Iloilo City government to re-assess boarding houses after fire

Iloilo. INQUIRER FILES

ILOILO CITY — The Iloilo City government will reinspect boarding houses in La Paz district’s Barangay San Nicolas following a fire that hit seven boarding houses and killed two persons on Feb. 18.

Mayor Jerry Treñas ordered the city government’s Boarding House Commission to check existing boarding houses in the barangay, which is close to big schools in the city such as the Western Institute of Technology, St. Therese-MTC Colleges, West Visayas State University and Iloilo Science and Technology University.

“That area, San Nicolas, is mostly filled with boarding houses when you go there. In terms of voting population, [it] is small, but in terms of [the current residents], there are many people there,” Treñas said.

“We’ve been ordering the closure of several boarding houses because of violations. We’re not being remiss. It’s very sad but we have to go back, and that means we have to do more,” he added.

READ: 4 die, 8 injured in Cebu City fire

Treñas said the licenses and business permits of boarding houses would be revoked if they found it not up to standard.

Under City Regulation Ordinance No. 00-01 boarding houses must be made of strong materials and must have a fire extinguisher, fire alarm, and a dedicated fire exit, among other facility requirements.

Investment Services, Business Permits and Licensing Division (ISBPLD) head Norman Tabud said that out of the seven boarding houses affected by the fire, three had no permits while two had not yet been renewed.

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Two people were killed the fire that engulfed one of the boarding houses without a permit. They were 21-year-old Renz David Aguilar of Concepcion town and 26-year-old Lyn Rose Sobretido of Pototan town who were staying in a boarding house owned by Rocky Gordon.

Aside from the fatalities, 173 people were displaced in the fire that destroyed five houses and damaged two others. The Bureau of Fire Protection-Iloilo City estimated the damage at P2.1 million. The cause and the origin of the fire had yet to be determined.