51 urban poor communities in Cebu City to be wiped out

At least 51 urban poor communities in Cebu City face demolition with no available relocation sites for the affected settlers.

Collin Rosell, head of the Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP), said the Cebu City government is still working on acquiring new lots for urban poor resettlement.

“Ang problema karon kay wala na tay kabutangan ani nila. For now full na atong mga relocation sites (The problem is we don’t have any place for them to occupy. Our relocation sites are full),” he told Cebu Daily News.

Vice Mayor Edgar Labella, head of the newly-created task force for the landless, said they are trying to reach MTCC executive judge Francisco Seville for a dialogue that will discontinue any demolitions without relocation for settlers.

“This is not an encroachment of judicial powers but at least there has to be some kind of reconciliation,” he said.

Demolition orders

During their review of court records and other urban poor documents, the task force came across 51 demolition orders issued by the MTCC that are now pending implementation.

These included the eviction order for families who occupy the Godinez property in barangay Apas and another privately-owned lot in barangay Kasambagan.

Labella said they are going over records to especially determine if the appeals were already filed on the MTCC decisions.

They are also identifying the location of the contested lots and how many families will be affected by the demolitions.

“The Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) mandates that the government provide them relocation but how can the city provide them relocation if we do not even know of their cases?,” he said.

Financial aid

City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo said if the UDHA were to be followed, no evictions should be implemented within 45 days from the issuance of court notices and in the absence of relocation of financial aid for the affected families.

“You cannot just disregard the law,” said Labella. Rosell said demolitions like the one in sitio San Miguel in barangay Apas are normally implemented pending appeal.

He asked urban poor families to immediately seek assistance from DWUP as soon as they receive information about plans of private lot owners to clear their properties of informal settlers and inquire what assistance they could get from the city.

“Don’t be misled.  Don’t go to any other agencies or groups offering help because it is the city government that is the primary agency tasked to implement the UDHA,” he said.

Rosell said it would already be difficult for the city to intervene when they only learn of the eviction notice shortly before it is implemented.