Rama: Road widening better than reblocking

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama (CDN FILE PHOTO)

THE Cebu City government plans to widen the interior roads of barangay Camputhaw instead of reblocking the portion that was hit by fire on Easter Sunday.

Mayor Michael Rama said that since the area is owned by the provincial government and is part of the properties covered by Ordinance 93-1, it will be difficult for the city government to reblock the area.

Rama said widening the road would be easier and cheaper to do.

“As a government official, I want to be proactive. I’d rather spend disaster funds for preparedness than giving assistance to victims,” he said.

Rama said he spoke to Camputhaw Councilman Alvin Raymond Garcia, who is also president of the Barangay Councilors League of the Philippines (BCLP) Cebu City chapter, about the need to widen the barangay roads days before the fire struck.

Rama said that Camputhaw officials will have to start road widening in their area while the city government will assist by lending equipment to the barangay.

Social workers are listing down families before they can be given food, cash or construction materials.

Clothes and construction materials are among the immediate needs of the victims among 60 affected families since most were unable to save their belongings, said Dawel Guadez, a resident and member of the Purok 3 Upper Youth Organization which is organizing a relief drive.

Ann Marie Gutierrez, also a resident of Purok 3, used Facebook to call for donations for some of her friends who lost their houses.

Her home was spared from the fire. She said that most of the fire victims needed shoes for work, slippers, clothes and even housing materials because they do not have places to sleep. “They also need clothes for children,” she added.