State of calamity pushed at fire-hit Pahina Central

The Pahina Central barangay council is set to declare the barangay under a state of calamity following the two-hour fire that razed three sitios Saturday night.

Councilman Sunny Gonzales, chairman of barangay committee on health and sanitation, said yesterday afternoon that he will propose this matter on Tuesday's barangay council session.

"Ipalabang nato sa konseho nga ma-declare ni ang barangay og under the state of calamity kay dako man gyud ni nga kadaot. Lisud gyud. Dili ta makahatag og financial aid if dili ma-declare (The council should declare the barangay under a state of calamity because of the heavy damage. It's so hard. We could not grant financial aid without the declaration)," Gonzales said.

At present, the fire victims are sheltered at the barangay hall and the sports complex where personnel of the city's social welfare services office are working to help them, including providing them with sleeping mats and blankets.

Gonzales said portable toilets have been put up in the complex, aside from the available comfort rooms in the barangay hall and health center where water is also available. The count of lost houses varied while the investigation is going on but city fire marshal Ismael Codilla already estimated this early that the damage to property might have reached P3.2 million already.

The fire ate up sitios Guani, Sto. Niño and Terminal, prompting barangay captain Sesinio Andales to estimate that about 300 houses were destroyed. But Gonzales' figures put about 150 houses affected while Codilla's estimate was 95 houses only.

But Codilla explained that the figures are expected to vary because the investigation has not been finished yet, admitting that the estimates of the barangay officials may be closer to the actual number because they know the place better.

The cause and place where the fire started are still being determined but initial probes showed that a lighted kerosene lamp left inside the house of Ernesto Agapay may have ignited the fire. Investigators will summon Agapay to help shed light on the incident, said Codilla.

Agapay, an instructor of the nearby University of Cebu-College of Criminology, was reportedly at work when the fire broke out at 6:08 p.m. last Saturday.

The investigation will also look into the reported feud between the residents and the provincial government as there is a pending case over the occupation of the property, which is owned by the Capitol.

Andales said that what he knew was that the provincial government wanted to demolish some structures blocking the entry to Natalio Bacalso Avenue.

There was even a proposal that the city's Squatters Prevention Encroachment and Elimination Division personnel be sent to the area to clear it, but the affected residents said they will demolish the houses themselves, said Andales.

After a brief argument, the problem was already settled Friday night, Andales added. Firefighters, at the height of the blaze, complained that the alleys to the interior portion were too narrow for them to penetrate into the area to contain the spreading flames. - Ryan P. Borinaga