Structures near coastal areas in Lapu-Lapu to be demolished

Structures in coastal areas within the 3-meter easement zone are to be demolished.

THE Lapu-Lapu City government will pursue the demolition of illegal structures located within the three-meter easement zone along the coastal areas of the city tomorrow.

Lawyer Ethelbert Ouano of the City Attorney’s Office said they will only tear down structures which are extensions of houses and made into boarding houses.

“We will leave the structures where the settlers live. But the extension of their house that was rented out will be demolished,” Ouano said.
According to Ouano, they received information that some structure owners are even renting out 10 to 20 rooms and they themselves do not even live there.

He urged tenants to find decent boarding houses, which are not at risk of demolition.

“Settlers will still remain, though, eventually they might be demolished as well,”” he added.

The city will also demolish piggeries within the no-build zone.

Voluntary

Mila Uy, head of the city’s Urban Poor Department said some homeowners have volunteered to demolish their structures themselves.

“Some have demolished their structures voluntarily, especially those who owned piggeries,” Uy said.

Around 190 structures are set to be demolished tomorrow, representing the first batch.

Yesterday, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza met with the members of the task force that will implement the demolition.

The task force is composed of representatives from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, City Engineer’s Office, Urban Poor Department, City Social Welfare and Development Office, City Health Office, and the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LLCPO).

But some families who are only renting rooms at Seaside, Barangay Pusok, are appealing to Radaza to extend the deadline of the demolition, since they were only notified a week before its implementation.

The notice to vacate and/or demolish that they received was dated May 31, 2018, but they only received it on June 4.

Charish Emit and her common-law husband, Bitses Tubalado, have been renting a boarding house in the area for more than a year.

They have two children, a three-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy.

“We are only paying P1,000 per month, inclusive of electricity and water. Rental in other boarding houses is from P3,000 to P5,000, plus your electric and water bill,” she said.

Lineth Dinolang, another tenant said they will ask for a dialog with Radaza.

“We are planning to gather outside the city hall on Wednesday (tomorrow), hoping that Mayor Radaza would grant our request,” Dinolang said.

She said that her family has been residing in Sitio Seaside for 21 years already.

Dinolang is a member of the Sto. Niño Landless Urban Poor Organization in Seaside, Barangay Pusok.