25 houses affected by construction of jail’s perimeter fence have to go

The house of Lucresia Conde which was uprooted and carried by her male neighbors in a Bayanihan style now stands at a relocation site just a few meters away.

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — About 25 houses in Sitio Dungguan, Barangay Basak in Mandaue city will be affected by the construction of the perimeter fence of the city’s new jail facility.

The estimated 70 families living in the 25 houses have already been ordered to leave the area and transfer to the relocation site just a few meters away from their old houses.

The house of Lucresia Conde, one of those affected by the ongoing construction of the perimeter fence, was pulled out and carried by her male neighbors Bayanihan style, to the relocation site.

“Ako nalang gipaibot kaysa sa ipademolish, dili na magamit ang uban (materials),” said Conde

Perla Abella, head of the Holy Village Homeowners Association, said they are grateful to the city for providing a relocation site but they ask for more time to vacate their present area.

Abella added that they hope that the city can provide rice assistance or give them relief packs.

Cesar Ylanan, head of the Mandaue City Housing Urban and Development Office (HUDO) demolition team, said the proposed distance of the fence from the jail is 20 meters. However, if they will follow this, more houses will be affected. So they asked the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Mandaue that only the houses that will be directly hit or those standing too close to the fence will be relocated and that is the 25 houses.

The residents hope that their relocation would be permanent and that the city will work on the classification of the land so that they can pay the tax and own the lots where their houses are now standing.   /rcg