CEBU, Philippines - The barangay officials of Tejero are seeking Cebu City Council’s intervention to prevent a 10-meter road-widening proposal of Mayor Michael Rama for the Uldarico Alviola and Sampaguita Streets following a huge fire in the barangay last week.
Tejero Barangay Captain Jessielou Cadungog yesterday met with Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young and Councilors Alvin Dizon and Noel Wenceslao to ask their help.
“Ang di gusto sa mga tawo, iyang gusto,” Cadungog told Young.
Cadungog said they are opposed to the plan of Rama because this would mean more families will be displaced.
Cadungog said he cannot understand why the Mayor is insisting on the 10-meter road widening even without consulting the affected residents and the barangay officials. The Barangay Captain said Rama should focus first on the re-blocking so the hundred of families that were displaced by the fire can already start rebuilding their houses.
Fire victims are temporarily staying at the Tejero Sports Complex and on a vacant lot along Gaisano Street. Cadungog said Rama could not also demand the 10-meter-wide road on Sampaguita Street because 80-percent of the lots are privately owned.
Cadungog said the Barangay Council will be calling an emergency session to pass a resolution opposing the mayor’s plan. They will also ask Rama to speed up the re-blocking so that the affected families will no longer be staying long in the evacuation site.
Dizon, chairman of the committee on housing, said he supports the mayor’s decision to undertake road restoration to improve the accessibility of the interior portion of the affected area and ensure proper passageways in case of emergency situations but the task force created by the mayor should conduct follow-up consultations with the affected families.
A team composed of officials from the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor, the Squatters Prevention Encroachment Elimination Division and the Cebu City Local Risk Reduction Council was tasked in the re-blocking and road widening.
DWUP has already a partial list of the families whose houses willbe affected by the project. But Dizon said, proper identification should be made which among these houses on the list will be partially and totally demolished.
He said the official and final list of households affected by the road restoration project is crucial in identifying the total financial assistance to be given to them.
“I also propose that the complete list of families affected by the road restoration project and their respective classification like partial or fully demolished be finalized in order to set the exact amount for financial assistance before we file the appropriate resolution,” Dizon said. — THE FREEMAN