abs-cbnNEWS.com
Thirty families living in an evacuation center in Pasay City after a fire razed their homes on July 17th, complained that the local government has failed to provide them with financial aid and medicine.
The victims have been staying inside the center for almost two weeks now, after a blaze gutted WellCom Plaza in Libertad, Pasay City. The fire burned down 30 nearby shanties.
At least 70 people lost their homes. Occupants of the gutted homes have been evacuated to an elementary school.
Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad ordered the demolition of the gutted building because it poses a threat to residents living at the back portion of the Wellcom Plaza. This was after firefighters noticed cracks on the walls of the building.
The evacuees criticized the slow demolition of the mall, which also delays their return to their burnt homes.
They said that if the government allowed them to go back to the site, they would be able to put up their own shanties.
They said they would prefer this to staying at the Zamora Elementary School.
The families also said that they need financial assistance from the local government so they can construct shanties on the site.
They also complained that some of their infants are getting sick, yet the local government has failed to provide them with assistance.
Trinidad however said through Councilor Noel Bayona, head of the Committee on Urban Poor, that the city government is doing its job in helping the fire victims.
Bayona said they cannot easily send the families back to the site because the demolition is ongoing.
“The first reason is that the walls of the WellCom may crumple down anytime. We cannot let the victims go home without ensuring their safety. We should first ask the advice of the Bureau of Fire Protection and the city engineer. The establishment should be torn down first before the families could move back,” said Bayona.
He added that the Department of Social Welfare and Development is constantly monitoring the condition of the evacuees and would provide medicine for the infants who got sick.