BLAZE IN ‘PARADISE’ | Children, in this photo taken on Dec. 2, 2022, play with water from a broken pipe amid the ruins of 250 houses in Sitio Paradise, Barangay Looc, Mandaue City, that were gutted by a fire on Nov. 22, 2022. (Photo by DALE G. ISRAEL / Inquirer Visayas
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu, Philippines — The government needs to conduct a nationwide inventory of all families living in danger zones so that concerned agencies can assess the needed funds for the relocation and permanent housing for informal settlers, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian made the recommendation after visiting Sitio Paradise in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City last Friday, which was hit by its biggest fire in 2022 that destroyed the homes of over 700 families.
The displaced families used to live in houses on stilts built under a section of the first Mandaue-Mactan-Cebu bridge, which connects mainland Cebu to Mactan Island.
Lasting program
Before the fire, families that lived in the area suffered from constant flooding during high tide. They were also among those badly affected by typhoons.
“Many of these people live under the bridge because they want to be closer to work. I think the first thing we can do is to determine how many people live under these circumstances so we can give them permanent housing [in another location],” the senator said.
Gatchalian said he also went to another fire site in Navotas and saw the same condition in Mandaue City. He said there is a need for a permanent housing program for these families or else similar incidents will continue.
“Even if they return to where their houses used to stand, the threats to their lives would still be there,” he said.
The fire that hit Sitio Paradise on Nov. 22, which destroyed over 250 houses, started inside the house of Reynaldo Devilleres, who had said in an interview that he used a gas lamp that might have tipped over while he was sleeping.
Gatchalian distributed sacks of rice and food packs to the fire victims, with a promise to send the displaced families more aid.
The fire victims were now temporarily sheltered at the Barangay Looc gymnasium, as donations from various groups, which included food packs, blankets, water, and canned goods, kept coming.
The Mandaue City government has also given a P10,000 cash assistance to each of the families affected by the fire.