Boljoon welfare office washed out by waves

The Cebu provincial government will push for the transfer of Boljoon town’s municipal social welfare and development office after the building housing the office got “wiped out” following Tuesday’s earthquake.

Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, whose own office at the Capitol was damaged by the quake, said provincial engineers led by Hector Jamora pronounced the original site as unstable. The building sits on a reclaimed area beside the town’s seafront.

She said huge waves battered the building and led to the structure’s collapse.

“The entire building of their social welfare office disappeared. Nothing is left. We can’t even see the top of its roof,” she said.

“It was just very fortunate that no one was there when the incident happened. Usually a lot of senior citizens and persons in need go to that office,” she added.

Magpale and Gov. Hilario Davide III visited the damaged structures yesterday with Boljoon Mayor Merlou Derama. Nearby structures were not spared from the damage wrought by the Oct. 15 quake. The town’s municipal hall sustained cracks on its walls and floors, she said.

Epicenter

She said a portion of Boljoon’s multi-purpose gym was also affected with its supporting columns destroyed.

“We were there in their municipal hall yesterday when another aftershock came. The town is located just across Carmen, Bohol where the epicenter of the quake was,” Magpale said.

Magpale said Davide assured financial assistance to the town as soon as they finalize the damage assessment.

Assistance

At the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu’s 3rd district pledged to pay for the medical expenses of the 16 residents of Pinamungajan town who were caught in last Tuesday’s stampede. Among the patients was 5-year-old Angel Canilla, of baranrgay Limac, Pinamungajan.

“People were stepping on me. I was looking for my daughter because I was so scared when people panicked,” she said.

Garcia said she will stay in Cebu for one week before returning to Manila. Correspondents Peter L. Romanillos and Michelle Joy L. Padayhag