Ping’s ‘irrevocable resignation’ takes effect mid-February

Secretary Panfilo Lacson has tendered his “irrevocable” resignation as presidential assistant on recovery and rehabilitation in areas devastated by supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan).

The resignation takes effect in mid-February after Lacson’s office completes the transfer of reconstruction-related tasks to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Lacson was appointed as “rehabilitation czar” in December 2013 to facilitate reconstruction efforts in areas lashed by Yolanda.

Lacson in an interview yesterday over radio station dzBB said that he had asked President Aquino for a transition period of one month to hand over his assigned duties to the council.

“I’ve asked the President for a one-month transition period to lay out the mechanics of the transition from OPARR to a more permanent body, which is the NDRRMC. [The transition] will commence on the first working day of January,” Lacson told dzBB in Filipino.

“In my irrevocable resignation, I will be gone by middle of February. Slowly, I should fade away from the scene,” he added.

Lacson’s resignation was initially reported by 9TV last Friday, citing a text message they received from the former senator and chief of the national police.

On Thursday, Lacson said in a statement that he wants the functions of his office to be transferred to the NDRRMC.

“It dawned on me that a permanent agency should be equipped to handle all functions related to preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation since we are a typhoon-prone country,” Lacson said.

The development confirmed a Cebu Daily News report last October that quoted a source that Lacson was on the way out as he has allegedly grown tired of the slow pace of government action made worse by bureaucratic red tape and infighting among officials in the national and local levels. Referring to them as “road blocks”, Lacson cited the government procurement law and limited funds as among those causing the delay.

But during yesterday’s radio interview, Lacson denied that his frustration over his being “powerless” drove him to quit.

“Wala akong frustrations o hang-ups kasi nagawa naman ang mga dapat gawin. May existing tayo na batas – yung law creating the NDRRMC – at dapat lang ibalik doon [sa council] ‘yung reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts dahil doon naman nanggaling ‘yon,” Lacson said.

In his speech during the Oct. 21 turnover of classrooms in Bantayan island, northern Cebu, Lacson dropped hints that he was resigning.

“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,” he said.

Prior to his Cebu trip, the President presided over a special Cabinet meeting on the Yolanda recovery where Lacson had insisted that the Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (CRRP) he submitted in August be signed before the anniversary of the onslaught of the supertyphoon last Nov. 8.

The President – a CDN source said – reportedly called for a break and when the meeting resumed, the topic was no longer discussed.

But in his speech during the anniversary of the Leyte Landing in early October which preceded Lacson’s visit to Cebu, the President made public his displeasure over what happened during the Cabinet meeting.

The President said  he has required OPARR to produce a timeline of all the proposed rehabilitation projects.

“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.

The CRRP was eventually signed after the OPARR presented the timeline in late October.

Lacson, a close ally of Mr. Aquino during their days as members of the opposition to the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was handpicked by the President in December last year to join the Cabinet and become his presidential assistant on recovery and rehabilitation.

Although popularly referred to as the “rehab czar.” Lacson was not clothed with authority to implement the reconstruction projects.

His 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,” he said during his Cebu visit in October.

At yesterday’s radio interview, Lacson said the OPARR has completed most of its duties and that it was not intended to be permanent in the first place.

When the duties of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on Recovery and Rehabilitation (OPARR) are integrated into the NDRRMC, there could be no two leaders handling the same task, according to Lacson.

“Otherwise, the unity of command will be lost,” he said.

The OPARR personnel, technical consultants, and unutilized portions from grants would be included in the transfer of responsibilities, he said.

“I would like to believe he [the President] will see the wisdom of why there is a need for the transition, and why a permanent agency that is covered by a law would need to handle the task,” he added.

Lacson reiterated the need for a permanent agency to coordinate the rebuilding and rehabilitation tasks for calamity-stricken areas, given the frequency of natural disasters in the country.

He said his office has just been an ad hoc body, tasked only to oversee reconstruction efforts following the onslaught of Yolanda and only in areas affected by the strongest cyclone to ever hit land. Similar task forces are set up during severe calamities, he pointed out.
“A task force is too ad hoc, but storms are not ad hoc and hit the country permanently. We even run out of letters of the alphabet [in naming storms],” he said.

The NDRRMC law had a provision requiring a review of what it has accomplished by May 2015, Lacson noted.

Since Congress may review the law, it could look into institutionalizing rehabilitation and recovery efforts, he said.

He added he did not see a need to request additional powers since the responsibilities of the OPARR would be transferred to another agency anyway. If he had done so, he would just add another layer to the chain, he said.

The OPARR has also accomplished its goals, including the submission of the CRRP for Yolanda-hit areas, as well as the inclusion of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, he said.

He said the oversight aspect has been in the completion stage with the setting up of the “eMPATHY” website, which stood for e-Management Platform: Accountability and Transparency Hub for Yolanda.

The website could be used to track down expenditures for some 18,000 projects in the multi-billion peso effort to help the ravaged provinces.

Lacson added that even if he was initially frustrated with his job, thinking that he was given a lot of responsibilities but little authority, he was later able to fulfill his mandate. When international aid and help from the private sector poured in, his office was able to get rolling and was able to build the transparency hub, he said.

Lacson last week said 2015 is the “perfect time” to expand the NDRRMC’s functions because Republic Act 10121 or the law that created the council  is set for review next year.

“Having OPARR transition its accomplishments and best practices to the relevant government agencies by 2015 during the review period will also aid Congress in identifying the required remedial legislation to make the Philippines’ response and recovery from disasters faster and more efficient,” he said in a statement last week. /With a report from Managing Editor Ares P. Gutierrez