MANILA - Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas on Wednesday gave an explanation on why a police officer who claimed that as many as 10,000 people were killed by super typhoon Yolanda was removed from his post. Roxas said Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria, who headed the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Region 8, was not sacked but just relieved of his post after becoming a victim of the typhoon. "As regards to the police officer, he was not sacked. There is a procedure in the Philippine National Police wherein given such a calamity where the officers themselves are victims they undergo debriefing. DSWD calls it psychosocial dialogue para lang mailabas nila ang tensions and stresses sa loob," he said in an interview on ANC's Headstart. He said the government needed a "cool, steady hand" in dealing with the calamity. "Always in a situation like this, what we want is a cool steady hand so the officer on the ground at the time of the incident hindi mo matatanggal sa human yan. Baka gustong magpakita, magbawi so mag overreact naman so you want a cool steady detached hand lalo na yung hindi biktima para yung judgment niya ay yung based on facts, empirical rather than emotion," he said. He added: "It is not a negative on his record." Roxas also explained why the official death toll of super typhoon "Yolanda" is rising slowly 19 days after the storm. He said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) bases its count on the number of death certificates in typhoon-hit areas. "They will always be behind the number because they need a death certificate para mas sigurado," he told ANC's Headstart. The official death toll from super typhoon "Yolanda" has jumped to 5,500, the NDRRMC said Wednesday. The number includes 4,585 deaths in Leyte province alone. ANC HEADSTART, November 27, 2013
