ABOUT P800,000 worth of financial assistance was distributed to the 108 fire victims in Brgy. Subangdaku, Mandaue City at the Mandaue Presidencia, in the morning of Sept. 21, 2021.
Brgy. Subangdaku officials have also negotiated with the owner of the lot where the fire incident happened in Sitio Riverside A, Brgy. Subangdaku, Mandaue City, on the procurement of the lot to be occupied by the fire victims.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede, together with all the city councilors, initiated the distribution of the financial assistance of P10,000 to the homeowners and P5,000 to the renters and sharers.
In an interview, Cortes told SunStar Cebu that the financial assistance distributed may be small in amount but it would be a big help to the fire victims.
Cortes said the city still welcomes donations from those who want to help the fire victims and they can communicate directly with the City Social Welfare and Services (CSWS) or with Brgy. Subangdaku.
In a separate interview, fire victim Ricardo Igot, 59, told SunStar Cebu that the financial assistance is a big help for them to restart their life and rebuild their house.
He said the cash assistance that he received will be used to buy materials for rebuilding their house as they are still living in a shanty after the incident.
Ernie Manatad, chief of Brgy. Subangdaku, said they have negotiated with the lot owners who have decided to sell the lot to the fire victims.
However, with the current state of the fire victims, they are financially incapable to buy the lot.
With this, Manatad said they will tap the Vincencian foundation of San Roque Parish in their barangay to fund the procurement of the lot and the fire victims will pay the cost to the foundation in installments.
He said they are still waiting for the decision of the foundation as to whether it will procure the lot for the fire victims or procure the lot and build socialized housing for those victims. (KFD)