Actress Bela Padilla called out Pangasinan 2nd District Rep. Mark Cojuangco on Monday, November 10, following his controversial comment on social media about residents living in flood-prone areas — a remark that drew backlash amid the widespread devastation caused by Typhoon Tino in Cebu and parts of the Visayas.
Cojuangco came under fire after responding to a TikTok video of flood survivors posted on Saturday, November 8, writing: “Bakit kasi sa flood plain gumawa ng tirahan? ♀️ Takaw sakuna.”
His comment was perceived by many as insensitive, as thousands of families continue to suffer from the floods that left nearly 200 people dead and many more displaced.
On Monday, Padilla quote-tweeted his post on X (formerly Twitter) with a sharp response: “Respectfully, you don’t start giving swimming lessons to a drowning man, sir. You save him first.”
She then questioned why local authorities allowed residential structures to be built in vulnerable areas in the first place.
“Why didn’t the LGUs stop them from building there in the first place? Common folk don’t know where they can or can’t build. I mean — look at Slater Young,” she added, referring to the Monterrazas de Cebu development project in Barangay Guadalupe, which has been widely discussed online as a possible factor in Cebu’s catastrophic flooding.
Padilla’s post quickly went viral, earning praise from netizens who agreed that the congressman’s statement was misplaced and lacked empathy.
“Exactly! Disaster victims need compassion, not blame,” one user wrote.
As of press time, Cojuangco has not issued a clarification or apology regarding his statement.
