Narra Mayor Gerandy Danao called out several barangay officials for having no personnel on duty during the onslaught of Typhoon Tino in Palawan last week.
Danao told municipal employees during their flag-raising ceremony on Monday, November 10, that he made rounds in different barangays at the height of the storm.
He said he was surprised to find empty barangay halls in some areas even as strong winds and rain were hitting the town.
Mayor Danao explained that barangay offices should always have someone present during emergencies so residents know where to seek help.
The mayor said he checked each barangay one by one. He noted that while the disaster response unit had people working through the storm,
“Inikot natin lahat ng barangay, tinignan natin yung mga barangay kung may duty, wala,” he said.
“Ang mga tao sa barangay, wala,” Danao asserted.
According to him, Panacan I, Panacan II and Sandoval had no staff on duty that night. Other barangays, such as Taritien, Malatgao and Antipuluan, had people present.
He reminded officials that being available during a storm is part of their responsibility.
“Hindi pwede tayong mawala sa trabaho pagkuras ng bagyo… dapat nakahanda tayo kung kailangan ng tao ng tulong, doon tayo,” he stated.
Danao said he was grateful that Narra did not experience severe flooding or strong winds, noting that the northern towns were hit harder.
He also shared that Mayor Sabando of San Vicente and officials from El Nido called him the night Typhoon Tino made landfall to ask for assistance because their towns had lost electricity and water.
He said he immediately joined the response team to help.
The mayor added that his visit to those towns showed how difficult conditions were there.
“Dito sa Narra, maraming mahihirap ang buhay. Pero sa inikot ko doon… mas maraming mahirap sa kanila.”
He said it was difficult to see the extent of their hardship and was thankful Narra was spared from the worst of the storm.
