DUMAGUETE CITY–“It’s just for information.”
Negros Oriental Provincial Administrator Friday clarified that the name of Governor Roel Degamo that appears on relief goods distributed by the Provincial Government for victims of the February 6 earthquake, is only for ‘information purposes’ and not for anything else.
Francisco said that informing the public of the name of the provincial executive is necessary because there are still people who do not know his name. “We still get letters addressed to Gov. Emilio Macias II or Gov. Agustin Perdices,” he said.
Gov. Emilio Macias II succumbed to liver cancer on June 13, 2010, before he could take his oath as the reelected governor of Negros Oriental. His replacement, Gov. Agustin Perdices, held the post for barely seven months. He, too, passed away due to stomach cancer on January 6, 2011. That thrust Roel Degamo, who was elected as the number one member of the Provincial Board, to the governorship.
Degamo adopted most of the programs started by his predecessors but changed the “Basta Negor” slogan of Gov. Macias and the “Kasaligan” slogan of Gov. Perdices to “MagDegamo ta!” which literally means “Let’s prepare for a meal.”
The inclusion of Degamo’s name or his MagDegamo slogan in the pack of relief goods did not sit well with some people, who expressed their disgust on Facebook. Several Facebookers shared a post attributed to a certain Zara Dy who said she found the practice “disgusting.” She said “I will never vote for you in 2013.”
Sought for comment, Gov. Degamo said that the Province used to give unmarked packs of relief goods during calamities. “Weeks after Tropical Storm Sendong hit the province, we visited some previously flooded areas where a priest was heard to remark, “Karon pa ni-anhi si Governor nga nimala na ang baha (Is this the first time for the Governor to visit us, now that the flood has dried up)?” Degamo said.
“We are doing this to assure the public that the government is not sleeping. We are doing our job,” Degamo said.