Traffic now okay along Imus Road

CEBU, Philippines - Traffic flow along Imus Road normalized yesterday after Barangay Lorega-San Miguel, Cebu City fire victims, who pitched tents and other temporary shelters on the road, transferred to their designated evacuation centers.

City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) Chief Rafael Christopher Yap said they already opened Imus Road to vehicles starting yesterday in compliance with the order of Mayor Michael Rama.

Around 7,000 residents who were left homeless after a fire hit Lorega-San Miguel Tuesday afternoon are now temporarily sheltered at the Sacred Heart gym and the covered courts of barangays T. Padilla, Day-as, and Zapatera; and of the Zapatera Elementary School.

Immediately after the fire, several road closures were implemented to keep public utility vehicles away from the area, resulting to heavy traffic even as far as the Fuente Osmeña rotunda.  Residents also set up tents on Imus Road so they would just be near the fire scene. That was before Rama had them all moved to evacuation centers.

Yap also said that the interior portion of Lorega-San Miguel may already be passable by few vehicles despite the debris and the ongoing clearing operation in the area.

Insp. Alvin Llamedo, who serves as PNP officer-of-the-day at the scene, said they have not received any robbery alarm as of yesterday, adding that security was okay so far.

He said the Cebu City Police Office required all 11 police stations to each deploy four personnel in the area to help the Mobile Patrol Group in securing the barangay. 

Llamedo said 50 to 70 policemen are currently taking turns in doing roving patrols to ensure security, especially at the evacuation centers.

SFO2 Danilo Relatado, fire investigator, said witnesses reported that they allegedly heard an explosion in the house of a certain Bobby Hortezano.

They claimed that the fire may have started at the second floor of Hortezano’s house.

Relatado, however, said that they would call for a meeting next week with Hortezano and other witnesses to clarify the matter.

Relatado said they understand that the fire victims are still busy getting back on their feet as of now. He said he have not yet met Hortezano, who was not in Lorega-San Miguel when The FREEMAN visited yesterday. 

Relatado said they would deliver today the subpoena for Hortezano to show up in their office.  While it is not yet established that the fire started in Hortezano’s house, what is certain is that it originated in sitio Kamansi, Lorega-San Miguel.

The fire investigator said the fire spread quickly because of low water pressure, and firefighter had a difficult time penetrating the scene because the fire started in an interior portion and far from the road.

Relatado said that aside from the road being narrow; it was difficult for them to enter the fire scene with the fire victims trying to save their belongings blocking their path. 

Last Tuesday night, Rama organized the Task Force Lorega headed by engineer and lawyer Jose Marie Poblete as ground commander, who would be responsible in attending to the needs of the fire victims.

The task force is composed of government offices like the Cebu City Medical Center, which attended to the victims’ medical needs; Metro Cebu Water District, which provided free drinking water; and the city Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS), which distributed food packs.

DSWS would also be the one to distribute to the fire victims the financial assistance, housing materials, and disaster kits from the Cebu City Government.

The city is already working on the widening of the roads and reblocking of the fire scene in Lorega-San Miguel through tits Tejero-Lorega-Carreta project, which would result to roads wide enough for firefighters to pass through.

Rama said the city is thinking of providing lots to the fire victims through its “Land for the Landless” project, which made possible for the city to provide lots to residents in barangays Tinago and Duljo Fatima and soon to those in Barangay Carreta.

Rama also said the Lorega public market would be relocated, although the new location still has to be agreed upon.

He likewise reminded the fire victims to maintain cleanliness at the evacuation sites.

Meanwhile, Barangay Captain Fritz Herrera said that while Lorega-San Miguel has enough calamity fund to restore their place to what it used to be, he was hoping the national government and other well-meaning organizations would extend assistance.

City Fire Marshal Rogelio Bongabong, on the other hand, said that the fire in Lorega-San Miguel is the fourth major fire and the 24th fire alarm reported this month, when the country is celebrating Fire Prevention Month. (FREEMAN)