DAVAO CITY - The office of the First Congressional District Representative Paolo Z. Duterte distributed on Sunday morning cash aid and rice packs to 84 people affected by a fire incident in Barangay 5-A Pag-asa in Bankerohan of this city.

Each recipient - composed of house owners, sharers, boarders, and renter - received a cash assistance and 10 kilos sack of rice from Rep. Duterte's office. The distribution was held at Everly Homes, Don Isidro Village, Barangay 5-A around 1:30 p.m.

In the initial report from Davao City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), 350 families and 28 individuals are affected by the incident, of which 26 are house owners, 15 are sharers, 23 are renters, and 20 are boarders. 

The fire gutted down 13 houses and partially damaged 15 other houses at Purok 5-A Pag-asa on April 1, Thursday, at 11:20 p.m. leaving the victims homeless. All victims are temporarily sheltered at a gymnasium in Bankerohan.

Davao Fire District Intelligence and Investigation Office head SFO4 Ramil Gillado said that the fire started at the house of a certain Ramon John Solite. He added that the fire occurred at the first floor of the two-storey house.

Investigation revealed that the ceiling was made of a plywood and was installed with lots of electrical wiring. The firefighters controlled the fire around 1:15 a.m. Damage to property was estimated at P500,000.

Barangay 5-A chief Edgar Ibuyan Jr. expressed his gratitude to the First Congressional District Office, especially to Rep. Duterte, for the help they had given to the affected families.

The district office has been giving food packs not only to its constituents, but also to other areas of Davao where people are in need of immediate assistance even amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.