Two blind men clutch a transistor radio while listening to news updates on the fire that struck their homes in Barangay Apas as it continued to rage right before them. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
They felt the searing heat as the fire burned. They coughed and gagged as smoke filled their lungs. They heard the sounds of frenzy and the painful cries that followed.
They felt and heard it all; but not see their precious homes turn into ashes as fire spread through Sitio CRCI (Cebu Rehabilitation Center Inc.) in Barangay Apas, Cebu City on Monday.
They are the city’s blind who lived in a settlement area in uptown Cebu till recently.
They are now homeless and left with just the clothes on their back as fire ripped through their homes, built through years of hard-earned labor offering massage therapy services to the sighted.
Tony Ybasan, 58, appealed for help since his family was not able to save all of their things when the fire broke out.
Ybasan, a visually impaired person, was brought to a temporary evacuation site, St. Francis Hope Nursery School, along with his four grandchildren ages two to 10 and his partner Gemma, 67.
“Kani ra tawn tapot sa among lawas ang nahabilin sa among butang. Akong asawa maoy nag guide nako ug sa akong mga apo pagawas (What we are wearing right now was the only thing that was left of our things. My wife guided me and my grandchildren away from our burning house),” Ybasan told Cebu Daily News.
The Ybasans were not able to save any of their things since Tony’s wife first made sure he and the grandchildren were safe.
Jovelyn Malinao, 21, also lost all her belongings since in their family, the only one not visually impaired is her four-year-old son.
As the fire broke out, Jovelyn was with her parents and niece, all of them are blind.
“Pagsugod gyud sa sunog kay nidagan nako unya gakugos ko sa akong pag-umangkon. Nidagan nako unya giguyod ko sa akong anak paggawas (At the start of the fire, I ran while carrying my niece. I ran then my child pulled me out),” Jovelyn said.
Jovelyn’s Christmas wish is simple: just clothes and whatever things people could give as they are left with nothing.
The Ybasans and Malinaos are just among the 162 families or 656 individuals who have lost almost everything to the fire that razed 112 houses.
According to Apas barangay captain Ramil Ayuman, of the number, 48 victims are blind.
At City Hall, Mayor Tomas Osmeña assured that all the families displaced in Monday’s fire in Barangay Apas will be allowed to rebuild in the area.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s SOP (standard operating procedure). Fires should never be used as a reason for evicting people,” Osmeña said.
But according to Cebu City Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) head Genevieve Alcoseba, the affected site in Sitio CRCI falls in a property still owned by the province as it had not been part of ongoing negotiations between City Hall and the Provincial Capitol for a land swap deal to resolve the 93-1 lot controversy.
At least three homeowners associations (HOAs) residing within 93-1 lots were not included in the land swap arrangement since their area has been made part of the master plan of the nearby Cebu IT Park.
This means that if IT Park were to expand, the HOAs will ultimately be displaced.
“Mayor Tommy wants to still include the HOAs but the price of the lots there is now at P100,000 per square meter, so how can the urban poor pay that?” Alcoseba asked.
Alcoseba explained that it will now be up to the province to decide if they will allow the victims to continue to permanently reside in the area.
Higher assistance
Meanwhile, victims of fires in Cebu City can expect bigger financial aid from the city.
Osmeña has signed Executive Order No. 14 doubling the current P10,000 financial assistance to owners of houses that have been burned during fires within the city.
The mayor assured that even if the EO was just recently signed, victims of fires that hit the city last week including those in Barangay Duljo Fatima will also receive the increased financial assistance.
“It’s an across the board policy. Wala’y pili-pili (Everyone will benefit),” Osmeña said in a press conference yesterday.
Under the EO, owners of destroyed homes, apartments and analogous buildings or structures used as abodes and/or dwellings whether totally or partially will get P20,000.
Owners of structures that were only slightly damaged will get P10,000.
P10,000 will also given to renters, lessees, sharers or tenants of destroyed homes, houses, apartments and structures used as homes.