Quezon City Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista yesterday scored mayors of some cities in Metro Manila for declaring their areas under state of calamity, claiming this was not only uncalled for but could also be prejudicial to them in the future.
At the weekly Kapihan sa Annabelle’s, Bautista chastised the Metro mayors, particularly that of Pasay City, saying he sees no reason for them to declare their cities under state of calamity.
“Pasay City, for example, was not badly hit by the recent disaster as only F. B. Harrison Street was  hit by flood,” Bautista told media men covering the forum. “So, Pasay City should not have been placed under the state of calamity.”
Declaring an area under a state of calamity enables the mayor of the particular city or municipality to utilize the calamity funds allotted for his areas. Also, workers in the particular area declared under the state of calamity, whether employed by the private sector or the government, are entitled to calamity loans provided by different agencies.
Bautista said he refused to declare Quezon City under the state of calamity as only 10 percent of the city was affected by flood.
“Only the Kamuning area in Quezon City was worst hit by flood as it hosts the Kamuning Creek which happens to be the lowest area in the city,” Bautista said.
He nonetheless admitted he had been criticized by some sectors, particularly the workers who have complained they cannot avail themselves of the calamity loans being provided by Pag-IBIG and the Social Security System (SSS).
“But I have assured them that even if they cannot avail themselves of the calamity loans, there are still some facilities which they could avail of,”  Bautista said. “But then, they might carry a slightly higher interest rate.”
The Quezon City mayor, however, failed to make mention of the Roxas District and the boundary of Manila and Quezon City which were transformed into virtual lakes as rains submerged the areas under 10 feet of floodwaters.
The Quezon City mayor also bragged about the city’s drainage system, saying it was designed to flush out the city’s waste into nearby areas.
“Maganda ang pagka-design ng drainage system ng Quezon City kaya ang mga basura inaagos na lang papuntang San Juan and Marikina,” Bautista said.