FIRE CLAIMS 3RD LIFE
The immediate solution is to build a setback for wider pathways and road-right-ofway. If we will not implement this, the calamity will become a recurring problem GENEVIEVE ALCOSEBA OF DWUP
Jennelyn Digman, 13, fights for her life in the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center; the wake for her two siblings, John Mark and Jovielyn, 2 and 9, respectively, is being arranged along with that of a third child who died as a result of the fire, Princess Alolod Echaves, 7 Cebu City’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor will meet tonight with the 759 displaced families in the Ermita Elementary School; an official says they must agree to widen pathways and reblock the community, if they want to rebuild their homes there
The fire in Barangay Ermita, Cebu City last Monday morning claimed another life, as a seven-year-old child succumbed to severe burns in her body in the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) yesterday.
Ermita Barangay Captain Mark Miral identified the child as Princess Alolod Echaves, who had suffered burns when she tried to escape the blaze, which displaced more than 2,500 residents.
“One of the relatives asked for financial assistance from our office for the burial of the three children,” Miral said.
The wake of the three children who died in the fire, two of them siblings, will be held in the gym near the barangay hall.
The Cebu City Council placed Sitios Kawit and Ermita Proper, Barangay Ermita under a state of calamity after confirming that 759 families lost their homes in the fire.
Councilors Mary Ann delos Santos and Sisinio Andales filed a joint resolution, while opposition Councilor Joel Garganera submitted a separate resolution on the matter during yesterday’s regular session. All the resolutions were approved en masse by the council.
Placing fire-hit areas under a state of calamity allows the local government to access calamity funds that will be used to help fire survivors.
The deaths of two-year-old John Mark Digman and his sister, Jovielyn, 9, were confirmed hours after the fire. They were trapped on the second floor of their house after the gas stove that their parents, Ida Alolod and Joel Digman, used for their business exploded. Ida is expecting another child.
Their eldest sister, Jennelyn, 13, is fighting for her life in the hospital.
“She’s in a critical condition,” said Michael Bugais, 20, one of the relatives of the Alolods and the Digmans.
Rachel Naparre, 32, one of the closest neighbors of Ida and Joel, said that she tried to rescue Princess while the fire continued to devour their houses.
“The last time I saw her, she had slipped on the ground while her relatives were also trying to escape the flames. I tried to reach out to her but a huge debris that was on fire landed in front of me and caused these burns on my arms,” she said.
Naparre also sustained burns on her upper back.
In the latest records from the the City Government’s Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS), 759 families and 2,715 individuals were listed as survivors of the fire.
Affected residents are asking the public for extra clothes, food and construction materials to help them rebuild their homes.
As of yesterday afternoon, the barangay council of Ermita had yet to disclose what type of assistance they’ll extend since officials were still assessing the needs of affected families.
At City Hall, Mayor Tomas Osmeña told reporters that the bereaved family of the third child who died in the fire will also receive around P10,000 in burial cash assistance from the City Government.
The Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) will also meet with the 759 displaced families tonight at the Ermita Elementary School to discuss plans on re-blocking and building a setback.
DWUP operations head Genevieve Alcoseba said the displaced families will not be allowed to rebuild their houses until they can agree on a solution.
Most of the affected areas are owned by the City, but portions of private properties were also destroyed by the fire.
“The immediate solution is to build a setback for wider pathways and road-right-of-way. If we will not implement this, the calamity will become a recurring problem,” Alcoseba said.