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Thursday, August 31, 2006
Trapped dead: 3 kids, 3 others
By Jovy S. Taghoy
With Rene H. Martel
CEBU CITY -- A mother, her three children, and two other women died after the door of the basement room they were renting on Sindulan St., Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City was blocked by a concrete wall that collapsed, trapping them inside.
The bodies of Precilla T. Balagapo, 35, a part-time teacher of a caregiving center and her three children -- Frealla Ann, 7, Fritzie Joice, 6, and Alfredo III, 3 -- Abigail B. Familara, 24, Precilla's cousin-in-law and Elsa Gocela, 38, a housemaid were found at 8:50 a.m. Wednesday.
Tragedy struck at 1:30 a.m.
The victims were taken to the Cebu City Medical Center where they were declared dead.
They may have drowned or got electrocuted, according to homicide investigators.
SPO3 Rey Cuyos, team leader of the responding Homicide Section team, told reporters Wednesday they asked the PNP Crime Laboratory 7 to do an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Precilla's husband, Alfredo Jr., rushed back to Cebu City from Bohol Province after learning about the incident. He called on the local government to prioritize the cleanup of rivers and creeks to prevent a similar tragedy.
SPO3 Cuyos said the creek overflowed after it rained nonstop overnight.
The rushing waters destroyed a concrete fence that also served as the flood control wall of the house of Fatima Dolotina.
The water, which rose as high as seven feet, flooded the entire house of Dolotina, including the porch.
The water surged and toppled the opposite concrete fence.
The City Government will give P10,000 assistance for each of the fatality.
The City Council Wednesday declared Sindulan under a state of calamity so City Hall can tap its calamity funds to help the families of the dead and those displaced by the flooding.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama said the incident showed the importance of restoring the mandated three-meter easement on riverbanks.
He said City Hall must demolish structures and clear all rivers and creeks.
He reminded barangay officials of their duty to monitor construction of structures and to implement the law.
Councilor Gerardo Carillo said an investigation will be made to determine who should be held liable for the tragedy.
The fire department and disaster council were in Sindulan as early as 2 a.m. urging the residents to vacate their homes because of the flooded creek.
City Planning Officer Paul Villarete said the shanties built near the creeks should be demolished.
The Balagapos' room is at the basement of the two-story house owned by the Galarse family.
The room has a separate door fronting the concrete wall. A pathway, about half a meter wide from the wall, gives access to the room.
Mud on the wall indicated that the water had filled up the room.
Cuyos said an electrical short circuit may have also occurred when the water entered the room.
Vicente "Toto" Galarse, who occupied the first floor of the house, told reporters that the victims had been renting the underground room for more than a year.
He narrated that past 1 a.m. he was awaken by the floodwaters that flowed inside his room, prodding him to check the house.
He also checked outside the house but did not notice the collapsed wall. He went back to his room and got back to sleep.
He only learned about the tragedy when a relative of the victims arrived past 8 a.m. to check on the family.
Vicente then called up the Mabolo Barangay Hall to seek assistance.
Warlito Matulac, a technical staff of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC), said in an interview that they noticed the two walls that collapsed at 3 a.m. but did not know that six people were trapped inside the room.
CCDCC personnel, including Matulac, were roving the city, particularly around the flood-prone areas, including Sindulan.
They asked several people if anybody was hurt when the walls collapsed. They were told that no one was injured or killed, so they continued their roving.
Matulac said he only learned about the tragedy past 8 a.m. after his wife informed him about it.
Mabolo Barangay Captain Trinidad "Sonny" Borces said the water from the creek overflowed because of the drainage problem in Sindulan.
Several houses have also been constructed near the creek.
Barangay Councilor Reynaldo Ompoc, interviewed over radio dyLA, said they have already raised the drainage problem and the creek to the Cebu City Hall.
Ompoc said Mayor Tomas Osmeña had visited the area to see what needs to be done.
Precilla's husband lamented that it took the lives of his family to remind the government of its responsibility to keep its constituents safe.
He said the last time he spoke with his wife was around 11 p.m. Tuesday, when Precilla told him about the downpour.
Alfredo was in Tagbilaran City in Bohol where he works as an agent of Asia Pacific Tuna.
The next thing he received was a report Wednesday morning that something happened to his family, prompting him to rush back to Cebu City.
"The life of my family has been wasted. It has been sacrificed. Actions must be made to clean up creeks and rivers. Local leaders and the government should keep their promises because promises are not meant to be broken," Alfredo said over dyLA.
The wake for his victims is at the Cebu Rolling Hills on A.S. Fortuna St. in Banilad.
Alfredo said he might ask assistance from the government in transporting the bodies of Familara and Gocela to their hometowns Zamboanga and San Isidro, Leyte, respectively. (Sun.Star Cebu)
(August 31, 2006 issue)
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