Fearing they may lose their homes, about 23 families or 100 residents of Sitio Oprra in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City asked for help from the Cebu provincial government yesterday.
The Kalunasan People’s Initiative Association Inc., represented by its president Bienvenido Buac Jr., met with Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III behind closed doors to discuss their concern yesterday.
Davide said his officials will talk with the Cebu City government to clarify the plight of the families.
“When we checked the records, part of it belonged to Osmeña Shrine, and part of it is to Oprra. As far as our records show, it is not owned by the province but some of the residents are from the province. Tabangan lang nato kay maluuy sad ta (Let’s just help them out of pity),” Davide said.
Buac claimed that people who identified themselves as representatives of Cebu City Hall’s Division of Welfare and the Urban Poor (DWUP) and the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, Enhancement (PROBE) team visited their area a lot of times to warn them that their homes may be demolished.
“Unya uban ani nila, muingon nga sa province daw ang luna (Some of them claim that the land is owned by Cebu City while some said it is owned by the province),” Buac said.
DWUP operations chief Genevieve Alcoseba said there is no order to demolish the homes there.
She said they were going after the occupants staying at Osmeña Shrine.
“Nagsige nami og badlong diha (in Osmeña Shrine) pero dili gihapon sila mamahawa diha (We have been giving warnings to the residents their but they are so hardheaded),” Alcoseba said.
Alcoseba said they are unsure about the specific boundary between the city and the province.
She said representatives of Cebu City Hall and the Capitol will inspect the area to determine the boundaries.