DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 2 Nov) – Social Welfare Undersecretary Luz Ilagan hit back at singer Leah Navarro, a known supporter of the opposition Liberal Party and a critic of the first Mindanawon President, Rodrigo R. Duterte, for her comment that the recent powerful earthquakes in Mindanao were a “retribution.”
“It is so Unchristian, nay, so Unfilipino, to take unusual glee in seeing the suffering of others, simply because they are from Mindanao,” Ilagan posted on Facebook Saturday.
Ilagan’s post was apparently in response to the comment of Navarro, who answered “Retribution?” to former Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te’s question on Twitter: “What’s with all the earthquakes in Mindanao?”
Te, who claimed to be a Mindanawon himself, later deleted his tweet and asked for apology from the Mindawons if his “rhetorical, non-political, and personal” post had given “platform” to hurtful comments.
“I have deleted a tweet and my reply-explanation to that tweet which, though unintended, have caused offense, pain, and hurt to family and friends in Mindanao where I am from, proud to be from, and which I love,” he said.
Ilagan, a former representative of the Gabriela Partylist, said it hurts her when she hears people from Manila “gloat and declare” that “retribution” has come to Mindanao.
She said Mindanawons quickly helped and did not celebrate when catastrophes wreaked havoc in other parts of the country just like when the Mt. Pinatubo in Zambales erupted and when super typhoon Yolanda ripped through Luzon and Visayas.
“When Mt. Pinatubo erupted, Mindanawons did not celebrate. Instead, schools organized relief operations and mobilized resources to send to Luzon. No fanfare, just quiet collective effort to lend succor to those in need,” she said.
“The people of Mindanao did not search high and low for reasons Mother Nature picked Luzon or Visayas for these catastrophes. They are essentials of life puny mortals must accept. And being human demanded humane acts,” she said.||| |||buy renova online with |||
Ilagan said then Mayor Duterte was among the first to provide help, including water and food, to the people of Leyte when Yolanda struck.||| |||buy nizoral online with |||
