City to buy lot to relocate landslide-prone area folk

The city government will allocate P900,000 for the purchase of a lot in sitio Lower Udlom, barangay Sinsin to be used as relocation site for the families living in sitio Nangka who are under threat of landslide.

City councilor Gerardo Carillo said yesterday that Mayor Tomas Osmena has already approved the purchase of the lot owned by the Sancio family and located some two kilometers from sitio Nagka.

Carillo, who also sits as action officer of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council said that he would pass a resolution at the City Council for the allocation of funding that would be used to purchase the property.

The city might also extend financial aid to the affected families, as the barangay has requested the city to provide each family P5,000 during relocation so they can build their houses.

In a separate interview, Osmena said that once the city would purchase the lot, he intends to “put the residents together like a village” where they will have water, electricity, playground, and a chapel among others.

Sinsin barangay captain Ramon Ylaya Jr. said earlier that many of the residents that the CCDCC evacuated to the nearby Sudlon I sports complex last month due to threat of landslide have already returned to their homes.

He said that they have allowed the residents to go back to their homes, but only during days when there are no rains.

At night, especially when it is raining, they are required to stay at the evacuation site, he added.

There are also reports that some residents leave the evacuation area because the city has already stopped giving food assistance to them.

But Carillo said that the food the city gave to residents was good for a certain period of time only because they could not forever provide food assistance to the affected residents.

Ylaya said that sitio Nangka, which was earlier identified by the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau and the CCDCC as a “danger zone” because of the soft soil and visible cracks, is still under threat of landslide especially when there are rains.

He said they already warned those who went back to their homes to be extra vigilant.

On May 14, the CCDCC implemented forced evacuation of 20 families identified by the MGB as living within the two-hectare danger zone to ensure their safety following the May 2 landslide that hit the area. — Wenna A. Berondo/NLQ