The families of Sitio Tangke, Mambaling have few options other than to go back to their provinces or accept a relocation offer from the City Hall.
CDN Photos/Tonee Despojo
ABOUT 162 families in Sitio Tangke, Barangay Mambaling were left homeless after a court ordered demolition which took place at a privately owned lot yesterday.
Judge Pamela Baring-Uy of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branch 6 ordered the demolition after ruling in favor of the heirs of lot owner Alejandro Bagano.
Court Sheriff Edilberto Suarin said the demolition was scheduled in October last year.
He said the settlers asked for a one month extension but the lot owner gave them three months.
There were no resistance from settlers like 50-year-old Miriam Pantaleon, who said they have nowhere to go.
“Kami managsuon nag dako diha (Me and my siblings grew up there),” Pantaleon said.
Cebu City Hall’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) offered the families a relocation site in Barangay Quiot, Pardo.
DWUP operations chief Genevieve Alcoseba said the city acquired the lot last December. But Pantaleon said the site had not yet been developed.
“Bukid kayao didto. Murag dili mapuy-an. Wala pa g’yud linya sa kuryente ug tubig (It’s a hilly place and it looks uninhabitable. It doesn’t have power and water),” she said.