One of the longest-staying congressmen on Wednesday said the recent earthquake showed the kind of leadership Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has–focused on helping the victims.
To speed up the delivery of assistance to the victims, she cut short her participation in scheduled events to see for herself the rescue and rehabilitation efforts following the earthquake, Rep. Ronaldo Zamora of San Juan, chairman of the House of Representatives’ panel to the Commission on Appointments, said.
“The style of Speaker Arroyo has always focused on getting results and work done rather than on the approval ratings. Her approval ratings still rose despite the virulent black propaganda that was hurled against her during the intramurals on the budget,” Zamora said.
“The House under Speaker Arroyo crafted a democratic and transparent allocation of government projects and services among all districts regardless of political affiliation. I fully agree with Executive Secretary Medialdea who was correct in saying there was nothing unconstitutional about the budget proposed by the House,” Zamora added.
Arroyo rushed to Porac, Pampanga, on Monday night to oversee aid and rescue operations following injuries and deaths caused by the 6.1-magnitude earthquake that hit parts of Luzon.
She praised the local officials for doing a good job but at the same time, she said: “I’m just really very sad about this and I’m grateful that everybody is doing everything to save lives and helping the injured, and as much as possible, to the extent we can, restore normalcy as soon as possible.”
“It’s a very sad situation and I ask for the prayers of the Filipino people.”
Angie Blanco, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), rescue operations are ongoing to free civilians trapped in the Chuzon Supermarket in Porac, which collapsed during the quake.