PUBLIC Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida Rueda-Acosta on Sunday expressed gratitude over firefighters’ prompt actions that spared the building which houses PAO and Board of Parole and Pardon (BPP) from Friday’s massive fire which displaced over 4, 000 families and left residents dead.
Rueda-Acosta was likewise hailed by many netizens when she was seen wearing house clothes, among the people, at the height of the fire that swept through a slum area in Brgy. Pinyahan, Quezon City, on Friday night until early Saturday morning.
The chief public attorney, who was also with PAO’s chief finance officer — Alma Dumago-Latosa — managed to persuade volunteers and firefighters coming from different fire stations in Metro Manila to save the PAO and BPP building from being engulfed by the massive fire, as it was right beside the burning residential area.
Rueda-Acosta and Dumago-Latosa were seen mingling with the fire victims as the PAO head promised to seek help from concerned government agencies for assistance.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the fire volunteers and firemen coming from different fire stations in the metropolis for their effort, which effectively spared the building from being caught by the fire, as they also tried to put it out, but the blaze was really massive,” Rueda-Acosta said.
With over 4,000 families that lost their homes, reports from the Bureau of Fire Protection said that one male resident died of a heart attack and four volunteers were injured while the fire was sweeping through the squatters’ area, spreading along NIA Road, and lasted until early Saturday morning.
Mayor Joy Belmonte, who visited the displaced residents in several temporary shelters, assured them of any assistance, including support to rebuild their homes.
Belmonte was with Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Mel Robles and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Nicolas Torre III when they distributed, also on Sunday, some 2,000 “Charitimba” buckets containing food and other essential supplies as well as modular tents.
The city chief executive praised the immediate support and assistance from concerned government agencies, made possible through the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.