Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 14) — The local government of Capiz has appealed to the Commission on Elections to expedite the approval process that will exempt the province from public spending ban, stressing that the ruling is holding off relief operations to help those affected by Tropical Storm Agaton.
Capiz Governor Evan Contreras on Wednesday told CNN Philippines that conducting relief efforts in the province cannot be acted upon due to the pending approval of the poll body.
“May parating lang kami na problema dito sa relief operation na di namin magawa because of [these] Comelec rules so di kami pwede magpakain sa mga tao,” Contreras said in a text message.
[Translation: We have a problem here when it comes to relief operations. We cannot conduct one because of these Comelec rules so we cannot feed the people.]
“Hopefully maparating ang problema namin dito and maactionan agad nila or mamamatay sa gutom kababayan namin because of this,” he added.
[Translation: Hopefully this issue will be relayed so they can immediately take necessary action or our people will die of hunger because of this.]
Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code prohibits the release, disbursement, and expenditure of public funds 45 days before election day. Comelec Resolution 10747, however, allows the filing of requests for specific exemptions.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development was recently granted an exemption from the spending ban after the approval of its request involving infrastructure and procurement projects.
Capiz is among the areas in Visayas hardly hit by ‘Agaton’ earlier this week. The Office of the Vice President announced it has recently distributed relief packs to affected residents of the province.
State disaster officials logged at least 76 fatalities due to the storm’s onslaught, with 72 deaths in Eastern Visayas, three in Davao Region, and one in Western Visayas.
READ: NDRRMC: 29 missing due to ‘Agaton’
We continue to reach out to areas affected by #AgatonPH, including those in Leyte, Southern Leyte, Iloilo, and Capiz. Many thanks to our tireless volunteers for their compassion and generosity—mula relief packs, drinking water, hanggang sa palugaw, pandesal, at hot meals. pic.twitter.com/0paK1dXj8O
— Leni Robredo (@lenirobredo) April 12, 2022
