Demolition victims complain vs bad relocation sites

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City residents whose houses were recently demolished by a court order in barrio Luz lamented of their sorry state in the City Government property where they were relocated.

They demanded that they be allowed to return to their old lots because of the failure of the government to provide an adequate resettlement.

“Angayang makabalik kami sa among luna dili lamang tungod kay walay klaro ang relokasyon apan tungod kay kami ang tinuod angayang makatag-iya sa maong luna,” the residents said in a press statement. (We must be allowed to go back not just because of the state of the relocation site but because we are the true owners of the lots.)

The 29 of the 32 families ordered demolished by the court have left the lots they used to occupy in sitios Mabuhay, Lubi and Nangka in barrio Luz and many of them are running out of option but to accept the relocation site offered by the City.

But the residents complained that their relocation site is not at all suitable for living.

“Among giadto ang gitudlo sa gobyerno nga mao kuno ang among relokasyon didto sa San Jose, Basak ug Bulacao. Apan among nasuta nga ang mga yuta katangkongan,bahaan, walay drainage, walay mainom nga tubig, mahal ang pletehan kay layo sa among panginabuhian,” Barangay Luz Urban Fraternal Organization (BLUPFO) President Generosa Corbeta said. (We inspected the relocation site but these are either swamps or flood-prone with no proper drainage systems. There’s no potable water and we would have to spend much for fare because it’s far from our means of living.)

“Bukiron ug pangpang, walay linya sa kuryente, dili maagian og bombero kung dunay sunog ug dunay mga claimants na nag-ingon nga sila ang tag-iya sa mga luna,” Corbeta added. (These are in the mountains or cliffs, there’s no power lines, there’s no access for firefighters in case of emergencies and people came forward claiming the relocation sites to be their own.)

She said they were clearly deprived of their rights for adequate shelter when they were demolished without an adequate relocation site.

“Ang among kahimtang nagpakita sa klaro nga pagbugal-bugal ug pagyatak sa among tawhanong katungod,” Coberta said. (Our rights as humans were violated.)

The residents insist that they have more right to own the property they occupied for more than 50 years.

The residents lost a case against the three homeowners associations that wanted them out of the housing project for refusing to participate in the community mortgage program. The residents whose houses were demolished refused to be members of the CMP because they wanted to directly pay to the owner of the property, which is the Province.

After almost two decades, the court ruled in favor of the homeowners association and finally ordered the demolition of structures last October 8.

Corbeta said that the demolition has caused them grave inconvenience because those who were evicted have no holding area with facilities such as comfort rooms. She said their children were forced to skip classes because of the situation. –JPM (FREEMAN)