Fire-hit Mandaluyong village placed under state of calamity

MANILA, Philippines - The city government of Mandaluyong yesterday placed Barangay Addition Hills under a state of calamity due to a recent fire that destroyed more than a hundred houses.

The city council approved last week a resolution seeking to declare a state of calamity.

The declaration will allow city officials to utilize funds to assist at least 1,700 families affected by the fire, said to be the worst in the city’s history.

The city government initially released P10 million for the fire victims.

Last Friday, Mayor Benjamin Abalos Jr. gave owners of razed houses P8,000 each, P5,000 to co-owners and P3,000 to tenants.

Abalos said the city government spends at least P1 million daily for the food and other needs of the fire victims who are sheltered in three evacuation centers.

City information officer Jimmy Isidro said the victims have started rebuilding their houses.

Abalos ordered the city planning office to make the streets wider so firefighters won’t have difficulty in accessing the area in case a similar incident would occur.

Four persons were injured in the blaze that destroyed millions of pesos worth of property.

City fire chief Nahum Vitarosa said residents managed to evacuate immediately, noting the blaze occurred in the afternoon.

Residents blamed faulty electrical wiring as the cause of the fire.