Panelo: Marcos 'misinformed' on Yolanda rehab claims

Former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. could have been misinformed when he said nothing was done by the previous administrations when it comes to Yolanda rehabilitation.

''President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. must have been misinformed. It is not accurate as it is incorrect to say that the Yolanda rehabilitation commenced only two years ago and that the Aquino and the Duterte administrations did nothing about it,'' Panelo, also the chief presidential legal counsel during the Duterte administration, said in a statement Tuesday.

''Typhoon Yolanda occurred in 2013 during the term of the late President Benigno Aquino III. Samar and Palawan were the most devastated areas and it was estimated that 205,000 families, more or less, were rendered homeless. Out of that number, the Aquino administration built about 160,000 housing units and commenced its distribution to the victims in 2014,'' he added.

Panelo said the Duterte administration was able to complete its targeted housing projects for the Yolanda rehabilitation in 2022.

''The record shows that at the end of the term of PRRD, about 85% of the targeted figure of 205,000 housing units have been distributed,'' Panelo said.

Marcos had claimed nothing was done in the previous administrations when it comes to the rehabilitation measures for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda. He said the rehabilitation started just two years ago.

'Full grant'

Meanwhile, Panelo noted that former President Rodrigo Duterte, in March 2017, had proclaimed that the Yolanda housing project was a full grant.

''The grant was free and the corresponding TCTs were distributed to the qualified beneficiaries. A DBM report, LGU listing and other government records will validate this fact,'' he said.

Panelo said it is to the credit of the Marcos administration that ''the remaining 15% of the target figure of the Yolanda rehabilitation program was continued at the start of the PBBM’s term.''

''Credit must be given to the two previous  and present administrations,'' he said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News