Talisay fixes gaze on land developers

CEBU, Philippines - Talisay City has formed a special team to monitor land developments to make sure developers comply with the rules provided for by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).

City Planning and Development Coordinator Christine Homez, in an interview, said the monitoring team was created after it was noticed that there are still subdivision developments in some parts of the city, especially those in the upland areas, which have failed to make mitigating measures, thereby causing flood or landslide to the lowlands.

Homez named the Sta. Lucia Realty Development Corp. as one of those developers, which until now has failed to comply with the many orders sent by city hall asking it to construct a drainage system in an area near its place.

Sta. Lucia has been developing an upland part of barangay Lagtang into a subdivision since 2002, and was blamed for damaging the P4-million barangay road there which the residents living nearby had used as their only access to reach the adjacent barangay Tabunok.

The city had ordered the realty firm to repair the road, and make a drainage system, as part of what was agreed upon early on to prevent flooding in the low-lying area.

But as of yesterday, Homez said Sta. Lucia has not heeded the city's orders.

In September last year, Mayor Socrates Fernandez ordered the developer to stop its operation after a mudslide affected the whole part of barangay Iba and the neighboring villages.

The mudslide, which also brought in rocks with it, was blamed on the firm's inability to build a proper drainage system, wherein the deluge of rainwater coming from the subdivision could have run freely through it.

Despite the existence of the order, Homez said "from time to time" Sta. Lucia is still doing some improvements to its subdivision above.

The developer was also blamed for the recent flooding in barangay Candulawan, which is adjacent to Lagtang, causing a wall in the neighboring subdivision to collapse.

The new monitoring team, which is composed of representatives from the EMB, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), the Bureau of Mines, and the concerned offices from Talisay, will now take care of this problem, said Homez.

Homez, who is also a member of the team, said with representatives from outside the city hall, there will be a "strict monitoring" of these developments, and that all conditions set by the EMB or the DENR are followed.

"With this multi-partite monitoring team, we hope to put pressure on them. Kung dili pa gihapon mopatuo, then there's the DENR, which is

the chairman of the team, to slap sanctions on them," said Homez.

The HULRB becomes part of the team to ensure that the non-complying developer can not continue selling its lots, she said.

Homez said presently, the penalty for non-compliance of the law is very minimal, hence developers like Sta. Lucia will just continue violating it.

This time, she said, one of the penalties is the suspension of all their activities including selling the of lots.

The monitoring team is expected to mobilize next month, said Homez. — THE FREEMAN