ZAMBOANGA CITY — President Rodrigo Duterte has extended financial aid to the 382 families displaced by the fire that hit the coastal area of Barangay Labuan, 36 km. west of City Hall on Sunday.
Duterte arrived in Barangay Labuan at about 7 p.m. Thursday to visit the fire victims after he keynoted the 69th “Araw ng Ipil” in the nearby province of Zamboanga Sibugay.
Each of the 382 families received financial assistance of PHP15,000. Of the total, PHP7,000 came from the Office of the President; PHP5,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development; PHP1,500 from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office; and PHP1,500 from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
The President also promised to provide housing assistance to fire victims.
“Pagkain walang problema. Ang importante talaga ang nakikita ko, just to be very clear, is ang lupa po ninyo pati yung malilipatan (Food is not a problem. The important thing needed is the land where you can be relocated),” Duterte said.
The fire that broke out on Sunday razed 382 houses in Purok 5, Barangay Labuan, affecting 1,265 residents. The President said the houses that will be constructed for the fire victims will be similar to those being built in Marawi City.
“Okay lang basta may bahay na, kasi kapag doon sa tabing dagat, kapag mag-alon madala naman yung bahay namin (It’s okay for us [to be relocated] for so long as we will have our own house. Our house along the shore are being destroyed every time there are big waves),” Thalia Jajure, one of the fire victims, said.
“We are happy on the pronouncement of the President since we are staying now in a makeshift (houses) after the fire incident,” Jamil Bangsa, another fire victim, said.
Duterte has tasked the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council Chairperson Eduardo del Rosario and National Housing Authority General Manager Marcelinao Escalada Jr. to come to this city this week to look for a relocation site for the fire victims. ( Dante Amento/PNA)
