Tondo fire victims skeptical about ‘accidental’ fire

Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim leads the distribution of goods to more than 5,000 fire victims of Isla Puting Bato at Del Pan Sports Complex, where they have been staying since Friday, May 18, 2012. PHOTO BY JERRY S. TAN/MANILA.GOV.PH

MANILA, Philippines—Isla Puting Bato, Tondo, residents remain unconvinced that a fire that razed their community last May 11 was an accident.

The fire victims spoke up at a Manila council committee hearing held in the community on Wednesday morning, on the strength of a resolution by District 1 councilors Dennis Alcoreza and Ernesto Dionisio, which was passed last week.

The council hearing was meant to investigate the fire that rendered homeless more than 5,000 people, mostly from the community’s Purok 1 and 2. It was attended by councilors mostly from District 1, Isla Puting Bato residents, and a representative from the Bureau of Fire Protection.

In an interview, Alcoreza said the residents remain skeptical of the idea that the fire was caused by a child playing with candles. “The fire spread too fast. They feel it was intentional,” he said.

Bolstering the theory was the admission of the BFP that their report on the cause of the fire only came from one source: the purok or community leader.  “The BFP investigation was ongoing,” Alcoreza said.

The fire victims also questioned the Philippine Ports Authority for barring them from rebuilding their homes. The community had been squatting on PPA property. The houses that caught fire two weeks ago were mostly located at the breakwater of the facilities.

The PPA, in a letter to the Manila city government after the fire, appealed for help to relocate the residents since the area was a danger zone and not meant for residency.

“Bakit kung kelan kami nasunog, ngayon kami papaalisin? Kaya tuloy kami napapaisip kung nasunog nga ba? O sinadyang sunugin kami? (Why are we being evicted after the fire? This makes us wonder: Was the fire accidental? Or was it arson?)” the Samahang Maralita ng Isla Puting Bato, Tondo Inc. said in a letter to the city council.

The victims have been evacuated to the Del Pan Sports complex in Tondo while plans for their relocation, supposedly to Bulacan, are still being processed by the National Housing Authority.

The fire victims appealed to the city council to help them convince the PPA to allow them to put up at least temporary shelters on the remains of their homes, while details of their relocation remain undetermined.

“Habang nag-uusap, bakit hindi niyo muna ideklara ang lugar namin na staging area kung talaga kaming aalisin? Dahil kung nakikita ninyo ang Del Pan Sports complex, napakasikip at marami na po ang nagkakasakit (While we are negotiating, why don’t you declare our place as a staging area if indeed we would be evicted?  If you look at the Del Pan Sports Complex, it is too small and many are already falling ill,” the people’s organization stated in a letter, signed by its president Mansor Utto and 11 other officers.

Alcoreza said that while the fire victims were not allowed to bring in construction materials to rebuild their homes, some of them have been staying in tents at the razed fire site.

“Kami po ay hindi tutol sa mga proyektong plano sa aming lugar ngunit sana idaan ito sa proseso ayon sa batas ng Urban Development Housing Act. Huwag naman ito idaan sa sapilitan at pagsunog sa lugar namin dahil kami rin po ay mga tao at nababagay sa makataong pagtrato (We are not against any projects in our place but we hope these will be done according to lawful processes under the Urban Development Housing Act. Don’t push them through force and arson because we are also humans and deserving of humane treatment),” Utto said.

Alcoreza is mulling drafting a resolution asking the council to allocate P2 million in next year’s city budget for the relocation of the victims.

He said they could tap idle city properties as relocation sites, such as in Vitas, Tondo, or the temporary housing units along Road 10, also in Tondo. “All that is needed is political will,” he said.