‘Fire chief’ GMA rushes to Baseco fire

A fire that broke out past midnight Sunday in the squatters’ area in Baseco, Manila sent President Arroyo rushing to the scene and barking orders like a fire chief.

But the sudden appearance of the very important firefighter made it more difficult for ordinary responding firemen from all over Metro Manila to contain the blaze since the firetrucks could scarcely pass through the narrow alleys.

Vehicles of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) further hampered the movement of firetrucks.

The fire razed more than 2,500 shanty units in the compound and rendered homeless more than 30,000 squatter residents. It was the second blaze to hit Baseco in little over a year.

In his daily press briefing at the Palace, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said "the President was among the very first public officials to have visited the fire scene."

"The President had a very early day today and... took time to visit the fire victims in Baseco," Bunye told Palace reporters.

The President, accompanied by Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman, sought to provide immediate relief to the fire victims who were temporarily sheltered at the government-constructed multi-purpose center at Baseco.

"And we learned from there, the President issued the instructions to the appropriate agencies in government to lend full assistance to all victims and ... to work out plans for the immediate rehabilitation of the area," Bunye said.

Mrs. Arroyo arrived at the fire scene past midnight and stayed for almost two hours during the seven-hour blaze despite the heavy smoke, flurry of rescuers and wailing of people and fire sirens.

Speaking over dzRH yesterday morning, Bunye expressed the President’s commiseration with the fire victims in Baseco.

Bunye said the local government of Manila would again be assisted by the national government agencies concerned like the DSWD and the Armed Forces Engineering Brigade in the relief and reconstruction of shelters destroyed by fire.

"And since an emergency like this there could be effects to the health of the people, especially the children, so government doctors were deployed to Baseco yesterday," he said.

The fire did not spread to the previous site of fire in December 2002 that gutted hundreds of shanties in Baseco compound, the rehabilitation of which was implemented by the city government of Manila and assisted by the Office of the President and the DSWD.

Families of the 2002 fire victims in Baseco were among the urban poor groups who trooped to Plaza Roma last Jan. 5 with their streamers and banners declaring their support to the candidacy of Mrs. Arroyo in the May 10 presidential elections.