CEBU Provincial Board (PB) Member Celestino “Tining” Martinez III has clarified that his earlier criticism questioning the Provincial Government’s response to the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in northern Cebu was not directed at Gov. Pamela Baricuatro, but at Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head Dennis Pastor, a retired colonel.
Speaking during a news forum on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, Martinez said his concern stemmed from Pastor’s alleged absence during and after the Sept. 30, 2025 quake, which heavily affected several towns in northern Cebu.
“Panahon sa linog, diin man siya (At the time of the earthquake, where was he)?” Martinez asked, referring to Pastor.
He explained that his statement was not politically motivated but meant to highlight the need for stronger leadership and coordination among provincial offices during disasters.
He questioned the lack of coordination and visibility of key provincial offices after the Sept. 30 quake.
“I saw the governor. I saw people from the PDRRMO, the doctors went … but it doesn’t stop there. There were still aftershocks, and the days after, there’s a need to find direction. What’s next? Where are we going?” Martinez said.
“I always saw DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), Phivolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology), DHSUD (Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development), and local government agencies. Even the President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) was there twice. But I did not see my friends from the Provincial Government. I’m not talking about the governor,” he added.
Martinez said while the Provincial Government’s presence was visible in the initial response, he wanted to raise the issue of sustained on-ground leadership and coordination in the following days, particularly from the PDRRMO and Provincial Engineering Office.
Defending Pastor
Earlier, in a privilege speech before the PB on Oct. 6, Martinez questioned what he described as a lack of coordination between the Provincial Government and local government units (LGUs) in the distribution of relief goods. He said some Provincial operations were conducted directly in barangays without properly informing LGU officials.
“Where is the Provincial Government? What is happening? What actions are being taken?” he asked during the session.
In response, Wilson Ramos, Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer III and head of administration and finance of the PDRRMO, defended Pastor.
Ramos said Pastor was on official travel but was fully aware of the situation and had issued immediate instructions.
“As evidence, here are his marching orders to me through Viber. Take note, the day was Oct. 1 at 1 a.m. to conduct a rapid damage assessment and needs analysis in the affected areas,” Ramos said in a Facebook post with a screenshot of messages from Pastor.
He added that Pastor had ordered the deployment of the response team, even amid heavy rains, to conduct search and rescue operations.
Other staff were on-site the following morning to establish the Emergency Operations Center and gather data from the affected LGUs, said Ramos.
In a separate message to SunStar Cebu, Ramos said Pastor “was never on leave” and that his official travel prior to the earthquake was based on Baricuatro’s order to attend a “strategy and leadership” seminar in Baguio City.
He said the PDRRMO team, along with the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, immediately mobilized response units on the night of the earthquake despite heavy rain.
“We were soaking wet that night because of the heavy rains, but all were planned out, especially the dispatching of our response team for the search and rescue operations consisting of one ambulance, one rescue truck, and one rescue vehicle,” Ramos said.
The PDRRMO maintained that the Provincial Government, under Baricuatro’s direction, has been working continuously with local disaster units and national agencies to coordinate relief and rehabilitation efforts in the quake-hit areas. / CAV