Some victims of the fire in Barangay Looc were accommodated at the barangay’s gymnasium, while other affected families were housed at the Ceasar Cabahug Elementary School./Contributed via Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Victims of the fire that hit two sitios in Barangay Looc are set to be relocated to Sitio Riverside near a university at the boundary of Barangay Looc and Opao.
Looc Barangay Captain Raul Kevin Cabahug said on Thursday that the relocation will only be temporary, as announced by Mayor Jonas Cortes during their meeting.
Cabahug stated that the fire site is a danger zone, which is why fire victims will not be allowed to rebuild homes there.
“Under the bridge, naa sa dagat, considered gyud as danger zone, so karun naa may panghitabo nga wala gyud nato damha, mao nang dili nalang pabalikon para dili mausab, mas maayo na gyud nga adto sila sa lugar nga safe sila,” said Cabahug.
He mentioned that the relocation site will be prepared and that preparations will be made there very soon.
Fire victims are currently housed at the barangay’s gymnasium and the Ceasar Cabahug Elementary School.
Cabahug said that they would conduct a coordination meeting to discuss how long the fire victims can stay at the school. The school temporarily postponed classes to make space for some victims.
The total validated number of affected families was 515, consisting of 1,677 individuals. The significant fire on Tuesday hit two sitios, namely UTB (Under the Bridge) and Bantayn sa Hari.
On Thursday, the Department of Social Welfare and Services Field Office in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) distributed family food packs to the affected families at the barangay’s gym.
Each family food pack contains 6 kilograms of rice, cereal, coffee, and canned goods.
DSWD-7 Assistant Regional Director for Operations Juanito Cantero said that the food packs were distributed in coordination and representation by Ako Bisaya Partylist through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
Cantero added that there would be another round of distribution of family food packs represented by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Visayas (OPAV).
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