SEGUNDINA Cavan's compound, which shelters seven families in Cebu City's Barangay Pahina-Central, has been razed by fire twice in 2005 and 2015.
Last Wednesday night, a construction crane crashed through their roof and damaged their house for the third time.
The 76-year-old grandmother of six hasn't recovered from the shock of the ordeal, saying the equipment would've killed her 32-year-old niece Nenita Navasca.
"If Nitang was sleeping that time and not watching a soap opera on television, the hook would've squashed her body in half," she said, while guiding the personnel from the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 around the area.
Pieces of broken glass and torn wood littered Navasca's room, who fled the house after the heavy hook pierced through her ceiling.
Navasca said that it was a good thing that she maintained her presence of mind and brought the child who was with her at the time of the incident to safety.
"We ran outside and that was the time that I saw the wound in my leg. I am traumatized by the incident after I was discharged from the hospital and saw the crane this morning," she said, her voice breaking.
"It was so big," she added.
Yesterday, she wrote down the list of damaged things inside their house, which amounted to almost P300,000 so she could forward it to the management of the construction company.
Joseph Torreja, assistant engineer of Metro Dyna Build Inc., said that they will shoulder the expenses of the damage.
Torreja said that the crane was damaged when it hit the retaining wall, causing it to crash in the compound.
"It doesn't have a load. The operator was on his way to unload the boom when it happened," he said.
Torreja denied claims of the residents that the crane broke last Sunday and was fixed by a welder.
The crane was rented from Chelson Equipments, he said.
Cebu City Councilor Jerry Guardo, who visited the site, said the construction company will be held liable for what happened.
"We need to review the safety of these equipments because some might use substandard or secondhand ones. They have to be cautious in using wear and tear equipments because it might cause damage and injuries to others," he said.