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Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Tomas dares COA: Come after me
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña does not mind getting a disallowance from the Commission on Audit (COA) for whatever wastage or irregularities the action center operations might bring.
But on Monday, he asked concerned City Hall officials to tighten the controls in the relief operations and assistance given to families of victims of the mv Princess of the Stars sinking.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
Osmeña said what is important is that the City Government was able to help the victims' families at a time when no one else was helping them.
In the meantime, the victims are getting more help.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) said it will extend legal assistance to the families of the victims.
Lawyer Julius Caesar Entise of the IBP said they will assist the families in processing legal documents.
"We will only provide legal assistance and advice... in the processing of their documents," said Entise.
Entise said they will have 14 lawyers ready to help families at the action center located at the Cebu City Sports Complex. Around five lawyers will be stationed at the center per shift.
IBP will also coordinate with law schools to send students to give paralegal support.
Osmeña congratulated Vice Mayor Michael Rama, City Councilor Gerardo Carillo, Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) Chief Cathy Yso and other City Hall personnel who help set up and run the action center at the Cebu City Sports Center.
Despite criticisms from other officials on how the food assistance was distributed, Osmeña said he is proud of and satisfied with the way city officials managed the disaster while he was on a two-week vacation in the US.
"I'll hold myself responsible for what they did. If COA wants to give a disallowance, give it to me... Hangyo lang ko nga ato silang tagaan ug (I ask that we give them) consideration under the circumstances. If we planned this, we would have done this better. But who knew this would happen?" he told a news conference yesterday.
During a special session last Friday, some city councilors raised their doubts on how efficiently and prudently the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC) was spending the calamity funds to help the victims' families.
Among other things, they scored the lack of control in the distribution of packed meals, some of which went to people not related to any of the victims.
While the councilors' questions and requests for explanations are valid and promote transparency, there should be extra consideration on the use of funds during disaster response, he said.
"When there's a calamity and we do relief operations, waste is not a major consideration. The major consideration is that those who are suffering get help. In relief operations, you just help everyone, and naa gyud musakay ana pero sige na lang... But as time goes on, you should start putting your controls," he said.
"We have to see to it that those severely affected are assisted. If you provide assistance, you just help everyone, or you can cut short the procedure and not help everybody... I'm not about to change that policy because the job of government is to provide service to people who need help if they can't get it anywhere else. Not from Sulpicio, the National or the Provincial Government," Osmeña said.
Osmeña recalled that when the City helped affected families during the typhoon Ruping in the '90s, he got a disallowance from COA amounting to almost P1 million, which he is still paying for up to this time.
But he said he does not mind as long the Cebua-nos got the services they needed when tragedy struck.
He said that choosing whom to help in times of emergency will only exacerbate the condition of those who are affected.
"Even though I was not here, they (city officials) did an excellent job. It was world class, so let's give them credit for that instead of putting them on the defensive. We should be proud of how the City Government responded," Osmeña said.
The mayor also said that the City is spending P5.8 million for the operations of the action center as a way of helping President Arroyo deal with the tragedy.
He said that the President has been very helpful to Cebu City in terms of projects, and he wants to show the President that when needed, the City can also help her.
The IBP, for its part, makes their assistance clear.
On reports of families accepting P200,000 insurance money from Sulpicio Lines Inc. and being asked to sign quitclaims, Entise said IBP will not tell families what to do.
"If issues like accepting money come up, we will only advise (the families) and lay down the cards, but we will not tell them what to do, whether to take the money or not to take the money," said Entise. This matter is up to the families, he said.
Entise said IBP has yet to see a copy of the alleged quitclaim families were being asked to sign.
"We have no idea what is the condition on which the P200,00 is given out. But we do believe it is given out based on a condition," said Entise.
While IBP has not yet seen the quitclaims, Entise said that whatever the waiver is, it can still be absolved on certain conditions.
"It depends on the quitclaim that the families sign, what right they are waiving. But we do believe there are cases where waivers are null and void because they are based on unreasonable conditions," said Entise.
Entise said the only advice they will give families regarding the issue is to understand what is it they are signing.
"We would advise families to scrutinize what waiver they will be signing and to be objective when they sign it," said Entise. (LCR/EPB of Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (July 8, 2008 issue)
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