Quezon City hikes financial aid for fire victims

QUEZON CITY, Philippines — The Quezon City government has passed an ordinance increasing financial assistance to families left homeless by fires.

Mayor Joy Belmonte signed Ordinance SP-2873, S-2019 that increased financial assistance for qualified fire victims to P10,000 for house and lot owners.

The ordinance also increased assistance for house renters in fire-affected areas to P5,000. Previously, the assistance was only at P1,000 for house renters and P5,000 for owners.

The city council noted that the assistance is for the “early recovery” of families left homeless due to fires.

The ordinance was passed on third and final reading on Sept. 30, 2019 and signed on Oct. 9, 2019. 

Belmonte is focusing on a program of governance deemed “serving with our hearts,” which aims to alleviate the plight of residents in need. 

The social services development department and the city risk reduction and management office were tasked to implement the ordinance’s provisions on financial assistance for fire-ravaged communities. 

The funding for the ordinance shall be taken from the local disaster risk reduction fund or any available fund of the city government.