CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar –The national government here will build tenement houses for the more than 200 families displaced by fire incident two months ago.
Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan dismissed rumors that fire victims will not be allowed to return to their old homes near the port area.
“In our consultation, they told us that they don’t want to transfer to a new place. It’s a failure if would allow them to go back to unsafe areas. The solution is to build four-storey tenement buildings in the same site,” Uy-Tan said on Tuesday.
Since the area is near the city port, the city government has been coordinating with the Philippine Reclamation Authority, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Works and Highways, and Social Housing finance Corporation to realize the project.
After the incident, fire victims have been staying in evacuation centers and houses of their relatives while waiting for the completion of high-rise housing project.
“The national government will build four to five condo-type buildings. Since it is unsafe to live in ground floors, the area will be used for commercial activities,” she told reporters.
The blaze on May 8, which gutted at least 300 houses in a populated coastal community along Del Rosario Street in Barangay 6, near the city’s commercial district, has an estimated damage of PHP6 million and displaced 1,345 individuals.
Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the city government have been extending assistance to victims.
Catbalogan, the commercial, trading, educational, financial and political center of Samar province has a population of 103,879 people. (Sarwell Meniano/PNA)
