The Bacolod City Risk Reduction Management Team and the City Social Welfare and Development  Office have verified 167 families affected by the fire that hit two puroks in Brgy. Banago, at noon, Wednesday.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, Sally Abelarde, City Social Welfare and Development Office head, said that, in Purok Katilingban, all 119 houses were destroyed, while in Purok Kawayan, 21 houses were destroyed and six were damaged.

Jose Maria Vargas, head of the Bacolod City Risk Reduction Management Team, said they met with the officials of Brgy. Banago yesterday and will finalize plans for the victims of the blaze Monday.

Vargas said immediate needs like food, water, medicine and clothing for the victims who sought shelter at the Domingo Lacson National High School were properly addressed.

However, he also said, there were families who chose to rebuild their houses on the same space where their houses were located.

Several Local Government Offices, Non-government organization and private individuals have already given assistance to the evacuees, he said.

For the victims to avail of the assistance from the government, Vargas said, their names are being carefully validated to avoid what had happened the night after the blaze in DLNHS, where non-victims were able to avail of the food brought by some city officials that was supposed to be for the real victims.

Bacolod Councilor Caesar Distirto said the Sangguniang Panlungsod will act on the request of the Banago Council to declare the barangay under a state of calamity in their session on Wednesday, so the barangay can use the 30 percent quick response fund from its 5 percent calamity fund.

Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Frank Carbon said, the first group to give help was the Waterman USA, who gave water supplies to the victims.

He said, MBCCI also gave sacks of rice, noodles and canned good. Bacolod fire marshal, Chief Insp. Bartolome Beliran, said the damage from the blaze, remained at P3.7 million as of press time yesterday.

Beliran said they received the fire call informing them that several houses in Brgy. Banago were on fire at about 12:08 p.m. Wednesday but it took them more than an hour to put it out and declare it under control.

He said, the delay was caused by the narrow pathway and concrete fences, and by some residents who tried to interfere with their work while trying to save their houses.

Initial investigation showed that the fire originated at the house of a certain Estella Barros in Zone 2, Purok Katilingban, who, residents claim, is mentally unstable, and spread to the nearby houses.

In an interview with ABS-CBN, Unila Barros, a cousin of Estela, said that her cousin did not mean to burn the house, because after seeing the fire, she went to the roof and announced it to her neighbors.

Beliran said, they are still conducting follow-up operations to determine the real cause of the fire and find Barros, who was missing as of press time yesterday.

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson and other city officials went to the fire scene to check the situation.

Leonardia said that, because of the election ban, all donations for the fire victims will be coursed through the Philippine Red Cross, while the DSSD will be in charge of distributing food assistance to the affected families.*SGG

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