ASSESSMENT. Members of the Digos City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council tackle various issues surrounding the damage brought by the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit the area on October 16. City Councilor Marc Fernandez (standing, top photo), Mayor Josef Cagas (extreme right), discuss a point with Vice-Mayor Johari Baña (facing back from the camera) on how to mitigate the damage brought by the earthquake. (PNA photo by Eldie S. Aguirre)
DIGOS CITY -- Malls and department stores here have been ordered closed by the local government following the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit the city on Wednesday evening (October 16).
Digos City Mayor Josef Cagas said he suspended the operations of Gaisano Grand Mall, Gaisano Market Place, Gaisano Malls (GMall), Gaisano Center, Novo, Unitop, Unicity, Digos City Warehouse Club, among others, a day after the tremor.
Cagas said the closure was based on the findings of an inter-agency team tasked to assess the damages on all buildings in the city.
The team is composed of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other agencies.
According to Cagas, the buildings were found to be unsafe for both employees and shoppers if allowed to operate without undergoing intensive inspection.
"I really wanted to see that all of those businesses will be rehabilitated in the soonest possible time because there are thousands of workers that will ultimately lose their jobs if they will remain un-operational," Cagas said in an interview on Saturday.
He said the businesses will be reopened as soon as necessary repairs are done so their closure would not affect the local economy.
As of Friday (October 19), the City Public Employment Services Office (PESO) recorded 1,964 malls and department store workers who have been displaced from their respective jobs after the temblor.
PESO manager Shannie Lou Solatorio said this figure is expected to grow.
"We are reaching out to the HR (human resources) offices of those establishments so that our records will jibe and there will be no conflict as to the names of those who claimed to be displaced," Solatorio said.
It was learned that a number of malls and department stores still require their employees to report to conduct a cleanup.
City Information Officer Nikkolo Marco Aurelio Cortes reminded all establishments affected by the closure order to comply with inspection and secure the necessary occupancy clearance from the city government.
Cortes said some of the buildings may need total demolition, depending on the extent of the damage sustained. (PNA)
