BIGGEST FIRE TO HIT TACLOBAN

Biggest fire to hit Tacloban City razes five urban poor communities; more than 2,000 families rendered homelessSeptember 15, 2006TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte

– At about 1:30 o'clock in the hot afternoon of September 12, 2006, a big fire razed five (5) communities in Tacloban City in Leyte (capital of Eastern Visayas). The fire was said to have started from the chapel of the Rizalistas in between Brgy. 37 Reclamation Area and Brgy. 36 Sabang District, which was adjacent to the Tacloban New Bus Terminal and the Panalaron Bay.Villagers who were trapped in the fire waded through the waters of the bay. Task Force San Pedro Bay, a local group of Bantay Dagat enforcers, using two (2) patrol boats rescued residents from the sea and transported them to safer grounds.The Tacloban City Fire Department chief Arsenio Tabarranza said they received the fire call at about 2:05 P.M. and declared the fire controlled by 5:07 P.M., after more than three hours. Chief Tabarranza pointed out the following factors: a) light materials, b) absence of fire hydrants near the incident area and c) inaccessibility of the area to the fire fighters, for the three-hour disaster.Local radio station Diwa reported that in almost twenty (20) minutes, the conflagration ate most of Brgy. 37. The residents complained of the slow response from the local fire department.The City Fire Department is still to determine the extent of the damage. Initially, they pegged the damages to more than 13 million pesos of properties, livelihood and public infrastructure. As of 4:00 P.M. of September 14, the total damage was assessed to be Php 30,076,000.00 by the bureau of fire.Former newscaster Lulu Palencia testified that this has been the biggest fire to hit the city since the 1962 incident where three (3) city blocks were burned down.The victims were temporarily housed at the Tacloban New Bus Terminal for the night where the city government erected four (4) tents to serve as temporary shelter. The local chapter of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) and Tacloban City Social Welfare and Development Office were reported to have immediately attended the food needs of the victims.On September 13, 2005, the residents of Brgy. 37 went back to their barangay and gathered in the multi-purpose gym, the only structure which was not totally burnt out. Some of the victims were accommodated at the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and received used clothing from concerned employees of PPA. Other victims are scattered in various parts of the area in makeshift shelters. Others slept in the sidewalks with nothing above their heads.A victim identified as Gina Dapula, lamented that they were not able to salvage any of their belongings as the fire scattered fast. The residents tried hard to put off the blaze but they could not do otherwise. Firemen were prevented by the narrow passages to get directly to the burning houses.Initial reports put the count of the affected villagers as the following:Name of CommunityNumber of Affected HouseholdsNumber of Affected IndividualsBrgy. 36 Sabang (Totally hit)437 HH (Radio Diwa data)Brgy. 37 Seawall/Reclamation Area(Totally hit)711 families (DSWD data) from 500+ houses1,000+ (Radio Diwa data)Brgy. 65 Paseo de Legazpi(Only a portion of the barangay)Still UndeterminedBrgy. 66 Anibong200 families from 200 houses (BFP Data)Brgy. 66-A Anibong122 families from 70 houses (BFP Data)

The government agencies were not able to produce the census of the population in these barangays in order to determine the actual number of affected individuals and families. Mostly, these figures are partial/preliminary and are only from estimates of what the barangay officials were able to recall. Records were burned along with the houses and properties. The networks' volunteers are now reconstructing the list of residents affected by the tragedy.The city council had already passed a resolution declaring the whole affected areas under the "state of calamity'. Only one resident was seriously injured from the disaster. She was identified as Mrs. Milagros Lacaba who sustained second-degree burns on her arms. She was rushed to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) for medication.

Paramedics observed and treated minor injuries - puncture nail wounds and from broken glass, as most of the victims scurried for safety. Dr. Jaime Opinion of the city health office said that they were able to document and administer first aid to more than 200 individuals who were slightly burned and bruised during the tragedy.From interviews of the residents, it was known that fires are frequent occurrences in these urban poor communities. In fact, their houses (in Brgy. Sabang) were also burned down in the year 2005 and (in Anibong) early this year.

Most of the affected residents belong to urban poor groups like " Kusog han Brgy. 37 (Force of Village 37)", Kapunungan han mga Trabahador ngan Hornal (KATRABAHO or Organization of Workers and Stevedores), Kapunungan han Gudti nga Magtirinda (KAGUMA or Organization of Small Vendors) Alyansa han Gudti nga Magtirinda ha Tacloban (AGHATA or Alliance of Tacloban Small Vendors), and Tacloban Port Area Integrated Labor Union (TAPAILU). These five (5) organizations are under the umbrella of Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY or Confederation of Urban Poor Communities) whose members are concentrated in Brgys. 36 and 37. Most residents of Brgy. 66 and 66-A are organized under Bayan Muna Party-List.These groups have long been calling on the city government headed by Mayor Alfredo "Bejo" Romualdez for assistance especially with regards to decent urban housing and basic social services. These areas were also perennially threatened by demolitions, fire, epidemics and other calamities. A government-aided decent housing program could have eliminated the fire and other hazards to these villagers.Meanwhile, the victims immediately need the following assistance:a) Food items; b) Potable drinking water; c) Tents to serve as temporary shelter and sleeping materials (mats, mosquito nets, blankets); d) Medical items for common diseases like colds; e) Housing materials (nails, cement, plywood, nipa roofing or galvanized iron, steel bars, wooden posts, etc); f) Clothing materials (ready-to-wear items or RTWs, slippers, shoes); g) Household/kitchen necessities (kettles/pots/pans, pails/water containers, plates, spoons and forks, thermos etc); and h) Hygiene materials (bath and laundry soap, toothpaste, toothbrush etc). i) You may also donate monetary assistance.

URGENT APPEAL FOR ASSISTANCEThe network plans to distribute immediate relief assistance to the victims on Friday, September 15, 2006 to complement efforts from various government and private institutions. Second and consecutive distributions will be announced later in an updated appeal.Ugop Kablas - Tacloban Disaster ResponseUgop Kablas (literally means 'Help the Poor') is a network of non-government organizations to gather assistance for the victims of the recent fire calamity which hit four urban poor communities. The network also seeks to lobby for better/humane living conditions and decent housing for the urban poor.The network is initially composed of the following:

● Alyansa ha Pagpanalipod han Tawhanon nga Katungod – Sinirangan Bisayas (KATUNGOD-SB)

● Promotion of Church People's Response – Eastern Visayas (PCPR-EV)

● Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – Sinirangan Bisayas (BAYAN-SB)

● GABRIELA – EV

● Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees – Eastern Visayas (COURAGE-EV)

● Samahan han Gudti nga Parag-uma ha Sinirangan Bisayas (SAGUPA-SB)

● Bayan Muna Party-List – Eastern Visayas Chapter (BAYAN MUNA-EV)

● Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Leyte Chapter

● Gabriela Women's Party-List – Eastern Visayas (GWP-EV)

● ANAKBAYAN – Metro Tacloban Chapter (ANAKBAYAN-MTC)

● Kababayin-an ha Kasyudaran nga Nakikigbisog – Metro Tacloban (KAKANA-MTC)

● Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap - Metro Tacloban Chapter (KADAMAY-MTC)

● League of Filipino Students (LFS) – Tacloban Chapter

● UP Vista Student Publication Office/College Editors' Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)

● Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP)It is still open to other groups, institutions and individuals who are willing to share their blessings with our brethren in the time of need. You may contact us at the following address:Drop CenterIBP Building , (former Tourism Office)Magsaysay Boulevard (in front of EVRMC)6500 Tacloban City, LeyteThe SecretariatUgop Kablas – Tacloban Disaster ResponseP.O. Box 204 , Tacloban Central Post Office6500 Tacloban City, LeyteTelephone Numbers:(053) 321-7811 IBP-Leyte c/o Atty. Alberto Hidalgo, President(0921) 813-4588 Lingganay han Kamatuoran (Bell of Truth) Radio Program(0921) 427-8973 Pong Acbo, BAYAN-SB SpokespersonEmail Addresses:lhk_pcpr@yahoo.comhelp_panaon@yahoo.comkatungodsbisayas@yahoo.com

Note: Data included in this appeal were gathered by the network unless otherwise stated. The network was present during the progress of the firefighting effort and after it to monitor the incident and conduct ocular inspection on the disaster area. The foregoing is our initial assessment and we will be posting updates in the future.