ZAMBOANGA CITY, (PNA) –- The city government, through the Housing and Land Management Division (HLMD), has conducted Monday “tagging” and “mapping” of residents of Barangay Mariki, one of the barangays affected by last month’s 20-day standoff here.
HLMD chief Rodrigo Pagotaisidro said the tagging and mapping were aimed at determining the exact location of the residents’ houses that went up in smoke when fire broke out at the height of the 20-day standoff.
The standoff started when hundreds of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels infiltrated this city through the shore of Barangay Rio Hondo and nearby barangays. Mariki is an adjoining barangay of Rio Hondo.
The tagging and mapping, held at Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum, were done in coordination with the City Assessor’s Office and City Agriculturist Office.
Pagotaisidro said the tagging and mapping are also aimed at determining who are the owners and who are the families that stay at a particular house burned down aside from determining the exact location.
Pagotaisidro said the tagging and mapping meant the second phase of the three-phase system in identifying the victims whose houses were burned.
The first phase was the master listing and registration and the third phase is the assessment and evaluation.
So far, Pagotaisidro said that 1,300 families have registered.
Tuesday, the residents of the nearby Barangay Rio Hondo will also undergo the same procedure like those from Barangay Mariki, according to Pagotaisidro.
He said that the residents of the two barangays will be allowed to enter their respective places on Wednesday to get their personal belongings and to assessment and evaluate whether their houses were either partially or totally damaged by fire.
The residents of Barangay Mariki and Rio Hondo are staying at present at the different evacuation centers.
Pagotaisidro said the standoff victims are tentatively set to meet next week with shelter agencies, both local and national.