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MANILA, Philippines — Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco confirmed late Thursday, November 6, that she was in London during the onslaught of Typhoon “Tino,” which severely affected Cebu, her home province and that of her husband, Rep. Duke Frasco.
In a Facebook post, she shared how she, her husband, and Liloan Mayor Aljew Frasco visited the municipality to help distribute family food packs and financial assistance to Tino victims.
“We also had a coordination meeting with officials to discuss ongoing relief efforts, with 6,000 food packs to be deployed tonight and thousands more to follow in the next few days,” her post read.
It was after this that she admitted to coming from London. This quelled rumors that spread over the past week that she and Duke, a lawmaker representing Cebu’s 5th District, flew out of the country right before the typhoon ravaged Visayas.
Frasco said she “arrived in London on the morning of November 4” to lead the Philippine delegation at the World Travel Market. “I represented the country at the Ministerial Summit and also led the opening of the Philippine Stand in the evening,” she added.
When Cebu was devastated by Tino, Frasco said she immediately took a flight “the very next day” and returned to the Philippines, arriving on November 6. While she did not mention her husband, Duke, in her statement, she used “we arrived” to describe her return, though she had earlier used “I” when referring to her departure.
The legislator has yet to issue any statement confirming whether he was in London, despite repeated inquiries from his office in recent days. He has, however, been posting photos on Facebook about his visit to the affected residents of Liloan, Cebu.
The Frascos, however, were not the only ones criticized for their absence when Tino hit Cebu. The Freeman found that eight local officials of the Cebu provincial government filed for a Foreign Travel Authority (FTA) — all for a trip to the United Kingdom.
Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro approved all the travel authorities in September, according to the local news outlet, which noted that the documents were signed after the province was placed under a state of calamity following a deadly 6.9-magnitude earthquake.
The Freeman also reported that travel requests of local officials in areas under a state of calamity require clearance from the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
These are the following public officials who traveled abroad:
- Catmon Mayor Avis Ginoo-Monleon – October 30 to November 7
- San Francisco Mayor Alfredo Arquillano Jr. – November 1 to 7
- Tudela Mayor Greman Solante – November 1 to 7
- Poro Mayor Edgar G. Rama – November 1 to 7
- Pilar Mayor Manuel Santiago – November 1 to 7
- Compostela Mayor Felijur Quiño – November 1 to 7
- Liloan Mayor Aljew Fernando Frasco – November 1 to 11
- Provincial government member Andrei Duterte – November 1 to 8
These dates are slightly aligned with the World Travel Market 2025, which took place from November 4 to 6 in London, United Kingdom.
Apart from DSWD boxes, some photos posted by Duke showed carton boxes labeled “Frasco” in the distribution of donations to victims of Tino.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the death toll from Typhoon “Tino” has risen to 188, 139 of whom were from Cebu. The agency also reported 135 people still missing, including 79 from the province. — Dominique Nicole Flores
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Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
