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CEBU CITY, Philippines - A fire that started shortly after 12 p.m. razed five houses and damaged another one in Tudela town on Camotes Island, northern Cebu.
The town's lone fire truck was not able to respond because its battery was stolen with no replacement made for a long time.
Help had to be sought from the neighboring town of San Francisco, 16 kilometers away.
Fire Officer 1 Vlladimir Bacalan of the Tudela fire station said the truck battery was not replaced until now because of the post-election bickering between Demetrio Granada and Rogelio Baquerfo Sr. over who is the town's rightful mayor.
At the Capitol, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia reiterated that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should rule already on the political dispute in Tudela town.
The Capitol had earlier bought new fire trucks for Cebu towns.
However, the fire truck for Tudela was not turned over because of the confusion over who between Baquerfo and Granada should sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the provincial government for use of the truck.
On Monday, Bacalan said he was the only fireman on duty when the fire broke out Sunday afternoon.
As soon as he received the fire alarm in barangay Camansi, about four kilometers away from the town proper, he contacted San Francisco's fire station.
The Tudela fire station has three personnel who take turns manning the station.
Bacalan said the San Francisco fire station had a bigger fire truck than Tudela's, which is a multicab with a water tank installed at the back.
Fire Officer 2 Ronnie Pasaol of the San Francisco fire station said it took them almost an hour to get to the area and about 45 minutes to put the fire under control.
“We just had enough water (for the six houses). It was fortunate that the other houses were several meters away,” Pasaol said in Cebuano.
The fire burned down houses owned by Rustico Labajo, Juanillo Laguna, Arcadio Belarmino, Lilia Belarmino and Rogelio Labajo. The house of Crisanto Garciano was damaged.
The fire started at the house of Labajo and quickly spread to the neighboring houses, which were all made of light materials according to the report received at the Cebu Provincial Police Office.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated but investigators are looking into faulty electrical wiring.
Property damage was estimated at P300,000.
Granada, in an interview, said he was the one who had asked the help of Vice Governor Greg Sanchez to provide Tudela with a fire truck.
He asked why the ignition key was not turned over by Baquerfo to his camp so the fire truck could be used by Tudela residents in case of emergencies.
Tudela councilors Oscar Sollante and Jojo Sollante went to the Capitol on Monday to request for the release of a province- purchased fire truck.
Several fire trucks were earlier purchased by the Province of Cebu for local government units (LGU).
A MOA between Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and the mayor provides that the recipient LGU will take care of maintenance while the fire truck remains the property of the province.
The Tudela municipal council passed a resolution in November 2008 to request Tudela Vice Mayor Clint Maratas to instead sign the agreement with Governor Garcia.
“We might look into that (possibility of allowing Maratas to sign the MOA,” Governor Garcia said.
The governor instructed provincial treasurer Roy Salubre, who serves as acting treasurer of Tudela, to bring the relief assistance when he travels to the island this week. /Correspondents Rene F. Alima and Chris Ligan with Reporter Doris C. Bongcac
