Fire victims seek City Hall’s help after CPA told them to leave lot city claims

CEBU, Philippines - Fire victims who are temporarily staying near the South Road Properties (SRP) viaduct trooped to Cebu City Hall yesterday and sought Mayor Michael Rama’s help.

This was after the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) told them to vacate the area as it “owns” the lot.

Rama, who met the Jan. 11 Warwick Barracks, Barangay Ermita fire victims, told them to stay put, reiterating his stand that the city government owned the lot.

The mayor said he would sit down with Ermita Barangay Captain Felicisimo Rupinta and some department heads to address the matter.

CPA has already fenced the entrance and exit to the viaduct on F. Gonzales Street where the fire victims had set up tents as temporary homes.

The CPA has been asserting its right to the property, claiming that it is part of the Port Management Office and therefore falls within its territorial jurisdiction.

The city government, though, said it owns a portion of the fenced property and even issued two notices, one in February and another in May last year, for the CPA to remove the fence, but only because the agency did not secure a building permit from the city.

A few weeks after the fire, around 50 families, including renters and vendors at the Carbon Public Market, were temporarily sheltered under tents set up in the contested lot.

The city plans to build 92 modular structures as stalls-cum-homes in Sitio Warwicks and the nearby “Freedom Park” area before the victims can go back and do business again there. — Niña S. Abenoja/RHM (FREEMAN)