Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Monday described Isabela Governor Rodolfo “Rodito” Albano III as a hardworking official, while acknowledging that his recent remarks telling residents to “chill” amid approaching Typhoon Uwan were in poor taste.
In a Friday interview with One PH, Albano discussed his province’s preparations and limited resources to mitigate the typhoon’s impact. At one point, he told constituents to keep their “cool” and “chill,” advising them to “pray” as heavy rains approached, joking that they could not build a “Noah’s Ark.”
As Albano drew online criticism, Remulla defended him, saying, “‘Yung mga chill-chill na ‘yan that’s usually [how] Rodito talks, but he’s honestly a very hardworking local government official.” He added, “His humor is even worse than mine… He’s just a victim of bad taste.”
Remulla also addressed Albano’s departure to Germany for an agricultural fair despite a “sweeping” order cancelling government officials’ travel leaves for typhoon preparations. The governor, who applied for the leave a month earlier, apologized Saturday and promised to “get the first available flight home.”
The DILG chief noted that several local officials left the country despite the travel restrictions and said, “We can recommend disciplinary measures, study all the implications [of] these matters. Maraming local government officials na wala dito ngayon na binagbabawal mahigpit na umalis sila.”
