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A homeless woman whose family was among those brought to Chateau Royale Batangas by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) during the visit of Pope Francis revealed that they were told a different story by the agency’s personnel.
DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman has been quoted as saying that bringing the homeless families to the Batangas resort for the duration of the papal visit was just part of a “family camp.” Soliman denied that they “hid” the street children and their families from Pope Francis.
That’s not exactly what one woman is saying.
“Speaking to radio dzMM on Saturday, January 24, street dweller Joy Tibigar said they were told by DSWD personnel that they needed to be relocated because Pope Francis supposedly did not want to see families living on the streets,” reports ABS-CBNnews.com.
Tibigar said in Filipino, “When they came for us (at Roxas Boulevard), they told us the Pope wanted to clean up the streets. They said that the Pope didn’t want to see the poor people.”
The report noted: “Tibigar, her husband and their two-month-old daughter were among those brought to the Chateau Royale Batanags resort during the five-day papal visit. She said they stayed in one room with two other families.”
Photo: Johnson Manabat, dzMM (Twitter)
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