Boulevard cleared after thorough social preps

ZAMBOANGA CITY (ZNS) –The Cawa-cawa Boulevard was totally cleared Friday, Sept. 5 following thorough social preparations conducted by the Camp Management and Camp Coordination Cluster in coordination with the Temporary Shelter Cluster and the City Administrator’s Office.

This, as the remaining 70 Sama de Laut families opted to be moved out of the boulevard shoreline due to strong waves and winds spawned by a low pressure area. Some of them are now housed at the temporary shelters in Boggoc, Kasanyangan while the others are  housed in Masepla, Mampang or at the grandstand. Several others opted to avail of the balik barangay program.

Assistant City Administrator Elmeir Apolinario, Ph.D., who is also the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) in charge, said transferring the families to a safer area was a judgement call because of the delicate situation brought about by the inclement weather.

 “As CDRRM officer, I have to take stock of the situation. With due information given them [concerned families] and social preparations, we had to move them out of the shoreline,” Apolinario declared.

The clearing of Cawa-cawa Boulevard actually started a few months back in light with the government’s effort to close down evacuation centers vis-a-vis the cultural sensitivities of the internally displaced persons (IDPs).

City Social Welfare Officer Socorro Roxas, who is the CCCM cluster co-lead assured however, that the stay of the families transferred the grandstand is temporary as the timeline set for their movement to Buggoc is October 10.

“Aside from the fact that we had sufficient social preparation, the transfer was also urgent because of the unstable weather condition. Some of the families were complaining of the sound of the waves,” Roxas pointed out.

She added that the social preparation helped the CCCM and other coordinating agencies to establish a breakdown of the families for transfer to the transitory sites.

The CCCM is a cluster composed of the CSWDO, Department of Social Welfare and Development and International Organization for Migration (IOM). (Sheila Covarrubias) (091514)