CEBU, Philippines - The civil case filed by residents of Barangay Kamagayan, Cebu City cannot stop Mayor Michael Rama from ordering the demolition of their houses at the Citi Center Complex.
“I have to think kay ang barangay man gyud ang nag-request ana (to demolish the houses to reblock the area). Pirmiro sila na gani (want) i-reblock kay makuyawan sila nga naay moabot nga sunog. Nganong naabot mana ang storya (to stop the demolition),” Rama said.
A few days ago, the residents through their lawyer Benjamin Militar asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order against Rama; Raquel Arce, chief of the Prevention Restoration Order Beautification Enhancement Division; Kamagayan Barangay Captain Raquel Avila; and Councilmen Rene Roy Avila, Mansueto Avila, Jerome Avila, Rico Ramirez, and Norbeto Diaz to stop the demolition.
Both Arce and City Administrator Lucelle Mercado have claimed that the residents want the demolition to push through but Kamagayan Barangay Captain Celestino Avila opposed.
“Dili na tinuod. Walay tawo nga gusto maguba ang pinuy-anan. Ganahan pa man gani ang tawo nga naay kapuy-an,” he said earlier.
Councilor Lea Japson said it is possible that the residents may just have agreed to the demolition to avoid conflict with the demolition team.
“Mo-agree ko nga ni-volunteer sila because of that problem nga if ang PROBE mu-demolish, wala gyud silay makuha bisag usa kabuok (from their things),” Japson said.
Avila said the purpose of the demolition is to clear and prepare the area for reblocking. She also assured that the residents can return once reblocking is done.
Last year, the City Council passed Ordinance No. 2356 or “An ordinance Imposing a Moratorium on Demolition in the City Center Complex, Cebu City.”
Among the conditions the ordinance mandates are adequate consultations with the settlers, identification of the latter’s relocation site and representation in the Task Force organized under the ordinance, from the informal dwellers themselves, and the National Housing Authority.
Militar alleged, however, that the city government did not heed these conditions. He also pointed out that there remains no funding for the two five-story condominium building the city government plans to build at the area. One building is for City Hall employees and the other is for the qualified residents of the barangay.
Section 28 of Republic Act 7279 or the “Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992” states that demolition may be allowed “when government infrastructure projects with available funding are about to be implemented.”
In the civil case they filed, the Citi Center residents are asking P300,000 in actual, moral, and exemplary damages. (FREEMAN)