People, who are not fire victims and are staying at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) grounds, are turning down the Mandaue City government’s request for them to vacate the area.
(CDN FILE PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
MANDAUE City Mayor Gabriel Luis “Luigi” Quisumbing has admitted difficulty in convincing non-beneficiaries to vacate the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) compound.
This has caused concern considering that the CICC building is no longer safe and is unfit for occupancy.
“It really should not be occupied because its already been a hazard for very long. Time has only further deteriorated the actual building. We really need to make sure we guarantee the safety of everybody,” Quisumbing said.
Quisumbing said there are families living at the CICC, which was made an evacuation center for fire victims, who are not included in the list of recipients and have refused to leave the place.
“We are trying to talk to them. However, we have to make clear to them that dili gyod nato sila maapil sa (they cannot be included in the) list of beneficiaries because there are specific beneficiaries that were selected by the Beneficiaries Selection Committee ‘ug kini sila ang (and they are the) original beneficiaries sa 9.2 (hectare lot),” said Quisumbing.
There are about 275 families who were renters or sharers when the fire razed several houses in Barangays Guizo and Mantuyong last March 2016 and temporarily took shelter at the CICC, together with the other 280 families who are house owners, and therefore considered as beneficiaries.
Quisumbing said there are families who are not fire victims but have moved in the CICC compound and these are the ones who refuse to vacate and move out.
Tony Pet Juanico, chief of the Mandaue City Housing and Development Office, said they are giving at least P10,000 financial assistance to non-beneficiaries and even offered to help them return to their provinces.
“About 190 have voluntarily demolished and we have been assisting them in the last few days, to return to their points of origin,” said Quisumbing.
Some beneficiaries, however, have demolished their structures and moved to the 9.2-hectare lot in Barangay Guizo and Mantuyong, Mandaue City.
The 3.2-hectare CICC property has been bought by the Mandaue City government from the Provincial Government.
Mandaue City plans to demolish the building and construct a hotel, casino and convention hall in the area.