Speaker Arroyo receives P1.1-M donation for Pampanga earthquake victims
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sun, 19 May 2019 09:50:57 +0000
House Speaker and former President Gloria M. Arroyo received over the weekend a P1.1-million donation from Cebu businessmen for the earthquake victims in her district in Pampanga.
Arroyo said she will use the money – which was given to her in Cebu during a simple turnover ceremony – to rebuild the houses that were destroyed during the earthquake last month.
At least nine people were killed in Porac and Lubao in the magnitude-6.1 earthquake that also rocked parts of Luzon.
Arroyo commended the quick response of the local government unit and the National Resilience Council, which hit the ground running within the first hour after the earthquake struck parts of Pampanga, particularly the second district.
The quick response strategy is a model that should be carried out in the entire country during times of emergency, she said.
While in Cebu, Arroyo inspected the 36-kilometer Naga Highway which was built during her presidency in 2006. The road connected the east of Cebu to the west, from Naga to Toledo City which spurred growth in the area.
Her visit was part of her “sentimental journey” to her favorite projects during her presidency, which lasted from 2001 to 2010.
Now on her third and final term as Pampanga second district representative, Arroyo is expected to retire from government service at the end of the 17th Congress in June 2019.
Her favorite answer when asked what she would do following her political career is: “I’ll write my memoirs.”
But on the occasion of her 72nd birth anniversary last April 5, Arroyo said during a speech in her hometown of Lubao that she would be taking up the job of consultant of the Pampanga provincial government once her House term ends. (Ellson A. Quismorio)