Corro shows proof all got food, cash relief

Daanbantayan Mayor Augusto Corro yesterday showed documents proving that all 20 barangays in his town received relief assistance after supertyphoon Yolanda hit their area in Nov. 8 last year.

“We have complete data and these are all supported by signatures of the recipients. That is why we are confident that the charges filed against us will not prosper in court,” Corro said at yesterday’s press conference.

Corro together with Vice Mayor Gilbert Arrabis and three of the town’s councilors face criminal and administrative charges before the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas for allegedly depriving barangay chairmen allied with former mayor Ma. Luisa Loot of help.

The barangay officials who signed the complaint filed last March 27 were from Pajo, Malingin, Tinubdan, Calape, Tominjao, Maya, Agujo, Logon,Carnaza and Lanao.

But records presented by the mayor yesterday showed the 10 barangays were all recipients of 194,123 food packs distributed by the private and public sector.

Prioritized

Corro said all the barangays were also given P20,000 to support their own relief operations.

He cited one of the complainants, barangay Maya, which received the highest number of food packs with 19,000 and 1,609 shelter kits.

Other complainants such as Logon got 12,090 food packs, Agujo with 10,036, Carnaza with 9,934 food packs and Calape with 7,828.

He said the number of food packs varied with every barangay since the non-government organizations (NGOs) and other donors chose the beneficiaries.

The municipal government, Corro said, only stepped in to augment the donations or when asked by the barangays that were not prioritized in the relief operations.

Appeal

The “most vulnerable sector,” such as people with disabilities (PWDs), lactating mothers, pregnant women and senior citizens were given priority, Corro said.

“These barangays even received more than the others because the benefactors chose them,” he said.

Corro and Arrabis, both from the Liberal Party (LP), were at Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III’s office yesterday.

Ten department heads and municipal employees of Daanbantayan went with Corro and confirmed what he said.

Corro said he is “appealing” to the Loot family to stop attacking him and instead help in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Daanbantayan.

In last Monday’s regular session, Provincial Board Member Sun Shimura, son of Luisa Loot, called on colleagues to revoke a resolution that commended Corro for his prompt response to relief operations.

Corro said he’s worried that these reports may disappoint relief organizations and ward off potential donors.

“I really felt sad about this. If you can see, I’m using the word appealing because at the end of the day, it’s (the people that matter),” he said.