Over 200 Iloilo houses razed by fire

ILOILO CITY — A fire engulfed some 234 residential houses in Barangays West Habog-Habog and Zone 2, San Juan in Molo district here past 4 a.m. on Saturday, according to the Iloilo City Social Welfare and Development Office.

CSWDO head Teresa Gelogo said displaced families are staying in 21 classrooms of the Baluarte Elementary School and 13 classrooms in San Juan Elementary School.

Of the 234 houses affected, 172 were in West Habog-Habog village and 62 in San Juan.

“The validation of affected families is still ongoing. So far we have validated 91 households in West Habog-Habog,” she said.

Gelogo added that each of the displaced families will be provided with a sack of rice and other non-food items at the evacuation centers where they are expected to stay up to 15 days.

“We have established community kitchens inside and outside the evacuation centers since there are adjacent barangays that have volunteered to help cook for their food,” she added.

The local government has sufficient relief goods and expect an augmentation from the Department of Social Welfare and Development since they have already reported the number of fire affected families.

Mayor Jerry Treñas has directed the City Health Office to send doctors and nurses to the evacuation centers.

“I do not want an increase in the case of acute gastroenteritis in the evacuation centers,” he said in a statement as he assured a sufficient supply of clean water in the shelters.

The Bureau of Fire Protection is still investigating the cause of the blaze.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANALY LABOR FOR THE DAILY TRIBUNE @tribunephl_ana Art transformation A vast mural adorns the wall of the Sterten Place building along Maginhawa Street, Teacher's Village, Quezon City. The empty wall canvass was transformed by environmental activist and multi-media painter AG Saño and fellow artists that features different large-scale colorful birds and dolphins.