Tutuban tenants assured of Yule venue after fire

After more than 48 hours, authorities finally quelled the fire that engulfed a portion of the Tutuban Mall in Divisoria, Manila, as management pledged to find alternative sites for affected merchants in case their stalls are not yet ready in time for the Christmas shopping rush.

Manila Fire Department Chief Supt. Felix Abrenica said the fire that began past midnight on Wednesday was declared out at around 1 a.m. Friday. He also stuck to his earlier assessment that it destroyed about 90 percent of the structures and goods within the four-story building known as Cluster 1.

An investigation into the cause of the blaze is underway, Abrenica said, noting that it apparently started in the middle of the ground floor, based on initial reports.

The mall management had set up a help desk for the affected tenants as they were still being barred by the city government from entering the building.

Tenant coordinator Cris Sioson pointed out that the blaze only affected a portion of the complex that was built in the 1990s and not the more historically significant areas.

The mall’s main facade marks the original Philippine National Railway station built in 1892 and also features a monument of revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio.

Sioson also explained that Cluster 1, which housed some 500 stalls selling mostly fabrics and souvenir items, made up only a quarter of Tutuban’s entire operations. “The mall was only closed for one day and our operations went back to normal,” he said.

“We are in the process of gathering what our tenants need to restore their livelihood inside the mall as soon as the mall is declared safe for rehabilitation,” said Sioson, a tenant coordinator.

Sioson said that in case the burned portion is not yet ready in time for the Christmas shopping rush, an alternative venue inside the complex will be set up for the stall owners. Nancy C. Carvajal