Manila city administrator lashes back at Remulla
THE city administrator of Manila yesterday lashed back at Governor Jonvic Remulla saying he does not understand where the latter is coming from and that his harsh pronouncements are baseless, totally uncalled for and unbecoming of a public official.
City administrator Felix Espiritu said that sometime in 2019, before Mayor Isko Moreno was elected into office, some 1,000 residents from Tondo and Baseco were relocated by the National Housing Authority (NHA) to Naic, Cavite.
When Moreno became mayor and the pandemic hit, Espiritu said the officials of the relocatees sought assistance from the mayor and were given food boxes, similar to the ones being given Manila residents. Espiritu said the assistance was given without any fanfare.
Recently, during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), Espiritu said he received a call from Naic Mayor Jun Duanan asking for assistance for the relocatees from Manila, saying they are not included in the assistance being given in Naic.
“Tumawag si Mayor Jun Duanan ang sabi kung pwede ba kayo naman tumulong dahil di sila kasama sa ayuda ng Naic. Sabi ko, sige gagawa kami ng paraan paki-intay lang. Mga three to four times tumawag sa akin,”Espiritu narrated.
“Nung isang araw, we also sent food boxes. This is not the first time. ‘Yung una ay nung isang taon pagputok ng pandemya. Naglakad ang relocatees papunta ng Manila kasi walang sasakyan. Sa awa namin, binigyan namin ng food boxes,” he said.
Espiritu added: “Nagtataka ako bakit sinasabi namumulitika kami eh hindi naman kami nagkusang pumunta dun kungdi sila ang humihingi. Sino ngayon ang namumulitika?”
Espiritu said the relocatees have been residing in Naic for about two years and must be considered as residents already, adding he is wondering why Remulla is the one making noise when it should be Duanan who should be talking about the issue being the one who actually called him up for assistance for the relocatees.
