Looc fire victims get cash aid from Mandaue City gov’t

Mayor Jonas Cortes (3rd from left) leads the distribution of cash assistance to the fire victims of the December 6 fire in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City. | Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines- Victims of the fire that hit sitio Superior, Barangay Looc here last December 6, 2020, received financial assistance from the city government on Monday, December 28, 2020.

Mayor Jonas Cortes led the distribution of financial assistance to families that were displaced by the fire.

The families, whose homes were totally damaged, received P10,000 each, while families with partially damaged homes were given P5,000 each. Renters received P5,000 while boarders received P2,500.

The cash aid was in addition to the “starter kits” which contained basic food items, toiletries, and mattresses given to the victims immediately after the incident.

Read: State of calamity won’t be declared in fire-hit Sitio Superior in Mandaue City

The fire victims of the December 6 fire in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City receive cash assistance from the city government. | Mary Rose Sagarino

Merna Prada, 50, whose home was destroyed by the fire and was thankful to the city government for the cash aid, said she would use the money to buy house materials to rebuild their home.

Maricel Yu, City Social Welfare and Services (CSWS) head, said that victims of the Christmas dawn fire in sitio Nangka, Barangay Casuntingan would receive cash assistance in January next year.

Read: SK Looc Mandaue launches donation drive for fire victims in Sitio Superior

Meanwhile, Mayor Jonas Cortes wants to adopt the best practices of Barangays Ibabao-Estancia and Casuntingan.

Barangay Casuntingan purchased 100  fire extinguishers that helped put up the December 25 fire in Sitio Nangka in the barangay while Barangay Ibabao-Estancia has a neighborhood association, in which every household has a representative that will be trained by the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction Office (DRRMO).

“Nakakita man gud ko nga kung ato’ng community, ato’ng kaigsuunan ma-empower dako kaayo og matabang. To build the strong city we need to build strong communities,” said Cortes. 

(I see that for our community, our fellow Mandauehanons will be empowered that would be a big help. To build a strong city, we need to build strong communities.)