1 dead, 2 missing in huge Bislig fire

A woman was believed to have died while two kids were reported missing when a huge fire engulfed a commercial and residential district in the southern city of Bislig Tuesday afternoon, local officials said. Letecia Yu of the City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) office said authorities were still ascertaining the identity of the lone fatality, as well as the two missing children who reportedly jumped off to the sea when the blaze set off from a residence in Bongaitan at 1:15 pm Tuesday. The fire swept through the two public markets of the city in its main barrio of Mangagoy, other commercial establishments and adjacent residential communities "due to the strong wind at that time," said city police head Chief Insp. Ronelo Jaruege. Jaruege said the light materials that made up the burnt shanties in Bongaitan and Barrio Wakwak, mostly of illegal settlers, contributed to the gravity of the incident. "We are still investigating the cause of the fire, which we estimate to have eaten up millions of pesos worth of properties," Jaruege said in a phone interview. The blaze was put out more than two hours later by elements of the local fire station, aided by firetrucks from the Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP) and neighboring towns of Lingig, Barobo, Hinatuan, and Tagbina. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, the CSWD and city government are providing relief and assistance to 323 families or 1,806 persons temporarily sheltered in three schools turned into evacuation centers – the Mangagoy 1 Elementary School (oval area), Andres Soriano College, and St. Vincent de Paul College, all in Mangagoy. The figure could increase, Yu said. "I have instructed my staff to have a community kitchen (at the evacuation centers). I told them to pack food for the evacuees so it would be easier to feed them," Yu said in the Cebuano dialect. Due to lack of cooking materials, the evacuees will be provided with cooked food probably until Wednesday afterwhich, they shall receive relief assistance like rice and canned good from the local government, Yu added. But she appealed for help from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) head office in Manila for the provision of sleeping materials to the displaced families, like blankets and mosquito nets, and cooking materials. "For the night, they are sleeping on cartons. My staff told me they were really not able to bring along their personal stuffs," Yu said. Based on Yu’s recollection, Tuesday’s fire was the worst since 1978, when Caramcam District, also in Mangagoy barrio, was almost completely wiped out. - GMANews.TV