EDITORIAL - Be it ever so humble…

Following the irregular conduct of a demolition in Barangay Hipodromo, the Cebu City Legal Office is now mulling filing appropriate charges against the sheriff and the team that implemented it.

According to reports, there was no pre-demolition conference conducted along with the affected residents to determine where they will be relocated after the destruction of their home. Worse, there was also confusion with which houses were to be demolished, resulting in some houses that shouldn’t have been touched being destroyed, and vice-versa.

“Luoy kaayo, ang uban gani walay labot sa kaso gi-apil og demolish ilang balay so daghan kaayo’g violations nga angay natong i-correct,” said City Legal Officer Carlo Vincent Gimena.

Let them get to the bottom of this issue and file charges if such are warranted.

They say a home is a man’s castle. And this is the case no matter how humble one’s abode is. As long as that home was built with hard-earned and honest money, there will always be some source of pride one can take in it. Even if that home is nothing more than a shanty.

There will always be a sense of achievement in building a house. “Nakapatukod og balay” will always be an accomplishment even those with the lowliest jobs will strive for.

A house isn’t also just a mere structure. It’s where families are raised, values inculcated, and memories made with relatives and neighbors. This is why some people will go as far as to resort to violence when their homes --again, even if these are mere shanties--are threatened, whether by greedy land grabbers or appointed court sheriffs serving legal orders of demolition.

This is also why destroying the homes of someone should never be taken lightly, especially when the needless destruction is the result of someone’s carelessness or oversight.

Be it ever so humble there will always be no place like home.