Brgy. 19 and
the squatter problem

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The fire that razed a densely populated area of Barangay 19 in Bacolod City early Monday was probably the worst ever to hit this city in terms of human casualties. As of early morning yesterday, it was confirmed that, indeed, 17, and not 16 as earlier reported, had been killed in the blaze. The charred and hardly recognizable remains of a woman were found covered by the rubble and had not been seen at first.

For several years now, residents of Bacolod had been feeling confident and secure when it comes to fire incidents because of the number of well-trained firefighters both in the government’s Bureau of Fire Protection, and the competent and dedicated volunteers from the city’s fire brigades. In the past decades, most fires that break in Bacolod were controlled within a short time, and there hardly had been any casualties involving people.

But it appears that the case of Barangay 19 was different. For one, the fire started at a very unholy hour, just after 1 a.m., and after a long day when people had been busy and tired after preparing for visits to the graves of their loved ones in the cemeteries. And so, most of the victims were sleeping soundly and did not realize the danger they were in until it was too late.

For another, the homes in the area were those mostly of squatters who used light or flimsy materials in building their shanties that must have provided kindling for the raging flames.

And then, too, the structures had been erected without any order, so close to each other, without space left for passage, which was what prevented the usually efficient firetrucks from coming nearer to do their work.

But this is all hindsight now, and all we can do is to assuage the sorrows of those who lost loved ones, and help them to cope and move on with their lives. And the moral lesson that the incident is giving us is that we have to wake up to the fact that people who have no place to live in, and would settle even in dangerous areas and circumstances, need to be cared for by the state. This it can do by seeing to it that they are provided a site where they can be allowed to build in a safe and orderly manner, so it would be easier to protect and help them when similar tragedies or calamities strike.*