By next month, Lapu-Lapu City Hall will demolish structures that violated the three meter easement zone in the city’s coastal shoreline.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said she ordered the City Attorney’s Office to issue notices to these settlers.
“We are giving them 15 days to comply. We are also urging them to voluntarily demolish their structures and they can ask the city’s help,” Radaza said.
Radaza said they will first prioritize clearing out commercial structures or renters, because they can be easily relocated.
“We’ll review first the structure owners that will be subject to demolition for distribution of financial assistance,” she said.
The city government has yet to determine how much aid they will give to the families, structure owners and renters. Radaza said they won’t offer relocation to them.
“Right now, we are trying to acquire a lot in barangay Suba Basbas and Pajac that would be used for relocation but we are experiencing problems in the negotiation. We might file an expropriation case before the court regarding this case,” she said.
The mayor said they are coordinating with the Urban Poor Office to conduct an inventory of these illegal structures.
Radaza said settlers living at the coastal shoreline contribute to polluting the water since they have no septic tanks and wastewater disposal system in place.
The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-7 earlier confirmed that fecal coliform contamination in Mactan’s seawater exceeded their standard 100 Most Probable Number (MPN) per 100 millimeter.
EMB personnel recorded fecal coliform level in the area at 180-250 MPN.
Radaza said piggery owners in slum areas should properly dispose of their wastes since they contaminate the seawater.
“We are also coordinating with the head of the MRF (Material Recovery Facility), in identifying piggery owners,” Radaza said.