Actress Bela Padilla is earning praise online after calling out Pangasinan 2nd District Representative Mark Cojuangco for his remark blaming flood victims in Cebu for living in “floodplains.”

Cojuangco’s comment — “Bakit kasi sa flood plain gumawa ng tirahan?” — came as the nation mourned nearly 200 deaths from Typhoon Tino’s devastating floods.

Padilla’s response was sharp but compassionate:

“Respectfully, you don’t start giving swimming lessons to a drowning man, sir. You save him first.”

She further pointed out that poor families often build in risky areas because they have no safer options — and questioned why local governments allowed such housing to begin with.

Her words sparked a wider conversation about accountability, urban planning, and compassion in disaster response.

Because the real issue isn’t where the poor built their homes — it’s where the powerful failed to build protection.

🦅 Politikanta Minute — Tanong na may laman, komento na may pananampalataya.

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