By Wilnard Bacelonia 

GRATEFUL. Supporters of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte gather at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila early Sunday afternoon (June 26, 2022). They attended the thanksgiving event “Salamat, PRRD”. (PNA photo by Robert Oswald Alfiler)

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte personally attended to the concerns of the nation and listened to the needs of state agencies.

Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, Office of Civil Defense administrator, said Duterte was an exemplary leader and made his presence felt in all disaster response activities during his six-year term.

“In every disaster, ‘yung hands-on leadership niya. Talagang nagre-require agad ‘yan ng report sa amin. Pumupunta pa mismo siya dun sa lugar. Kapag andun si Presidente, andun din ang mga Cabinet secretary niya (his hands-on leadership. He required us to report immediately. He himself goes to the [disaster] area. If the President is there, the Cabinet secretaries also have to be there),” Jalad told the Philippine News Agency in an interview at the “Salamat, PRRD” event at Quirino Grandstand in Manila on Sunday.

Jalad said Duterte’s leadership consolidated the disaster response of various government agencies.

He lauded Duterte for ordering the establishment of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) backup operation centers in strategic locations in Visayas and Mindanao.

Undersecretary Ernesto Carolina, the administrator of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, said pension arrears were paid and health care benefits were improved.

“Talaga namang nitong panahon lang niya naramdaman ng mga beterano na binibigyan sila ng pagpapahalaga (It is during his time that the veterans felt they are important),” he said in another interview.

The Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City was provided funds and supplied with medicines while the Department of Health established veterans’ wards in provinces.

Gemma Sotto, president of the United Filipino Global International that looks after overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), thanked Duterte for signing into law the Department of Migrant Workers bill.

She likewise thanked Senator Christopher “Bong” Go for spearheading Malasakit Centers in public hospitals all over the country, another big help for OFWs. (PNA)