FIRE victims in Bacolod City receive P2.9 million in financial assistance from the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD). (Bacolod City Communications Office)
BACOLOD CITY – The Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD) in this highly urbanized city has started disbursing P2.9-million worth of financial assistance to 290 families displaced by a recent fire in Barangay 27 here.
A total of 144 families, whose houses were completely destroyed, received P15,000 each, while families with partially damaged homes were given P10,000 each, and 146 renters and sharers had P5,000 each.
This assistance will enable them to purchase housing materials to rebuild their houses, according to the local government.
“I know you have all been through a lot, but if we continue helping one another, we can rise again together,” said Mayor Greg Gasataya, who led the financial aid distribution at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) on Thursday, Sept. 25.
Gasataya said that only 124 families are still staying at the Apolinario Mabini Elementary School evacuation center, while others may have sought shelter with their relatives, and some have started constructing homes in the barangay.
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) will also provide financial assistance to fire victims, particularly property owners.
Gasataya said that the DHSUD will provide P30,000 each to affected families with totally damaged houses and P10,000 for those with partially damaged houses.
The city government is working with the DHSUD regarding a potential land donation for an onsite housing project in the barangay.
Damage to property in the midnight fire due to electrical arcing on Sept. 12 was placed at P4.5 million.
The tenant of a rented house where the fire originated was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Barangay 30 here.