Mambaling under state of calamity

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Council yesterday declared Barangay Mambaling under state of calamity following last Tuesday’s fire that displaced over 500 residents.

The declaration will allow the barangay to utilize its disaster funds to assist the 125 affected families, said Councilor David Tumulak.

Tumulak, chairperson of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the city government also provided packed meals to affected residents three times a day within the next three days.

Each affected family will also receive P10,000 financial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Services tomorrow. Housing materials will also be given after validation by DSWS of the legitimate house owners affected by fire.

Two sitios in Barangay Mambaling were hit by the fire, which razed at least 50 houses mostly made of light materials. The Cebu City fire department estimated the damage to be at least P500,000.

Fire investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire but there were unconfirmed reports that it was caused by butane gas explosion.

Tumulak said they are considering two possible causes - butane misuse or faulty electrical wiring.

“However, we need proper authority from the Bureau of Fire Protection to invite the concerned citizens and investigate the matter. I’m still waiting for the final report of BFP because I have heard of some complaints with regards to the fire incident that it was caused by butane but we can’t say that as of this moment, we are just waiting for the final result of the investigation from BFP,” said Tumulak.

He said there is a need to know the cause of the incident “to clear doubts, avoid speculations, and avoid panic among the consumers.”

The City Council requested the fire department to expedite the investigation.

“To urge the BFP to investigate the incident and establish the cause of the conflagration and to file necessary charges against the responsible individuals behind the incident,” Councilor Gerardo Carillo moved. — (FREEMAN)