Scavengers bank on blazes to put more food on the table

Saturday, July 16, 2011

THE series of fires that struck Cebu City in a one-week period displaced hundreds of families and claimed several lives.

For others, though, it meant more food on the table.

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Julius Alcantara, 30, had a field day on Leon Kilat St. yesterday, scavenging for burned metals where a fire gutted a two-storey commercial building last Thursday night.

With a sack slung behind his back, Julius scoured the debris using tattered gloves for protection. He joined fellow scavengers who descended on the area in search of possible “treasures.”

Afterwards, he said it was a good day for him and his family.

No apologies

Julius knew the fire was a tragic experience for the victims, but he said this is how he makes his living.

He said he sells the metals to a junk shop, which buys these for P2 to P40 per kilo, depending on the mass and kind.

Most of the materials he scavenged yesterday were burned tin roofs.

In the past, he would find copper from electric wires, which sells between P80 and P100 per kilo.

This meant he could splurge on roasted chicken and pork barbecue for his family.

He said his children would always get excited when he brought home delicious food.

“The work is dangerous, but I’m doing it for my children. With the consecutive fires in the city, they’ve been eating well,” he said in Cebuano.

On most occasions, though, money is tight for the Alcantara family.

When his daughter got sick, he and his wife Alicia were forced to borrow from a neighbor so they could buy medicine for her.
Alicia sometimes accepts laundry to augment their income to support their four children, ages six, seven, nine and 12.

When fire struck Punta Princesa last Wednesday, Julius rushed to the scene, hoping to gather metals and irons.

The fire displaced almost 2,000 individuals, razing three major areas in the barangay.

He said he also went to Barangay Tejero after last Saturday’s fire destroyed 200 houses.

With the last three fires, he said he has earned around P4,000.

On a normal day, Julius roams the streets looking for garbage that may be sold in junk shops.

Jeremy Espina, 19, said scavengers like him have a field day whenever there’s a fire.

“The bigger, the better,” he said in Cebuano.

Jeremy and his 46-year-old father raid fire-ruined houses, ignoring dangers like falling debris.

Vidal’s prayers

He admitted they sometimes get injured, but he said it’s one of the hazards of the job.

And although some scavengers take advantage of the fire to steal things, he said he and his father don’t condone the practice.

“It’s wrong. And most of the time there’s nothing to steal,” he said in Cebuano.

For the fire victims, Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal assured them they will receive assistance from their local church, despite the uncertainty over funding of some church-initiated projects.

Vidal told reporters the Catholic Charities, or Caritas, which is operated under the Archdiocesan Commission on Service, will help hundreds who lost their homes and belongings to the series of fires that hit Cebu City.

Vidal also said he will pray for those who died and for the families and relatives they left behind.

“We hope they (victims) will be given proper aid,” he added.