Cebu City Gov’t Allows Fire Victims To Rebuild On UP Lot

The Cebu City government has allowed some 60 families who are victims of the fire that hit Sitio Avocado, Barangay Lahug, Cebu City last week to rebuild on the lot claimed by the University of the Philippines Cebu (UPC).

Earlier, Cebu City acting Mayor Edgardo Labella said the fire victims will be allowed to rebuild their homes but only after re-blocking the area to build roads that will give easy access to the interior portion during emergencies.

the re-blocking will also include public facilities, such as communal toilets and a chapel, among others.

But a UPC official claimed the 4,000 square-meter lot belongs to the UPC which intends to construct its high school building in the area.

The city defied UPC’s claim and on Sunday distributed home lots to 59 of 70 families who lost their homes in the fire.

The distribution was facilitated by Cebu City Administrator Dr. Lucelle Mercado and lawyer Collin Rosell, chief of the city’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP).

Each home lot has an area of 32 square meters.

Those who were given home lots immediately started rebuilding their homes and moved out of their temporary shelter at the nearby Lahug Elementary School.

The fire survivors occupied 17 rooms in the school. Only seven rooms are still occupied by fire victims. (PNA) SCS/EB/EDS