Palace: No politics in skipping of Maribojoc town

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang on Friday denied insinuations that President Benigno Aquino III did not visit Maribojoc town in Bohol because its mayor is not his political ally.

"Can I also just point out that the other town visited by the President, the mayor of that is also not a member of the Liberal Party pero pumunta po ang Pangulo," Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said, referring to the town of Tubigon.

Aquino returned to Bohol for the second time to visit towns affected by the magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck the province last week, killing more than 200 people and displacing thousands of residents.

Valte said at a media briefing on Friday that Aquino, who returned to the province on Wednesday and stayed overnight in a camp at adjacent Loon town, is non-partisan in choosing which area to visit.

The town of Maribojoc is the worst-hit area in Bohol.

The town's mayor, Leoncio Evasco Jr., is a member of the United Nationalist Alliance, an opposition to Aquino's Liberal Party.

Evasco was recently involved in a word war with Philippine Red Cross volunteers over the distribution of goods to quake victims in Maribojoc.

Valte said that while Aquino skipped Maribojoc, the town's victims would receive the same amount of assistance that the government would be extending to other areas affected by the deadly temblor.

"Hindi naman po porke hindi nadaanan ng Pangulo ay hindi natin papansin," she added.

Besides Tubigon, Aquino visited Sagbayan town on Thursday.