Brgy. 19 to be placed under ‘state of calamity’
BACOLOD CITY — Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City is scheduled to approve today the request of Mayor Evelio Leonardia to declare under the state of calamity the whole area of Brgy. 19 after a huge conflagration happened early morning last Monday which killed 17 people and totally gutted 59 houses.
Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson said that after declaring Brgy. 19 under the “state of calamity”, the Barangay can already utilize their calamity fund aside from the financial assistance given by the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD) to all the fire victims.
Last Monday morning after the fire incident happened, DSSD Head Sally Abelarde led the distribution of relief assistance like canned goods, hot meals and rice to various victims that evacuated in Brgy. 19 Gymnasium and also to Mabini Elementary School.
As of press time, DSSD had accounted more than 80 families affected including the renters and sharers and urgently asked the city government for their possible relocation.
Sayson explained yesterday that the property where the burned houses stand was already owned by the Maybank even before he became the chairman of the SP Committee on Housing and Urban Resettlement.
He confirmed that he also tried to negotiate the bank to reacquire the property for the squatters by way of the On-Site Housing Program by the Brgy. 19 Housing Communities but the price was so expensive considering that the site is within commercial area.
Sayson said that the bank offered between P10,000 to P12,000 per square meter but the people could only afford P1,500 per square meter. He explained that since the city government has no relocation site yet, the people could temporarily utilize the place since the bank has not yet demanded the lot nor the Court issued an ejectment order.
“As far as I know, they have no ejectment case yet, and the bank has not yet filed a case against the squatters,” Sayson said.
Meanwhile, Lone District Representative Monico Puentevella also provided separate relief assistance to the fire victims through the help and support of the private sector.
