Some fire victims may not be able to rebuild houses

NOT all victims of last Wednesday’s fire in Barangay Day-as, Cebu City can rebuild their homes, a village official said.

Day-as Barangay Councilor Anthony Daanton said the Gaisanos, who own the lot occupied by some of the fire victims, visited the barangay last Thursday and bared their plan to clear the property of all structures.

Daanton said the Gaisanos will meet the barangay officials again to discuss the matter further.

“Dili tanan mapahawa. Naa ray mabilin (Not all 37 families will be affected),” he said.

But the barangay is yet to identify the exact number of families that occupied the lot of the Gaisanos, he added.

City Hall’s say

The City Government will be asking the Gaisanos to reconsider its plan and not to make the fire as grounds for evicting the families.

“I just want to reiterate that it has been the policy of Mayor Michael Rama not to make fire incidents as reason for eviction. Dili man gud maayo kay double whammy siya sa mga biktima (It’s not fair to deal the fire victims a double whammy),” said City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete in an interview yesterday.

Poblete said he asked the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) Chief Collin Rosell to look into the matter and identify where the City can help.

City Councilor Alvin Dizon, who is the chairperson of the council’s committee on housing, echoed Poblete’s pronouncement, adding that only a court order can evict the displaced families.

Dizon also pointed out that there have been many instances in the past where landowners allowed urban poor families displaced by fire to rebuild their homes.

Past incidents

He cited the 2010 fire in T. Padilla that affected 250 families and the one in Duljo Fatima, which affected 200 families.

Dizon said he will file a resolution in next week’s session, asking the Gaisanos to allow the 37 families to rebuild their houses.