The fire site in Barangays Guizo and Mantuyong is almost ready to be occupied again by its original settlers following site development which includes clearing, re-blocking, drainage and road construction.
CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO
Mandaue victims still await relocation
A YEAR after a huge fire hit Barangays Guizo and Mantuyong in Mandaue City, hundreds of displaced fire victims have yet to start rebuilding their homes.
Officials say this may finally happen soon as the city government has begun negotiating with the victims as well as the owners of a possible relocation site in Lapu-Lapu City.
The Lapu-Lapu City lot, possibly in Barangay Pajac or Barangay Agus, will be used for the close to 300 families that could no longer be accommodated back in the area ravaged by the fire.
According to lawyer Elaine Bathan, chief of staff of Mandaue City Mayor Gabriel Luis Quisumbing, they will ask the Mandaue City Council to authorize the mayor to sign a compromise agreement with the Federation of Mandaue Community of Urban Poor Inc. (Fedmacupi) — an organization to which most of the fire victims belong.
Bathan said the mayor is also seeking authorization from the council to negotiate the purchase of the Lapu-Lapu City relocation site.
“We’re taking it step by step,” Bathan told reporters, adding that they hoped to get the authorization by next week.
Based on city hall records, a total of 657 families were displaced by the fire which struck the two barangays on March 12 last year.
Since the incident, fire victims had been staying in makeshift shanties at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) grounds along the Mandaue Reclamation Area, awaiting for the fire site to be developed by the city. The site development includes clearing, re-blocking, proper drainage and road construction,
Constrained by law to provide an area of at least 28 square meters per family, Bathan said only 359 families can be allowed to rebuild at the fire site as the city also needs to ensure that roads are wide enough for better accessibility.
Fedmacupi earlier filed a case against the city, asking the court to intervene so that all the original settlers can rebuild in the same area. The case is still pending.
“The compromise agreement will contain that not all the families can go back. But also part of the agreement is that the city will look for a relocation for them,” she said.
The area assignments will be drawn by lots, Quisumbing earlier said.
Bathan assured that while the relocation site may not be within Cebu City, it is still accessible by the settlers as these sites are located near subdivisions and other developments.
An appraisal of the different properties is currently being conducted by the city together with a third party review of the proposed relocation sites.
Quisumbing will then decide on the best deal for the city and will make a formal offer to buy the property, said Bathan.