123 families get demolition notice

CEBU, Philippines - One hundred twenty three structures including those living along the creek have been asked by the Squatters Prevention Elimination and Encroachment Division (SPEED) to demolish their homes voluntarily.

SPEED Chief Noel Artes signed the notices of demolition dated January 3.

Artes told The FREEMAN that 111 structures living along the creeks in Sitio Silangan, Barangay Tinago and Tejero were given notice to demolish their structure while 12 families received the same in Sitio Laurente, Barangay Tejero.

According to Artes, the 12 families were asked to remove their structures to pave way for the proposed road opening that connects to Carreta road and U. Alviola Street in Tejero.

The affected residents went immediately to Tejero Barangay Hall to seek clarification of the demolition order.

The families were given a 15-day period to voluntarily demolish their houses.  

In a letter, Tejero Barangay Captain Jessielou Cadungog said that the structures in Sitio Laurente are not illegal structures as what was pointed out in the letter from Artes.

“How can these structures be illegal? Is this because the City Government is proposing a road opening?” Cadungog said, adding that the City Government has been issuing notices of demolition without consulting with the barangay officials and affected families. 

Under the Local Government Code, specifically Section 27, occupants in areas where government projects, whether national or local, are to be implemented shall not be evicted unless appropriate relocation sites have been provided.

Section 28 of Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development Housing Act provides for an adequate consultation and relocation for settler before any eviction or demolition is carried out. No eviction or demolition shall be implemented without insuring that the duly designated representatives of the families to be resettled and the affected communities in the areas where they are to be relocated are properly consulted.

Citing these, Cadungog is asking for an “immediate consultation and dialogue before the implementation of any project that the City Government wants to undertake. — (FREEMAN)