A total of three hundred houses in Mandaue City are set to be demolished on Monday, April 16, to give way for the city’s road widening projects.
According to Tony Pet Juanico, Housing and Urban Development Office (HUDO) head, the houses to be demolished are located in Sitio ABBRAI, Barangay Alang-Alang (273) and at the back of the Cebu North Bus Terminal in Barangay Subangdaku (27).
Mayor Luigi Quisumbing has set the construction of more road networks in Mandaue City as part of his priorities to help ease traffic congestion in the city especially in thickly populated districts.
“Gusto sa mayor nga maka-open ta og mga bag-ong dalan aron makatabang sa pagsulbad sa problema sa traffic ug makasulod ang mga fire trucks ug ambulance kon dunay emergency (The mayor wants to open new roads to help ease traffic problems and allow fire trucks and ambulances to pass in case of emergencies),” said Juanico.
Juanico said that the owners of houses which will be demolished will be given a P10,000 financial assistance.
As of last night, around 60 to 65 percent of affected residents were reported to have moved out of their homes and voluntarily demolished the structures.
Juanico hoped that remaining residents would take down their houses before the demolition team would be forced to implement the demolition order on Monday.
Juanico explained that the city has complied with due process before the scheduled demolition as required by regulations of the Presidential Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP).
A pre-demolition conference was conducted by PCUP yesterday with representatives of the affected houses, city officials and the demolition team.
Residents of the subject areas have also long been notified of the planned city road projects since last year.
Demolition team leader Ceasar Ylanan had conducted three consultations in the areas and reminded residents of the upcoming road projects.
Aside from the road widening projects in Barangays Alang-Alang and Subangdaku, two more road projects are pending in Mandaue City.
These are the streets along UN Avenue and the Subangdaku National Highway.