MetroBriefs

7 houses lost in fire

A residential area was hit by a fire in Mandaluyong City Tuesday, leaving nine families homeless hours before the New Year. SFO2 Enrique Ligon, head of the city fire department’s communication unit, said the blaze broke out at 11:10 a.m. in the Estelita Ramirez compound  on  M. Gonzaga corner A. Bonifacio Streets in Barangay (village) Hagdang Bato Itaas. Ligon said seven houses were destroyed by the fire, the cause of which has yet to be determined. He could not say, however, whether the houses were made of light materials or of concrete. The blaze reached the first alarm and was put out at 11:53 a.m. There were no reported casualties. Kristine Felisse Mangunay

Remembrance Mass for victims set

A Mass of Remembrance will be offered on Monday, Jan. 13 at

11 a.m. by Prayer Warriors of the Holy Souls (PWHS) for victims of natural calamities and accidents that happened in January. The Mass will be celebrated at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel, Immaculate Conception Cathedral on Lantana Street, Cubao, Quezon City. Among these victims are those who died during the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan, and the quake in Haiti last year, the airplane accident in Zaire in 1996 and most recently, the Skyway tragedy that killed 18 people in Parañaque City on Dec. 16. The Mass is also being offered for saints and departed family members and friends with birth and death anniversaries in January. The PWHS, a Catholic lay apostolate of the Monfort Foundation Inc., is committed to propagate the devotion to the holy souls in purgatory.