‘HELP US’

Fire victims of Barangay Duljo Fatima who are temporarily relocated to the San
Nicolas Elementary School are asking for donations of clothes, mats and other household items. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Sirila Gomisong has not changed her clothes in two days.

Yet she had no choice but to keep on wearing the same house dress because it was all that she has now, having fled from the fire that burned down her neighborhood with just the clothes on her back.

Gomisong, 59, like most of the 3,531 victims of the Duljo Fatima fire, has been left with nothing.

It was even a miracle that no one perished or was seriously hurt in the fire that occurred close to midnight last Thursday, since most of the residents were asleep at that time and were forced to run out of their houses with little or no belongings in their hands.

By the time the fire was put out seven hours later, 512 houses across six sitios (subvillages) were burned to the ground, leaving 640 families homeless.

“Wala kaayo mi gamit nasalbar kay nataranta na man mi. Giuna na lang namo ang mga bata ug among kaugalingon,” said Gomisong with a sigh.
(We were unable to save most of our things because we were already in panic. We secured the children and ourselves first.)

Now, fire victims like Gomisong are appealing for donations of clothes and sleeping mats, among others.

Cebu City government officials yesterday admitted that they have not yet given any kind of aid to the fire victims aside from food meals.

Gomisong said the fire was already close to where she lived in Sitio Plastikan, the sixth subvillage that was hit by the fire, when she woke up.

Already in panic, Gomisong said she made sure that all her seven grandchildren were brought to safety. When she came back, she only managed to bring with her a bag of her grandchildren’s clothes.

Her three children, the parents of her grandchildren, lived with her, but they were all at work when the fire broke out.

Another resident who asked not to be named said the clothes that she managed to save were also soaked by the water that firefighters sprayed on their burning homes.

The fire victims are temporarily taking shelter at San Nicolas Elementary School. (CDN PHOTOS/JUNJIE MENDOZA).

She would have wanted to wash them yesterday, but there was no water available at the San Nicolas Elementary School buildings where the fire victims are now being housed.

“We haven’t even been able to take a bath since the fire,” said the resident when interviewed yesterday morning.

Gomisong said that while they were grateful for the packed meals that they had been receiving since Friday from the city government, they need so much more.

“Hangyo namo sa siyudad ug bisan sa ubang tawo nga tabangan unta mi sa among pagpuyo karon. Wala na intawon kaayo mi sanina nga magamit matag adlaw. (I am appealing to the city government or to the public for help. We have no more clothes to wear),” Gomisong said.

No aid yet

Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO) head Nagiel Bañacia explained that as a policy, City Hall cannot yet release any aid other than food to the fire victims, pending the completion of the Department of Social Welfare and Services’ (DSWS) master list of the families affected by the fire.

“Dili ta mo hatag og whatever aid until ma-finalize ’tong list. Kay sa kadaghan sa mga tawo we need to counter-check if those in the list are really fire victims,” said Bañacia.

(We will not give any aid until we are able to finalize the master list of fire victims. Because of the large numbers of victims, we need to counter-check it if those in the list are really fire victims.)

Burnt Houses. A few burnt and smoking houses still stand amid the hundreds of houses razed in the past 11 p.m. Thursday fire in Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City. The fire destroyed hundreds of houses and displaced hundreds of residents in six sitios of the barangay (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA).

Bañacia said that once the validation is completed, City Hall will begin processing the P10,000 financial assistance to each family who lost a home to the fire.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he intends to double the cash aid and was only waiting for the city legal office to finalize the executive order that will be used as basis for the increased aid.

According to Bañacia, the city will also be giving housing materials worth P10,000 to each family affected by the fire. The victims will also get relief materials including mats and pails, among others.

He said they hoped to distribute the material assistance starting today.

However, Bañacia admitted that the city government, on its own, cannot address all of the fire victims’ needs.

Bañacia said they would appreciate donations like clothes, sleeping mats, kitchen utensils and pails, among others, from private donors.

As of Saturday, two private sector groups — the ABS-CBN Cebu and Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Lahug — have given away blankets and utensils to the fire victims who are now accommodated in 14 classrooms at the San Nicolas Elementary School.

Lack of water

Bañacia admitted that water is also a problem at their evacuation center. There is an artesian well inside the school compound, but the water it produces is not enough for all of the fire victims.

Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Services showed that as of 6 p.m. on Saturday, the fire damaged a total of 512 houses in Sitios Bohol Village, Saduco, Chicago, Continental, Riverside and Plastikan, leaving 3,531 persons from 640 families without homes.

A mini firetruck of Sawang Calero distributes water for the fire victims of Barangay Duljo Fatima who were temporarily relocated in San Nicolas Elementary School. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Bañacia said they already asked the Bureau of Fire Protection to assign trucks that will supply water to the fire victims while they stay at their evacuation center. They will also set up temporary bathing and wash areas at the school grounds, he said.

The fire-affected families will be allowed to occupy their assigned classroom for at least a week or until such time that they are able to rebuild their destroyed houses, he added.

Bañacia said the officials of the school have agreed to house the fire victims since it is also impossible for them to resume classes for now because about 90 to 95 percent of their students were affected by the fire.

In fact, some of the San Nicolas Elementary School teachers were also victims of the fire, Bañacia revealed.

“What is important is we normalize the situation first, di man gihapon na maka-class kay di ka-concentrate (they will not be able to hold classes because they cannot concentrate). That is why we need to fast-track everything, and we are trying our best to fast-track everything,” he added.

Reblocking

Meanwhile, the Cebu City Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) will have a consultative meeting on Monday with the sitio leaders for the plan to reblock the areas affected by the fire.

DWUP head Genevieve Alcoseba said they will present the subdivision plan to the sitio leaders as part of the consultation process.

“Out of that consultation, we can make some adjustments. Then a few days after that, we will present it to the affected residents through a projector screen presentation so that they will understand what we plan to do in their communities before they can rebuild their houses,” Alcoseba said partly in Cebuano.