Lorega fire Fire victims, aid workers getting sick

Politicians descend on calamity area to distribute help

Lorega barangay councilor Perla Yosores fainted yesterday morning while overseeing the survey of fire-affected sitios and is now confined in a hospital.

Some of the estimated 5,000 fire victims have also started falling ill, most of them complaining of cough, colds and headaches.

“Ang mas kuyaw ug ang atong nang mga frontline service providers ug facilities na ang mo-bog down sa kakapoy,” said barangay captain Fritz Herrera.
(I’m more worried  if our frontline service providers and facilities would conk out due to fatigue.)

The largest group of evacuees is staying in the old Sacred Heart School gymnaisum along General Maxilom Avenue.

Herrera said that barangay workers have barely been able to rest since the fire hit on Tuesday because of the need to attend to the different concerns of the fire victims.

City Hall distributed disaster kits which include cooking utensils.

Fire victims again lined up at the barangay hall  yesterday afternoon to collect their share of cash assistance from north district Rep. Raul del Mar and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Severina Trangid, 66, said she intends to use her cash aid to buy kitchen utensils since  City Hall will no longer provide packed meals beginning today.

Evacuees have to prepare their own food.

Barangay captain Herrera said a  cooking area will be set up outside  the evacuations centers.

Residents displaced by the fire are temporarily  staying at  the Lorega Sports Center, the old Sacred Heart School gymnasium and the barangay Zapatera sports center.

No PDAF, no money

Rep. Del Mar said the DSWD allocated P2 million for the fire victims which will be released at P1,000 each to owners of totally damaged structures.
Owners of partially damaged structures, renters and house-sharers  will receive P500 each.

DSWD also distributed food packs to fire victims.

“Mao ni ang problema kay wala na tay PDAF.  Ang atong mahimo karon mohangyo lang para naa tay ikahatag ninyo,” he told fire victims.(This is the problem now that legislators no longer have access to the Priority Development Assistance Fund. The only thing that I can do is to plead with the national government to spare something for you.)
Del Mar said that the bigger assistance of P10,000 for the fire-affected families will come from the Cebu city government.

“Ang amo pakapin lang ni. Among gidali ug hatag aron naa sila’y magamit.  Sila nay bahala ug unsay ilang paliton depende sa ilang gikinahanglan,” he said.
(Ours is just a supplement.  We worked to have this amount disbursed so that the people would have money to use. It’s up to them how to spend it.)

His daughter Rachel, former representative, accompanied him in the distribution at the Lorega barangay hall grounds.
She  asked fire victims not to lose hope.

Former mayor and south district representative Tomas Osmeña also dropped by sitio Laguna  near the St. Peters Chapel shortly after he arrived  from the United States on Thursday.
Osmeña was in the US for two weeks for his annual  medical checkup.

He visited his supporters in the area and checked on the basketball court and chapel which he rehabilitated using his personal money a few years back.

“I really feel sorry for them.  The only thing I can do for them now is to build one basketball goal for them.  As to the chapel, I will find a way,” Osmeña told Cebu Daily News.
Osmeña said he also handed over cash to barangay captain Herrera as his personal contribution to the barangay and the fire victims.

Before he left, he asked children in the area to line up.  He had a vendor distribute ice cream.

Reblocking

Osmeña expressed worry over the welfare of fire victims who will have to endure the congestion of the evacuation centers until reblocking plans of mayor Michael Rama are implemented.

Reblocking in a portion of barangay Carreta which was hit by fire on December 2013 has not been completed to date.  Some of the affected families continue to occupy tents set up in a portion of the barangay road.

Osmeña reminded Mayor  Rama not to use the fire or  his reblocking plans as a reason to displace the affected families.

“Reblocking is good if you pay them.  We have calamity funds but he (Rama) does not use it.  He uses it (instead) for city hall employees making them appear as calamity victims,” said Osmeña referring to the P20,000 calamity assistance which Rama released to city hall officials and employees before Christmas of 2013.

Osmeña said that the city government can use its calamity funds to give  additional compensation to fire victims  affected by reblocking on top of the P10,000 cash assistance that they will receive from the city./with reports from Correspondent Edison A. delos Angeles

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