54 shanties along Mandaue’s Mahiga Creek torn down to give way to slope protection project

An owner of one of the 54 shanties along the banks of Mahiga Creek in Subangdaku, Mandaue City watches helplessly as their houses are being torn down on Sept. 20, 2019 so that the Department of Public and Highways can proceed with the slope protection project in the area.|CDN Digital Photo/ Norman Mendoza

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines – A total of 54 shanties were demolished on Friday, September 20, along Mahiga Creek in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue city.

Although there was no resistance unlike the previous demolitions in the area, the affected residents were again demanding a dialogue with the city mayor, Jonas Cortes.

Manilfa Soniega, 38, whose shanty was among those torn down at Sitio Mahayag along Mahiga Creek, said she and her family have been living  in the area since the late 1980s and refused to avail of the relocation site offered by the city government since the area was more dangerous to live in.

She said families from here area who transferred to the relocation site suffered from constant flooding every time the  Butuanon River would overflow.

“Ila mi papoy-on sa bahaanan pud nga lugar ug daghan namo ang dili makasarang sa pagbayad sa yuta,” said Soniega.

(They wanted us to resettle in a flood-prone area and many of us cannot afford to pay for the lot).

She said they wished to have a dialogue with the mayor and the barangay captain of Subangdaku but no one would listen to them.

Debris are all that are left of shanties along the banks of Mahiga Creek in Subangdaku, Mandaue City that were demolished on Sept. 20, 2019 for the Department of Public and Highways to proceed with the slope protection project in the area.|CDN Digital Photo/ Norman Mendoza

The demotion, however, still went ahead, with 30 shanties torn down at Sitio Mahayag and  24 shanties at Sitio Mahusay.

According to Cesar Ylanan, who led the demolition crew from the city government, said they were clearing the area of structures because the Department of Public Work and Highways would be working on providing slope protection to the Mahiga Creek and they could not proceed due to the riverbank dwellers.

A fire truck and police personnel were deployed in the area in case a commotion would occur but the demolition ended peacefully./elb