PALACE ADMITS ANTI-ARROYO WORK DISTRACTED AQUINO GOVT FROM FLOOD WARNINGSC

MANILA, Philippines – Malacanang admitted on Tuesday that its preoccupation with what it called “clearing the landmines” left by the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo distracted it from warnings by experts on the possibility of devastating floods like those unleashed by tropical storm “Sendong” that have killed more than 1,400 persons, News5 reported.

Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda admitted that the Aquino administration did not heed or give enough attention to the report of the Climate Change Congress of the Philippines, which had warned that Cagayan de Oro, the city that, along with Iligan, was most devastated by Sendong, could suffer what Metro Manila’s Marikina went through during 2009’s storm “Ondoy.”

Lacierda made the admission on Tuesday, even as a new wave of floods, triggered by more unseasonal rains in Mindanao, sent the military and civilian officials scampering to rescue hundreds of people stranded on rooftops in Northern Mindanao, which bore the brunt of tropical storm Sendong last week. The new floods are also now causing havoc in parts of Eastern Visayas and in Cebu City, which awoke to heavy floods on Tuesday.

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