Victims can’t go back, rebuild

CEBU, Philippines - At least 40 families in Barangay Kamputhaw, Cebu City, most of whom were victims of last Sunday’s fire, can no longer go back to the scene near the Lahug River.

City Administrator Lucelle Mercado said the area has been identified as danger-prone and now is just an opportune time to prohibit the residents from going back there.

The houses, Mercado said, were already encroaching into the three-meter easement and blocking the flow of  the river, which is dangerous and illegal.

In fact, she said, Lahug River is one of the waterways in the city where the Reduce Danger Zones (ReDZ), a project created by City Hall middle of last year, would be enforced.

ReDZ, which former city councilor  Jose Daluz III heads, aims to clear Mahiga Creek and rivers of Lahug, Bulacao, Kinalumsan and Guadalupe of illegal structures to eventually  eliminate the risk of  people losing their lives every time they overflow during heavy rain.

Mercado said the city government will provide a relocation site for the families who would be affected by the clearing operation.

In the meantime, the fire victims are temporarily in evacuation centers while those who were spared from the blaze and are still residing at the river’s vicinity would be consulted on the matter.

Mercado said the barangay captain of Kamputhaw was tasked to do the consultation together with the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor , which would work on preparing the relocation sites.

“Dili na nato paabuton na mag-overflow na sad ang river. Kinahanglan gyud i-clear na diha para wala na’y aksidente mahitabo next time (We should not wait for the river to overflow again. We must clear its banks now to avoid future accidents),” the city administrator said.

She said further that the city would also push through with the road widening in Kamputhaw, particularly in the area where the fire occurred.

“Naa’y main road diha na himuon unya natong two-way,” Mercado said, saying that roads are getting narrower because of the houses encroaching on it.

The city, she said, would talk to the management of  the University of the Philippines-Cebu on the plan to create an access road at the border of the school and Kamputhaw.  (FREEMAN)