THE Subangdaku Barangay Council in Mandaue City declared on Tuesday, July 26, Sitio Back Matimco under a state of calamity after more than 200 families were displaced by last Monday’s fire.
The Cebu City Council also placed Sitios Mahayahay I and II in Barangay Calamba under a state of calamity after another fire displaced 309 families or 1,355 individuals.
The declaration will allow them to use their quick response fund to address the immediate needs of the affected families.
As of yesterday afternoon, the Mandaue City Social Welfare and Services Office already recorded a total of 235 families who were affected by the blaze.
It displaced 177 house owners and 58 renters and sharers.
The Mandaue City Government will give P10,000 cash assistance to the house owners while P5,000 will be given to the renters and sharers.
Fire survivors in Mandaue were staying in tents that were set up in a lot near the fire site while others stayed in empty truck containers located nearby.
“They could’ve stayed in the barangay gym. We sent a vehicle to the fire site but no one wanted to transfer,” said Subangdaku village chief Erni Manatad.
The fire hit less than a hectare of the 9.2-hectare property of the City that was donated to the beneficiaries of an on-site socialized housing project.
Manatad said he wants the fire site to be reblocked to establish road networks.
He said the blaze also affected some families in an adjacent private lot but the court already issued a decision to give the property back to the owner.
Manatad met with these families and told them that the private lot owner is willing to give financial assistance to them.
“But they don’t want to accept it. They want to go back to their home lots because they filed a motion for reconsideration,” he said.
In Cebu City, the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) will negotiate with the private owner of the razed area to allow the displaced families to temporarily rebuild their houses while the City Government looks for a relocation area.
Lawyer Meriam Consuelo Fernandez, DWUP head, explained that while most of the affected area is owned by the City, there were some displaced families who had occupied the private lot.
“Even before the fire, the availability of housing area is really a challenge for DWUP. If the owner is willing to sell the property, we would be willing to negotiate with them. If not, we’ll ask them to grant the families a temporary stay,” she said. (FMG, RTF)