CAPTAIN WITHOUT A SHIP
The Romualdez-Marcos clan have long had a political stranglehold over Tacloban. Hanging in City Hall is a typhoon-tilted portrait of the man Romualdez replaced as mayor in 2008: his father Alfredo, who held the position for nine years.
Imelda's birthplace of Tolosa, a short drive south of Tacloban in Leyte province, was badly affected by the typhoon. The former first lady was crowned "The Rose of Tacloban" as a teenage beauty queen.
Romualdez has defended his preparations for the storm, which he said were approved by national government officials at a meeting 24 hours beforehand. "They said everything was okay," he told reporters at the battered City Hall on Friday, his voice hoarse from days of shouting and little sleep. The odor of a nearby open-air morgue wafted through the broken windows.
The typhoon overwhelmed the city's government operations.
A week later, an average of only 70 city officials, many of whom lost homes and loved ones, were showing up for work each day, compared to a staff of 2,500 before Haiyan struck.
Romualdez now resembles a captain without a ship, trying to marshal meager resources while the national government, aided by U.S. military might and international aid agencies, increasingly takes control of resurrecting his city. Romualdez has complained that Aquino's government is undermining him, citing a request from Manila to declare the city administration dysfunctional so the national authorities can take full control.
"This is very lamentable because we are doing everything we can to help the people and fulfill our duties and responsibilities as elected leaders," he said.
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Topic: Captain without a ship - Marcos clan mayor at eye of Philippine storm (Read 723 times)