Looc fire victims promised cash aid

A resident tries to save wood and other items from his burnt home in Brgy. Looc, Mandaue City. | CDN Digital photo / Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Looc fire victims will be given cash and food assistance to help them start anew, barangay captain Raul Kevin Cabahug said.

They are set to receive cash assistance amounting to P10, 000 for house owners and P5, 000 for renters from the city government.

In addition, the barangay will also be giving them free meals that will last for over a week, Cabahug said.

And to facilitate the release of barangay funds for the purpose, members of the barangay council convened for a special session on Wednesday to place the fire-affected areas in Sitio Under the Bridge under a state of calamity.

ALSO READ: Fisherman, son rescue dog trapped in Looc fire

The declaration was needed to facilitate the use of the barangay’s quick response fund to aid the fire victims.

Looc fire

The Mandaue City Social Welfare and Services Office has so far listed 516 fire-affected families that consist of 1,645 individuals.

Most of the fire victims are currently accommodated in modular tents that were set up at the gymnasium in Brgy. Looc while the others are housed at the Cesar Cabahug Elementary School.

The modular tents that were set up at the Looc gynmasium. | CDRRMO photo

As of this writing, personnel of the Mandaue City Fire Station said that they continue to investigate the cause of the Tuesday noon fire.

ALSO READ: 1,537 individuals displaced in Looc fire

Appeal for help

Looc barangay officials have launched a donation campaign for the fire victims.

Mayos Jonas Cortes, who was in Manila when the fire broke, immediately visited the Looc gymnasium upon his arrival in Cebu, Tuesday night.

Cortes said the city government will be aiding the fire victims.  In addition, he also asked some Senators to send help to the fire victims.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, who joined Cortes at the Looc gymnasium, handed a personal cash aid that is equivalent to his salary for one month.

Chan said his city was also giving a P1 million donation and some grocery items for the fire victims.

ALSO READ: Fire in Brgy Looc, Mandaue City displaces 700 families

Personnel of the Coast Guard District Central Visayas helped put out the flames that engulfed homes in Brgy. Looc, Mandaue City. | Photo from Coast Guard District Central Visayas

Quick response fund

Cababug said they would welcome all the help that they could get for the fire victims, considering their funding limitation.

Barangay Looc has calamity funds amounting to P968,000 for 2024.  But the allocation will have to be spent on both disaster preparedness and quick response.

Republic Act 10121 or the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) law mandates the allocation of 30 percent of the local disaster fund for quick response or “stand-by fund for relief and recovery programs” while the remaining 70 percent is for disaster preparedness.