Tacloban City – Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Mar Roxas called on Leyteños to remain united and strong in order to bring Leyte back on its feet after the devastation caused by super typhoon Yolanda in November 2013.
“Hindi ko kayo iniwanan noon, hindi ko kayo iiwan ngayon, at hindi ko kayo iiwanan magpakailanman,” Roxas said in a brief message to local government and barangay officials during a project site visit in the town of Dulag, Leyte, on Friday.
During his visit, Roxas inspected some of the completed projects funded by the national government under the first phase of the Recovery Assistance on Yolanda (RAY I) and distributed checks for the second batch of LGUs for the massive rehabilitation of damaged barangay facilities under the second phase of RAY (RAY-II).
RAY is the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG’s) part in the Aquino administration’s post-Yolanda “Build Back Better” response to what was described as the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall in history. A total of 171 cities and towns in 17 provinces in Central Philippines were severely affected by the super typhoon.
Roxas, who witnessed the devastation caused by Yolanda, stayed in Tacloban City more than two weeks after the havoc. He said Leyteños remained strong and never bended their knees despite the devastation.
“Ang mga Leyteño ay matatag. Ang mga Leyteño ay nagkakaisa. Ang mga Leyteño ay hindi natinag. Hindi tumiklop. Dumadating na ang magandang araw at magandang panahon na abot-kamay na ang ating pangarap. Malaking bagay sa akin na maging bahagi sa pag-abot ng pangarap na sa pamamagitan ng pako, martilyo, at mga kagamitan at kasangkapan para maibalik ang Leyte at maging tuloy-tuloy ang pagbangon,” Roxas said.
Comments are closed.