ILOILO – They dodged Friday last week’s super typhoon “Odette” but not Monday’s predawn conflagration, according to displaced vendors at the gutted public market of Oton town in Barangay Poblacion South.
The pre-Christmas fire started at the dry goods section and quickly spread to adjacent stalls, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
Around 90 percent of the market was razed.
“Ubos gid tanan,” said Sitte Bongcarawan of Barangay Trapiche, Oton. She operated three stalls in the market.
BFP’s initial estimate of the damage reached P44 million but this would likely balloon once stall owners submit reports of their individual losses, said Inspector Roberto Tamayo, BFP-Iloilo deputy fire director.
Bongcarawan was already home sleeping when the fire struck the market. She was alerted by fellow stall owners and immediately rushed to the market.
“Zero balance na kami,” she told Panay News.
Bongcarawan had been selling ready-to-wear clothes and accessories in the market for some seven years now. She said she lost around P300,000 to the fire.
Short circuit may have caused the blaze, according to Tamayo.
“Our investigators gathered some debris samples that will be subjected to confirmation by our experts to identify whether or not there was an electrical short circuit,” he said.
Cell phone and laptop repair shop owner Sotero Castor of Barangay Alegre, Oton wondered how he could restart his business.
“Amo lang gid ‘ni ang source of income ko (and now it’s gone),” lamented Castor.
The fire was placed under control at around 2:23 a.m. and a fire-out was declared at 9:08 a.m.
The affected area was initially cordoned to preserve any evidence that could help in the investigation.
“Duha ang akon nga puesto, ti wara ako kamaan kon may makuha pa ako nga mga baligya kay daw nadala man sang sunog ang vegetable section,” said vegetable vendor Rose Maria Narna, a resident of Tigbauan, Iloilo who operated two stalls at the public market.
BFP’s Tamayo said there are portions of the market that may still operate but Ricardo Magallanes of Barangay Poblacion, Oton was stunned.
“Dugay naman ako nagabaligya, mga 20 years na, pero first time nga nasunog ang tinda,” said Magallanes who operated a grocery store in the market.
Other displaced vendors chose to look at the bright side of things despite their losses.
“Sige lang ah, ang kwarta makita man gihapon, importante buhi,” said Venus Magluyan from Barangay San Antonio, Oton. She operated a rice outlet and a sari-sari store in the market.
Jose Valencia of Barangay Trapiche, Oton was just as optimistic.
“Life must go on, buhi pa man ‘ta. Okay pa man kamot ta,” said Valencia.
Displaced vendors will receive assistance from the local government unit (LGU) of Oton, said Municipal Administrator Japhet Salinas
“Nagtawag si Mayor Carina Flores nga ginapangitaan pa sang pundo kag ginalista pa subong ang naapektohan. Wala pa kita sang na-determine nga amount,” Salinas told Panay News./PN
