Fire survivors to only get aid if they move to relocation site
Housing materials, P20T can only be used to rebuild houses in relocation site
The fire site needs to be cleared for a new access road that will connect Cebu Asiatown IT Park to Gov. Cuenco Ave.
Capitol property in Barangay Kalunasan to serve as relocation site for 76 families affected by last Monday’s fire
Each family to get 40 square meters at P1,680 per square meter payable in 30 years
THE Cebu City Hall will only release housing materials and financial assistance to fire victims in Barangay Apas if they use these to relocate.
This is to prevent them from rebuilding their homes at the fire site, said Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council head Nagiel Bañacia.
“We won’t give it yet because that will be the colatella. They should use it to rebuild their homes in the relocation site so they will not incur additional expenses when they transfer. We cannot allow them to reconstruct,” he said.
The fire site needs to be cleared for a new access road that will connect Cebu Asiatown IT Park to Gov. Cuenco Ave. It is part of the master plan of the IT Park.
The City gives compact boards and galvanized iron sheets to families affected by fires and P20,000 financial assistance to those whose houses are destroyed and P10,000 to those whose houses are damaged.
Inevitable transfer
The City also gives P10,000 to renters and sharers.
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Head Baltazar Tribunalo Jr., in a meeting with city officials at City Hall yesterday, said they will provide a temporary camp near the fire site since the fire victims want to stay in the area until March so as not to disrupt their children’s schooling.
But he said they will eventually have to move to Sitio Mountain View in Barangay Kalunasan, which is located near the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
Tribunalo said the Province owns 110 lots in the area.
The property will accommodate the 87 families originally listed by the Province that will be affected by the opening of the access road. Of that, 76 families were affected by last Monday’s fire.
The other fire victims will be accommodated in the 110 lots owned by Pagtambayayong Foundation Inc., said Bimbo Fernandez, executive assistant of Mayor Tomas Osmeña. Fernanez is the founder of the foundation.
The fire in Apas last Monday affected 112 houses and displaced 164 families, or 656 individuals.
Once relocated, Tribunalo said the families will get a lot allocation of 40 square meters. They will pay P1,680 per square meter, or an average of P500 per month for 30 years.
They will pay the amortization to the Province or Pagtambayayong, depending on the lot they are assigned.
Fernandez said the relocation site already has a road and basic facilities.
Clarification
Since the fire also affected some visually-impaired individuals, they may be relocated in a lot near the road, Tribunalo said.
He said he will meet the fire victims today to discuss their relocation.
Meanwhile, Tribunalo clarified that there won’t be any demolition at the
fire site tomorrow. He said the term “de- molition” should not be used but rather “clearing,” adding that the survivors have nothing to worry about.
“I’d rather use the term that we will take care of them, that they will be consulted and they will be informed of our plans,” he said in Cebuano.
Tribunalo said they have yet to set a date for the clearing operation, as they are currently on the planning and consultation stage.