CEBU, Philippines - In order to address clearing operations to make way for projects in improving waterways in the city, a series of meetings with affected settlers and stakeholders near Mahiga Creek will start on Monday.
City Attorney Jerone Castillo said that his office has decided to start the conflict meetings rolling after more than half of the 98 notified settlers approached his office to negotiate.
Castillo reported that more than 50 settlers came to his office yesterday and requested to talk to him after the 15-day period covered by the notice to vacate expired last Wednesday.
He also showed to reporters the list of Mahiga Creek settlers that signified cooperation with the project of the city government to strictly enforce the three-meter easement zone along waterways as part of the Project Reduce Danger Zones (REDZ).
Believing that each settler must be addressed according to their circumstance, Castillo said the city government decided to hold conflict meetings primarily aimed at conducting profiling of settlers.
A three-man team composed of officers from the Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP), City Legal, and Office of the Mayor will facilitate the meeting.
“By group of five, we will conduct conflict meetings. Ang atong pag address ani would be on a case to case basis,†Castillo said.
Further, the department head emphasized the “not apparent but very clear†threat to settlers along the creek especially during rainy season.
Apart from affected homes, the city government also set a simultaneously stakeholders meeting on Monday inviting business establishments identified by REDZ.
REDZ, he added, plans to have the Mahiga Creek a model waterway in the development and disaster risk reduction efforts of the city government and the rest of the river systems will follow.
“That’s a dream. If Japan, Korea, and Malaysia did it, we can also do it. It’s a matter of political will to make it happen with cooperation from all sectors,†Castillo said. — (FREEMAN)