Six persons, including at least three children, perished in a pre-dawn fire Thursday that razed to the ground at least 50 houses along Arlegui Street in Quiapo, Manila.
Among the dead were two 12-year-old girls, said to be twins, and their five-year-old cousin, a boy. Also listed among the dead were the boy's parents, Jofae Mae Porio and Roi Daniel Cayetano.
The sixth fatality is yet to be identified at press time as the remains were charred beyond recognition, according to fire investigators.
The Manila Bureau of Fire Protection reported that the fire started at about 2:30 a.m. in a three-story house made of light and old wood materials. Fire out was declared by 8:10 a.m.
Among the structures gutted by the fire were the hall of Barangay 387 and a daycare center.
The mother of the twins identified them, saying they were just visitors in one of the houses. She said she tried her best to save her girls but that the house they were in burst into flames when a gas tank exploded.
Inocencio Banaya, 69, said the razed houses were inside a compound that used to be the site of the old Department of Labor and Employment until the offices were transferred to Intramuros.
Thankful
"I was born and aged here in Arlegui. Most of the people who lived in those houses were already third generations of former labor department employees who used to work here," he said.
Rona, a Quiapo vendor who lost her dwelling, said most of the residents in the area are poor people who are being fed hot meals each day by the Manila Social Welfare Department.
The fire victims were provided clothes and bedding and relocated to the Barangay 388 covered court.
"We were sound asleep when people started shouting 'sunog, sunog (fire, fire)'. We thought it was a joke until we looked outside the window and saw the fast-spreading fire, thick smoke billowing," she said in Filipino.
The wife of an electrician, Rona said they lost all their belongings in the fire but were thankful that no family members were hurt or killed during the conflagration.
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna and Vice Mayor Yul Servo ordered the MSWD to continue feeding the fire victims and to find other ways to help them regain their bearing.
The Philippine Red Cross and the Manila Police District also provided services to the fire victims.