‘State of calamity’ declared in brgys Guizo, Maguikay

To expedite the release of funds and mobilization of resources for the New Year’s Day fire victims, the Mandaue City Council yesterday declared barangays Guizo and Maguikay under state of calamity.

The NewYear’s Day inferno razed 551 houses – 275 in Barangay Guizo and 276 in Barangay Maguikay.

Vice Mayor Carlo Pontico Fortuna, the council presiding officer, said the declaration will enable the city government to access its calamity funds to provide assistance to the fire victims.

The affected families are temporarily housed in the covered courts of the respective barangays. Some were given tents and are just staying in the area.

In the approved budget, house owners will receive P10,000, while the renters, sharers and those whose houses were partially damaged will be given P5,000.

City Social Welfare Officer Violeta S. Cavada also requested the City Council to allocate P480,000 for the catered food for the fire victims for seven days, and another P200,000 for the relief operations.

On top of this, the city government will also give cash assistance to students who were left homeless.

Based on initial investigation, a faulty electrical wiring caused the fire in Guizo, while a substandard Christmas lights were seen as the possible cause of the Maguikay fire.

In another development, the Maguikay fire victims who were illegally occupying the lots will no longer be allowed to go back and rebuild their structures.

Mayor Gabriel Luigi Quisumbing, who met some of the lot owners yesterday morning, said private lot owners will no longer allow the illegal squatters to go back in the area, considering that there is an ongoing ejectment case filed in court.

It is a different scenario in Barangay Guizo though. Some private lot owners will allow fire victims to go back to their respective areas provided that the city government will do reblocking in the area.

Some fire victims themselves own portions of the lot hit by the fire.

Quisumbing, however, said the city government cannot reblock the property if it is privately-owned.

The city’s fire department recorded four fire incidents in Mandaue just as the people were preoccupied welcoming the NewYear. No fatality was reported in the four incidents.

Firefighters got the first call at around 12:11 a.m. when a six-wheeler wing van caught fire in Barangay Bakilid, while being parked near the office of a food company.

The second fire alarm was received at 12:34 a.m. involving a warehouse in Barangay Looc. Initial reports indicated that it might be a sky lantern that caused the fire in the warehouse.

The third fire was reported around 1 a.m. at a residential area in Sitio Santo Niño, Barangay Guizo.

And while the firefighters were still busy controlling the conflagration in Guizo, another fire broke out in Sitio Salvacion, Barangay Maguikay five minutes later.

Garry B. Lao/GAN

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