GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) recommended Wednesday the declaration of this city under a state of calamity following a huge fire that destroyed a shopping mall here last week, that displaced over 1,300 workers.
City Administrator Arnel Zapatos said the City Council pushed for the calamity declaration to facilitate the use of the local government’s emergency funds to assist the affected workers of Gaisano Mall and their dependents.
Zapatos said Mayor Ronnel Rivera, the CDRRMC chairperson, endorsed the move to the City Council for immediate action.
Rivera convened the CDRRMC Wednesday morning to assess the impact of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake on Oct. 16, which destroyed buildings and caused the conflagration at the mall.
Based on data from the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), the fire directly affected some 1,355 mall workers, locators and tenants.
Three decades after the Marcopper mining disaster devastated Marinduque’s waterways, the province is again pressing the…
Housing is probably the biggest issue affecting people the world over.
Malacañang on Monday called for a more thorough investigation into the questioned flood control projects in Taguig…
The defense on Monday backed the move by senator-judges to exclude a prosecution witness who testified on the firearms…
Including their dependents, CSWDO said the number of affected “economically-displaced” residents could reach a total of 3,285.
Rebecca Magante, CSWDO head, said they initially proposed for the use of the city’s emergency funds to provide cash vouchers of P234 a day to at least 1,500 affected workers.
Magante said the Council approved the mayor’s recommendation to extend the provision of the assistance for 45 days, and to cover some 2,000 displaced workers.
The CDRRMC approved an allocation of some PHP21 million for the release of the cash vouchers, she said.
Magante said their office is currently working with various government agencies and local companies for the provision of additional assistance to the affected workers.
“KCC Mall offered to hire 200 cashiers from the workers that we have profiled,” she told reporters.
She said some members of the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. have also signified to provide jobs to former Gaisano employees.
Magante said they have coordinated with the Department of Labor and Employment for the provision of emergency employment and livelihood grants to the displaced workers.
The Bureau of Fire Protection said the blaze gutted down at least 90 percent of the 2.3-hectare shopping mall and left an estimated PHP2 billion damage.
