lacson, Rehabilitation Czar (right) with Roberto Aboitiz, president of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) formally turns over 209 classrooms and 10 daycare centers to Madridijos Elementary school principal Melville Dela Peña (center) and Choe Garrucha (2nd from right) principal of Madridijos National High School. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson yesterday admitted that his frustration over the delay in government reconstruction efforts of Yolanda-stricken areas in the Visayas is driving him close to calling it quits.

“There’s not a single day where I don’t think about resigning. Why? God knows I want to do better and accomplish more. And I’m certain I could have done better and accomplished more but for the restrictions of my mandate and the limitations of my office,” Lacson said in his speech yesterday in Bantayan Island, northern Cebu where 229 classrooms were turned over by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. to beneficiary-schools.

“I tell you this frustration keeps building up every time I wake up every morning to report for work. Thank God, there’s the private sector, top corporations in the country and some foreign companies, prominent international and local non-government organizations and civil society organizations,” he said giving credit to private sector-driven efforts to help the calamity areas recover nearly a year since supertyphoon struck in Nov. 8, 2013.

Cebu Daily News sources said the President reportedly got irked with Lacson when he insisted that the master plan be signed before the Nov. 8 Yolanda anniversary.

The President reportedly called for a break during the Cabinet meeting and when the officials reconvened, the topic was no longer discussed.

Lacson was in Cebu yesterday on the invitation of the Aboitiz Foundation which oversaw the P218.95 million project funded with the help of 13 local and international partners.

Describing himself as “the only czar of its kind without powers,” the former senator and national police chief ranted about the “road blocks” caused by the government procurement law and limited funds.

Lacson was handpicked by the President in December last year to join the Cabinet and become his presidential assistant on recovery and rehabilitation.

However, the authority to implement the reconstruction projects was not included in the mandate of his office, but was instead tasked mainly to oversee the government efforts.

He said he has been maximizing the manpower in his office to handle the burden of facilitating reconstruction operations in 171 cities and municipalities across six typhoon-affected regions.

“I have only 12 staff members and three consultants and they’re under government payroll. No MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses), no capital outlay and the only czar of its kind, a Superman if you will, without powers,” said Lacson.

Timeline

Lacson’s speech followed President Aquino’s pronouncement during the 70th anniversary of the Leyte Landing last Monday that he has required his “rehab czar” to produce a timeline of all the rehabilitation projects for areas battered by supertyphoon Yolanda before he would sign the recovery master plan that was submitted to him on Aug. 1.

“During the Yolanda Cabinet meeting last week, I was looking for a timeline: what is expected to be finished by what date. I want it to be more specific,” Mr. Aquino told reporters.

“May I just repeat because some might be asking what is taking the government so long to sign the master plan. We have what we call a post-disaster needs assessment, and that should emanate from the local government units. In keeping with what we call bottom-up budgeting, we do not want the so-called Imperial Manila to impose on what projects should be implemented.”

“They promised to give me the timeline and details this week. And once I see that, I’ll be okay (with the master plan),” the President said.

Recovery plan

The Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR) submitted a P170.9 billion Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (CRRP) to the Office of the President in August.

“All the details of the timeline are incorporated in the CRRP, including the project schedules. We have submitted again a timeline to the Office of the Executive Secretary last Friday,” Lacson said.

He said the timeline will again be presented to the Cabinet on Friday.

The CRRP focused on four sectors: infrastructure at P35.1 billion, resettlement at P75.6 billion, livelihood at P33.6 billion, and social services at P26.4 billion.

The master plan incorporated the Reconstruction Assistance for Yolanda (RAY) framework of the National Economic Development Authority; the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) that was vetted by the Office of the Civil Defense; local rehabilitation plans submitted by affected local government units; and the clustered action plans approved by the Cabinet.

Lacson said the national government through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) already released a total of P50 billion as of October.

The largest chunk of the fund or P11 billion was just recently downloaded to the National Housing Authority (NHA) for resettlement needs.

Meanwhile, the remaining P39 billion has already been given to other national government agencies such as the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

With this, he said that 95 percent of the affected local government units (LGUs) has already identified a safe relocation site for displaced families. The NHA plans to build 205,000 housing units. Only 20,000 units remain without space for a relocation site.

Meanwhile, the NHA has also finished the bidding process for 78,000 housing units as of October, Lacson told local officials in Cebu. Some areas in northern Cebu except for Bantayan and Camotes Island are already coordinating with NHA to avail of the housing units.

Additional funds

Lacson suggested tapping into the national treasury’s savings worth P260 billion to augment the rehabilitation funds.

As of October, the government still has a budget gap of around P120 billion since only P50 billion has been released from the total needed amount of P170 billion for the operations.

He said he already talked to Budget Secretary Butch Abad about the proposal.

“We have P260 billion in the national treasury but they cannot touch that yet because the Supreme Court only allows it to be declared as part of national savings in November,” Lacson said.

“The amount can cover for the remaining gap. Puwede nang matugonan yon. And I assure you, Cebu will not be left behind because we give credit to officials who are pro-active, not timid, yung mga masipag mag follow-up.”

Lacson explained that the delays are necessary since the LGUs need to find a site which is approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as a suitable zone for relocation.

It means the area should have minimal risks from natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, typhoons and sea level rise.

“For example, we can put them somewhere far from the sea but the area also has a faultline. Or we can have them beside the mountain but what if it’s also landslide-prone. There are so much things to consider,” he said.

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