Deposed Philippine Dictator Marcos's Son on Haiyan Survivors: 'They Have Nothing'
The son of deposed Philippine dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr, upon arriving in Tacloban, Philippines, said Haiyan (Yolanda) survivors "have nothing".
Ferdinand Marcos, Jr arrived in the storm-ravaged hometown of his mother Imelda Marcos Sunday, November 17 according to Rappler. He said, "They have nothing. They have no homes, they have no water, they have nothing," adding that he did not fly to Tacloban City as soon as possible because he did not want to take up "resources and assets that were sorely needed at the time."
Ferdinand Marcos, Jr, an incumbent Senator in the archipelago added, "You know if you come here, somebody will have to secure you, you will have to have a vehicle, you will have to have a place to stay, they will have to feed you." Marcos said that in the first few days after Haiyan (Yolanda) made landfall, the city government, "simply did not have those capabilities so we got out of the way and let people do what they can."
Marcos spent the past eight days in the Philippine capital Manila coordinating aid for Haiyan survivors. Rappler reports that the Marcos family had to buy their supplies in Surigao and bought a ship for the relief operations financed by private donors.
Government Criticism
The Senator was reportedly not willing to comment on recent criticism of the Philippine Government saying. "This is the time to put our heads down and help the people who are suffering."
President Benigno Aquino III received flak after his administration's "slow" response to storm-ravaged provinces Samar and Leyte.
According to Niez Cacho-Olivares of The Daily Tribune, the Philippine President is "selfish, insensitive, uncaring, insincere, petty, divisive and vindictive". Benigno Aquino III's mother marched in 1986 to topple the Marcos regime.
Corruption in Haiyan Relief Efforts
An aid worker on the ground tells MailOnline that government officials only give relief packs to areas where they got votes. The relief worker, who did not want to be identified for security reasons, said, "Relief is not being distributed fairly in the Philippines".
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