Transportation Secretary Art Tugade urged political aspirants to refrain from politicizing the relief operations to areas devastated by typhoon "Odette" as he claimed that his agency has been helping those affected without publicity.
In a statement released on Monday, Dec. 20, Tugade said that DOTr has aided typhoon-affected areas without publicity, "unlike political aspirants" who "apparently took advantage of the situation to advance their election campaigns" in 2022.
He did not name names but among those who immediately responded to calls for aid were presidential aspirants Manny Pacquiao and Leni Robredo.
“Let us stop politicizing the aftermath of Odette. ‘Wag na nila ibandera kung sino ang naunang gumawa Hindi dapat mamulitika. This is one time na dapat ay magsama-sama tayo Habang nagdadaldal ang marami, ang DOTr, gumagawa ng tahimik (Let us stop politicizing the aftermath of Odette. Let us not compete on who responded first. This should not be politicized and we should be united. DOTr is working silently while others publicize their act),” said Tugade.
“Ang DOTr, kasama ang aming mga attached agencies, ay nagsagawa ng pre-emptive measures bago pa man humagupit ang Odette. Nandoon kami bago tumama, habang tumatama, at matapos tumama ang Odette sa Pilipinas (DOTr along with their attached agencies are working together even before Odette’s landfall. We are here before, during and after Odette hit the Philippines),” he added.
Tugade said that the DOTr has placed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on high alert in preparation for "Odette."
On Monday, the PCG recorded a total of 1,032 affected residents and has evacuated about 12,000 people in areas hit by the typhoon.