Maguikay fire victims to face eviction by private lot owner

The victims of the New Year fire in Mandaue are temporarily housed at the Barangay Guizo basketball court. Those from Barangay Maguikay will not be allowed to rebuild their houses but rather face eviction by the lot owner. (CDN PHOTO/DOMINIC YASAY).

The owner of two of the three lots in Sitio Salvacion, Maguikay, Mandaue City which was hit by fire during New Year, will no longer allow the fire victims to rebuild their houses and will seek legal means to evict them out of the area.

“It seems that the lot owners in Maguikay are planning to pursue their ejectment. However, they offered to provide for assistance for the affected residents. They will meet with the homeowners association in Maguikay to establish timelines and guidelines for this move,” Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing told reporters.

Around 308 families will be displaced, said Quisumbing, who met with the lot owners Wednesday morning at the Mandaue City Session Hall.

The families are apparently mostly informal settlers who have been asked to vacate their lots for a long period of time.

The 30 lot owners in Sitio Santo Niño, Guizo, Mandaue City, on the other hand, want to reblock the fire site, then build houses for the displaced fire victims, who are mostly renters.

They said they wanted to improve the access roads in the area in order to make it easier for fire trucks and emergency responders to enter.

“The lot owners want to reblock their area to allow for access roads for fire trucks and emergency services because this is the second time in one year that Sto. Niño experienced fire,” Quisumbing said, adding that the lot owners didn’t mind having their lots diminished to pave way for wider access roads.

Because majority of the affected individuals in Sitio Sto. Niño are renters, the lot owners intend to rebuild their houses after the reblocking and allow the return of over 275 families.

But because the lots are privately owned, Quisumbing stressed that they are giving the entire responsibility of reblocking the lots to the owners. The city government will only provide them with technical assistance.

“We can provide technical assistance but in terms of the actual execution and (provision) of heavy equipment and cement, for example, certainly we cannot do that. It is our preference that they undergo it themselves,” Quisumbing said.

The Mandaue City Council declared the two barangays under a state of calamity on Wednesday afternoon during their regular session.

Following this declaration, Quisumbing said that the processing time of the calamity funds for the affected families will now become faster.

Quisumbing said they will also be distributing financial assistance of P10,000 to house owners and P5,000 to renters.

There will be educational cash assistance for high school and college students worth P3,000 per semester.

“We will assist the students because their uniforms and books were mostly burned by fire,” Quisumbing said.

On the other hand, the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) will also provide assistance to the victims.

“We are soliciting support from our member companies and consolidating all donations for proper turnover,” said MCCI president Glenn Soco.