Navotas vows aid to victims of fire

01/31/2011 - MANILA, Philippines – Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco assured Monday all-out assistance to the families of fatalities of a fire which hit a crowded neighborhood in the city.

A total of 11 persons were trapped and killed in the fire while a woman succumbed to heart attack at the height of the blaze.

Tiangco also said the more than 300 families displaced by the fire now temporarily housed at the San Roque National High School will be given full support until a permanent relocation site is found.

The mayor said the city's "Libreng Libing Project" will be fully utilized to ensure that the fatalities will have decent burials.

Supt. Felix Medes, Navotas City fire marshal, said the fire also destroyed a public school in Barangay San Roque and some 100 houses.

The destruction of the school prompted Tiangco to provide emergency funds to the local school board for the school's rehabilitation.

During the inspection of the damaged school, Tiangco was also assured by school officials that the schedule of classes will not be disrupted as other schools could accommodate the affected school children. (Manila Bulletin)