BATAC CITY, July 10 -- The city government has released PHP 5 million from its Quick Response Fund (QRF) to provide immediate assistance to residents affected by the July 5 fire that razed the Batac public market.

Batac City Mayor Mark Christian Chua confirmed this in a media interview on Friday, saying the amount were distributed to stall owners on a pro rate basis.

Chua said the financial assistance from the city government ranges from PHP10,000 to PHP100,000 based on damage assessment on each stall by the city government.

"A lot of the affected stall owners received PHP100,000 and the minimum is PHP10,000. For now, they are ok," he said, adding that the city government will continue to assist the affected vendors to help them cope f...