MANILA — Despite drawing flak for being abroad during Typhoon “Uwan,” Isabela governor Rodolfo “Rodito” Albano III remained defiant, asserting that his province can handle disasters even without his presence — and announcing he will soon leave the country again for another official trip.
In an interview on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s On Point, Albano revealed plans to fly to Japan later this month along with several other governors for a seminar on tsunami alertness and disaster preparedness.
“On the 25th, I’ll be going with most of the governors from the Philippines to Japan para mag-seminar kami about this tsunami alertness. So paalis na naman kami,” Albano said.
His announcement came just hours after the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), through Secretary Jonvic Remulla, ordered all local officials to suspend foreign trips from November 9 to 15 to focus on post-typhoon recovery operations.
Unperturbed, Albano maintained that his recent travel to Germany — criticized for its poor timing — was long approved and unavoidable.
“Noong dumating ‘yang order na ‘yan sa amin, that was on the 9th na. Nakaalis na kami. Hindi naman kami pwedeng bumalik kaagad,” he said, emphasizing that the trip was part of an agricultural fair.
The governor insisted that Isabela’s disaster preparedness protocols were already in place before he departed, citing the leadership of Vice Governor Benjamin Dy and the local police.
“Nandoon naman ako nung nagpe-prepare kami diyan,” Albano said. “Actually isang tao nga hindi naman masyadong kailangan diyan kasi in place naman na ‘yung mga pulis, mga drills namin.”
He added that residents of Isabela have become “used to” managing calamities on their own, suggesting that the province’s systems are strong enough to function without his direct supervision.
Albano’s remarks have fueled a fresh wave of criticism, with detractors accusing him of insensitivity and misplaced priorities while thousands of his constituents continue to recover from Uwan’s devastation. Supporters, however, argued that the governor was fulfilling official commitments abroad that could benefit Isabela’s disaster readiness programs in the long run./PN
