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SCMP’s Asia desk

The governor of a Philippine province still reeling from being hit by two typhoons has defended his decision to fly out of the country despite the government banning officials from foreign travel so that they can lead disaster response.
Isabela Governor Rodolfo Albano III also doubled down, saying that he would stay until the end of an agricultural fair in Germany because it was “very important” for his province.
“I’m going to [go] home as soon as possible but if everything is OK there, I think I should finish this agritech seminar,” he told ABS-CBN broadcaster on Tuesday.
Albano had flown to Germany despite a Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) order for all local officials to suspend foreign travel from Sunday to Saturday to help their respective jurisdictions clean up after typhoons Fung-wong and Kalmaegi. The timing of the fair in the German city of Hanover coincides exactly with those dates.
“They must be physically present during all phases of disaster management – preparation, response and recovery,” Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said when issuing the order, as quoted by the Manila Bulletin.
“Visible, hands-on leadership from both elective and appointive officials is crucial in safeguarding communities and ensuring swift recovery.”
Isabela, on Luzon island, is among the provinces hit particularly hard by the typhoons.

Two days after Fung-wong made landfall, a town of about 6,000 people in the province remained cut off from help because of landslides, a civil defence spokesman told Agence France-Presse. Some parts of the neighbouring Nueva Vizcaya province were similarly affected.
“We are struggling to access these areas,” Cagayan Valley region spokesman Alvin Ayson said on Tuesday.
Fung-wong, which hit the Philippines as a super typhoon on Sunday night, has claimed 27 lives and affected more than 3.59 million people across the country, according to a report released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Wednesday.
Albano said he had received clearance for his Germany trip months ago. “When I received the order, I was already on the plane,” he said.
He urged viewers of the ABS-CBN news programme to think about the long-term benefits arising from his trip. While he and the other officials could do nothing to help with Isabela’s typhoon recovery, the agricultural fair would help Isabela advance its modernisation in agriculture and flood mitigation, Albano said.
“We have to think of the gravity, also of what we should learn here,” he said. “There, we can’t do anything. Here, I can report on what we are learning. It’s a matter of choice.”
He denied that he and the other officials were having a good time while Filipinos were suffering, calling Hanover the “most boring place in Germany”.


Even before the trip, Albano had courted controversy by telling Isabela’s residents to keep their cool and “just chill” and “pray” as Fung-wong approached.
In an interview with One PH radio on Friday, Albano was asked: “What are the measures the province will take in view of the coming typhoon?”
Referring to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, he replied: “Pagasa is always like that. Sometimes it causes anxiety to build up. It can cause people to get nervous.
“For me, just chill. There is nothing we can do about it. There is nothing we can do since the typhoon is heading our way and only God can stop it … We can’t build a Noah’s Ark that can give a ride to everyone.”
His remarks sparked anger online, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.
Former educator Rica Grace Ocfemia-Manuel said telling people to “just chill” showed Albano’s lack of empathy. “Check your privilege, Governor,” she added, according to the newspaper.
An online user said in a social media post: “They don’t know the feeling of being flooded. They don’t know the feeling of losing your home, belongings, and clothes because of what the flood took away. They haven’t experienced having your roof fly off and your house destroyed.

“Sigh, while they are chilling, we poor people don’t know what to do or how to survive each disaster that comes.”
When the newspaper asked for his reaction on Saturday, Albano said: “I don’t care about them. I don’t read their comments. Thank you.” Then he hung up the phone.
DILG’s Remulla defended Albano on Monday, saying that he was a hard worker.
“That’s usually [how] Rodito talks, but he’s honestly a very hardworking local government official,” Remulla told ABS-CBN.
The interior secretary also said Albano had apologised to him for flying off to Germany and vowed to “get the first available flight home”.
Other officials have also disobeyed the order, according to Remulla. “We can recommend disciplinary measures, study all the implications [of] these matters.”
On Tuesday, Albano defended his “chill” remarks to ABS-CBN, saying that they were taken out of context.
Isabela had conducted all the necessary preparations for Fung-wong before his departure, he added, and the vice governor was in charge.
“Actually, we were already prepared four days before. We had tsunami drills. Besides, we knew that this super typhoon was coming. As I always say, we are very prepared. I won’t leave my post if my province isn’t prepared.”


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Rodolfo Albano III, who oversees Isabela, said he was ‘already on the plane’ when Manila ordered officials not to fly overseas


Rodolfo Albano III, who oversees Isabela, said he was ‘already on the plane’ when Manila ordered officials not to fly overseas.


Philippine governor of typhoon-hit province defends Germany trip despite travel ban

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Rodolfo Albano III, who oversees Isabela, said he was ‘already on the plane’ when Manila ordered officials not to fly overseas

Rodolfo Albano III, who oversees Isabela, said he was ‘already on the plane’ when Manila ordered officials not to fly overseas