Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada on Wednesday promised to help at least 2,000 families recover from successive fires that hit five residential areas and left four dead in the capital city last week.
Last Saturday, Estrada visited Barangay 704, Zone 77 in Adriatico, Malate, the scene of a huge fire the day before that left two residents dead and dozens of houses destroyed.
“It’s tragic that two Manileños perished here, and two more in Tondo. I grieve with the families. But rest assured that help is under way,” Estrada told barangay officials and some of the displaced residents.
The mayor has instructed the Manila Department of Social Welfare to continue providing homeless residents necessities such as food and temporary shelter while the City Hall is studying what proper assistance it could extend, particularly to those who lost their loved ones.
Estrada also made sure the barangay hall’s covered court is ready to temporarily accommodate homeless residents.
Last May, Estrada distributed sacks of rice and building materials to 86 families who lost their homes in another fire that hit Isla Puting Bato, also in Tondo. He also shouldered the funeral expenses of a 15-year-old boy who died in the blaze.
In August 2016, Estrada also distributed P3 million worth of construction materials to families in Baseco Compound and Quiapo who were hit by tornado and fire. He also sent 100 city hall workers to assist the residents in the repair and reconstruction works.
In March last year, Estrada also donated P7.3 million worth of construction supplies to families who lost their homes in separate fires in barangays 775 and 770 in Sta. Ana.
The Adriatico fire on Aug. 18 gutted 250 homes along Camia Street and destroyed an estimated P2.7 million worth of properties. Two residents, identified as Abelardo Salonga, 79, and his son Jimmy, 47, perished in the fire, as 380 families were displaced.
On the same day, five buildings at the Aroma Temporary Housing site in Vitas, Tondo went up in flames, leaving 660 more families homeless and two children dead, according to MDSW’s August 22 Progress Report.
It said 453 families or 1,829 individuals remain housed at three evacuation centers in barangays 101, 105, and 106. It identified the two fatalities as Lina Ambulinog and Analyn Ambulinog.
On August 16, a fire razed a small community along Sikap Street, Barangay 64, Zone 47 in San Miguel district, near Malacanang. At least 250 families were affected and about 100 shanties were razed to the ground.
On August 14, 10 more houses in Barangay 95, Zone 8 in Tondo were destroyed in yet another fire that left 30 families homeless. Ten days before, on August 4, another blaze gutted 12 houses along Singalong Street, Malate.
Two thousand families were displaced by the consecutive fires, according to MDSW chief Nanet Tanyag.
As instructed by Estrada, Tanyag said food and other provisions have been provided to the fire victims.
“Within hours of each incident, we see to it that we are at the area to offer food, temporary shelter, and other aid to the victims. We provide them three meals a day, mattresses and blankets to sleep on, and tents, if necessary,” the MDSW chief said.
Rescue teams from the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office also responded to every incident to carry out emergency assistance operations, according to its chief Johnny Yu.
Last March, Estrada donated P20 million worth of construction materials to hundreds of families who lost their homes in a huge fire at Parola Compound, Tondo on February 7.
Each family received eight pieces of iron sheets, 23 pieces of lumber, five pieces of plywood, and assorted nails, all brand new, enough to rebuild their homes.
The February fire at the impoverished community of Parola Compound burned down a total of 1,162 houses and left 2,100 families, or 8,555 individuals, homeless.
When a big fire razed 130 houses in barangays 155 and 160 in Dagupan Extension, Tondo on January 1 last year, Estrada also helped the victims reconstruct their homes.