DAVAO CITY — Former Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Saturday extended assistance to the families affected by two separate fire incidents in Agdao and Bucana, Davao City.
“Ako naman po ay private citizen na pero tumutulong po ako sa ating Pangulo in my own private capacity (I may be a private citizen now but I’m helping the president in my own private capacity),” Go said in an ambush interview.
Go and his friends from the private sector donated canned goods, various grocery items, uniforms and school supplies for children affected by the fire incident, and cash assistance to the victims.
“May mga tumulong, mga private donations galing sa mga iba’t ibang pribadong mga kaibigan so nagturn-over na po kami doon kanina(There were those who helped, private donations from various private friends, so we turned over the assistance earlier),” Go said.
Aside from the private donations, relief assistance from the government were provided by concerned agencies to the affected families, which included grocery packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and hygiene kits from the Department of Health (DOH).
The former presidential aide, who will be gunning for a seat in the Senate during the 2019 midterm elections, said part of his legislative agenda will be to look into the improvement of fire protection and safety measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“Isa po yan sa titignan natin. Lalong lalo na itong mga safety measures. Tulad nitong mga nasunugan, dikit-dikit yung mga bahay, ‘yung mga kuryente, minsan mayroon pang mga illegal tapping (That’s one of the things we’re looking at. Especially these safety measures. Like this fire incident, homes were so close to each other, the electric wires, and sometimes there are illegal tapping),” Go said.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s former assistant also said more than the relief assistance, it is important for the government to provide safer quality relocation sites located in communities with access to sources of livelihood.
“Mag-offer din dapat ng permanent relocation site sa kanila na maayos at may pamumuhay. So sino gusto mag avail ng free housing or relocation pwede naming i-relay sa NHA (We should also offer permanent, decent relocations sites for them. Whoever wants to avail of this free housing or relocation, we can relay this to the NFA),” he added.
Go also helped a certain Gloria Labartini, a fire victim who sustained second-degree burns.
Gloria was brought to Southern Philippines Medical Center for treatment.
“Mayroon nga isa nasugatan kanina. May second degree burns. Papadala ko kaagad sa ospital para mapagamot at tinanong ko sinong gusto magpagamot dahil may libre naman tayong pagamot (There was one injured earlier, who got second degree byrns. I will bring her immediately to the hospital to get treatment. I asked them who else wants to get treatment because we have free medicines),” Go said. (PR/PNA)
