Iisyuhan ng Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) ng show cause order si Tuguegarao City Mayor Jefferson Soriano sa umano’y pag-alis nito para ipagdiwang ang kanyang kaarawan kahit na binabaha na ang kanilang siyudad.
“Yes, we will issue a show cause order,” wika ni DILG Usec. Jonathan Malaya.
“The mayor is the father of his city and he cannot just leave his constituents in the middle of a disaster just to celebrate his birthday,” dagdag nito.
Naungkat ang isyu nang mag-post sa social media ang anak ni Soriano na si Bea Dee kung saan sinabi nito na nagtungo sa Metro Manila ang kanyang ama upang ipagdiwang ang kanyang kaarawan na kasama ito.
Sinabi rin mismo ni Soriano na wala raw ito sa Tuguegarao nang bumaha na sa siyudad noong nakalipas na linggo.
“There was no typhoon signal, so I asked the permission of the provincial government,” wika ni Soriano sa isang briefing. “Umalis po ako dito last Sunday afternoon.”
Paliwanag pa ni Soriano, sinubukan nitong bumalik sa Tuguegarao noong Biyernes ng gabi ngunit nabigo ito dahil sarado na ang North Luzon Expressway.
Nakabalik lang daw siya sa siyudad nitong Sabado.
“Under Oplan Listo, mayors are supposed to be on alert 48 hours before the landfall of a typhoon and even after the typhoon to conduct relief operations and to prepare for transition to recovery and rehabilitation,” ayon kay Malaya.
“Celebrating a party is not a justifiable reason for a mayor to leave his LGU in the face of a disaster.”
