Lahug folk: Only Osmeña can save us from eviction

For barangay Lahug residents caught in the crossfire between the city and province on the controversial land swap deal issue, only Mayor Tomas Osmeña can save them from eviction.

The affected residents yesterday announced that they are coming up with a covenant that would integrate and solidify their stand to let Osmeña be the one to negotiate with Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

The covenant, they said, would integrate the individual manifestos earlier issued by the different sitios choosing Osmeña over Lahug barangay captain Mary Ann delos Santos to negotiate with the governor.

The covenant is also in response to Osmeña's earlier statement that he will not dip his finger into the issue if the residents would choose Delos Santos to handle the situation. Osmeña and Delos Santos are in a political clash.

The affected sitios include Culo, Sanjercasvil, Camagong Laray, Lahug Agri-Riverside, Salinas Drive Extension, Sto. Niño, La Guardia, Maraccas, and Rio.

Evelyn Benavente, the city Community Action Center officer who is also a resident of barangay Lahug, said while they respect the political gap between Osmeña and Delos Santos, it should be understood that the issue is more than political and that it is the homes of the people that are at stake.

"They have to decide who they want to handle their situation...they have to make it very clear where they stand," Osmeña earlier said.

The province has issued new eviction notices to the residents but Osmeña made it clear he would not want a repeat of what happened during the elections wherein Delos Santos allegedly assured the residents of sitio Camagong that the province has already approved their occupancy on the lots, which turned out to be otherwise.

With the alleged assurance, Osmeña said he lost many votes in sitio Camagong.

"As the mayor of the city, I accept responsibility for any problem but the people will have to bear with me that they have to make the situation clear. They have to decide. I don't want to do it and deliver and the barangay captain would claim."

On top of this, Osmeña recognizes the ongoing unspoken rift between the province and the City Council following the "reckless remarks" issued by Vice Mayor Michael Rama on the land swap deal that Osmeña had proposed.

The "reckless remarks" surfaced in Rama's privilege speech during a council's regular session. Some words that have raised eyebrows include: "igo ra unya sila modawat og limpyo." He also told the council not to make haphazard decisions when a P400 million worth of City Hall property was at stake.

Rama said he only wanted to make sure the council's decision to give up P400 million worth of property in exchange for P183 million will not be questioned later on. He had already issued an apology to the province but, apparently, it was not enough to heal the wounds.

Only 1,467 of the total 4,148 families occupying the provincial lots in the city have paid in full for the area they are occupying. To spare the 2,900 families from being evicted, the land swapping deal was considered a solution.

In exchange for the Capitol's 504,055 square meter property, the city is planning to give the province a 33,737 square meter prime lot at the North Reclamation Area, which is presently used as nursery and storage space for City Hall equipment.

The province-owned lots are located in barangays Apas, Luz, Busay, Mabolo, Lorega, Camputhaw, Lahug, Capitol Site and Kalunasan. - Joeberth M. Ocao