City personnel suggest move vs. encroachment

Two personnel of the Cebu City Planning and Development Office recently came up with a case study on how to effectively deal with the problem on encroachment of illegal structures into city roads.

Ma. Concepcion Encabo, assistant planning and development officer, and Niceforo Iroy, planning officer II, observed that the existing policy of the city in responding to complaints against road encroachment is not so effective.

The two said that the existing policy usually causes delays because of the duplication of jobs of the personnel of the planning and development office and of the Squatters Prevention and Encroachment Elimination Division who conduct separate ocular inspections.

They have suggested that a joint inspection team would be created from the two departments to improve services and to minimize expenses of the city since doing two separate inspections on one and the same complaint would take more time, thus resulting to delay.

“Public trust and confidence will also increase with the timely response to the complaint lodged by the public,” Encabo and Iroy explained.

Chief city planner Nigel Paul Villarete approved the implementation of the output of the case study.

Encroachment into city roads of structures and properties made it hard recently for an ambulance to rush a patient to a hospital when it had a difficulty passing through a portion of Guibilondo Street in barangay Mabolo.

A City Hall informer who made an ocular inspection on said street reported that a portion of the road is used both as parking area for vehicles and ‘tamba-yan’ of residents there.

The FREEMAN has observed that the problem on the encroach-ment of structures and properties into city roads by some unscrupulous persons is also experienced in other barangays of the city, including barangay Lorega-San Miguel leading to sitio Kaimito.

Several complaints on encroachment of roads were posted on the city’s official website. The complaints challenged the Office of the City Attorney to perform its legal duty of removing all encroaching structures from sidewalks.

“Those who have disobeyed should be taken to court. The political will of local leaders is necessary for the Office of the City Attorney to implement the law against encroachment of sidewalks,” a complaint read. — Rene U. Borromeo/MEEV