BY MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City – Fire victims in Purok Katilingban, Barangay 39 are appealing for more financial assistance.
The P5,000 from the city government to each of the displaced families was not enough to rebuild their houses, said Rosela Gamarza. Her house was one of those that the Sept. 2 fire destroyed.
While neighbors have already started reconstructing their houses, Gamarza said she will be waiting for relatives to do that for her so she could save on labor expenses.
“What I bought with the P5,000 were nails and a few roofing materials,” said Gamarza, formerly a city hall job hire.
Meanwhile, Edjean Villacampa, also a fire victim, said her family is temporarily staying at her mother-in-law’s house until hers has been rebuilt. She has three children.
Aside from what the city government gave, Villacampa said she received P700 from the barangay council.
But she is also looking forward to receiving cash assistance – some P2,000 for each affected family – from Abang Lingkod party-list of Negrense Rep. Stephen Paduano.
Like Gamarza, Villacampa also wants to save on labor expenses.
A total of 174 families have been displaced by the fire. About 30 are still staying at the Barangay 39 gym, said village chief Dante Danoy.
The barangay council will also be distributing relief goods, said Danoy.
On top of this, Danoy said he is coordinating with a contractor who could help the fire victims reconstruct their houses free of charge.
Department of Social Services Development head Pacita Tero clarified that the P5,000 financial assistance was only for families whose houses were totally destroyed. There were 76 of them. The houses were mostly made of nipa and bamboo.
Families whose houses remain habitable despite some damage were given P3,000 each, she said. There were five.
A total of 554 individuals were affected, including 63 boarders.
Some of the houses doubled as boarding houses.
The fire victims were occupying a provincial government-owned lot.
The Bureau of Fire Protection said a short circuit may have caused the fire. It estimated the damage to have reached P2 million.
Nobody died in the fire./PN
