President Benigno S. Aquino III, with Liberal Party Presidential bet Mar Roxas, flashes the Laban “L” sign along with the members and officers of the Liberal Party during the Liberal Party (LP) Joint National Directorate and National Executive Council (NECO) Meeting at the LP Headquarters in Balay, Cubao, Quezon City on Wednesday (September 30). (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte alleged that his fellow presidential candidate Mar Roxas, former Interior Secretary, had a breakdown after Typhoon Yolanda devasted Tacloban in 2013.
Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) is considered the most powerful storm in history ever to make landfall. Yolanda, which hit the country on November 8, 2013, affected over 1.4 million families and killed around 6,300 people.
In a radio interview, Duterte claimed that he had witnessed how Roxas dealt with the situation in Tacloban, the most heavily damaged area in the country.
“Mar Roxas got the scare of his life during Yolanda,” Duterte said.
“I was there on Day 2. Si Mar nagka-breakdown,” Duterte alleged.
“I was there. I was talking to him. Nag-mo-monologue siya,” he said. “He was not acting like a person who was in charge of a disaster (relief operation), giving commands or critical orders.”
He said there were dead people lying on the streets. “Pagpasok ko pa lang, sabi ko pakitanggal ‘yung tatlong pulis diyan nangangamoy na, ‘yung pulis na patay, the carcass if you want to call it,” Duterte recounted.
He said he did not see the Navy and there was a lack of basic necessities including bottled water.
“I was there with my ‘911’ – 10 doctors and 10 nurses,” Duterte said. (MNS)