Affected residents’ appeal: Cash aid first before demolition

Affected families of the citywide clearing operations in the three-meter easement of the city’s waterways particularly in the Kinalumsan River are temporarily housed in the San Nicolas Elementary School. | CDN Digital file photo  (Morexette Marie B. Erram)

CEBU CITY — Some affected residents of the ongoing clearing operations in Kinalumsan River in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City, appealed to the city government to ensure that they would be provided with the promised cash assistance first before their houses would be demolished.

Watching the assigned local authorities demolish the houses of her neighbors on Thursday, August 11, 2022, made Juliet Bacalso anxious of the status of her own house.

Appeal of affected resident

Bacalso who asked to be interviewed by the media on Thursday, August 11, 2022, said her house was among the structures identified to be encroaching the three-meter easement in the Kinalumsan River.

While she would be willing to cooperate with the mandate of the city, Bacalso said she had yet to receive the P35,000 cash assistance promised to each identified structure owner.

“Sa among side, dapat ang unang gub-on nila, kani g’yong mga nabayran na. Pero ang amoa, wala pa man jud mi kadawat. Kung ilang gub-on, unsa man poy among ilihok,” she said.

(On our side, they should demolish those who have already received the assistance. But, us here, we still have not received it. If they will demolish our house, what will we use to find another place to live.)

“Dili sa unta ni hilabtan ang amoa kung wala pa ni maprocess ang mga papel ug (ma finalize) kung unsay angay buhaton namo,” she added.

(They should not yet touch our house if we had not yet processed the papers and (to finalize it) what we will have to do.)

The city started the clearing operations for the whole stretch of the Kinalumsan river last Monday, August 8.

Another plea of affected resident

Likewise, a certain “Alma” also aired the same appeal to authorities, saying that it would be difficult for them to find a place to transfer without the assistance.

“Wa man mi kahibawo sir nga maapil mi kay sa una wala man mi maapil. Unya karon, apilon na man,” she said.

(I don’t know if we are included in the demolition because we were not included in the first one. But now, we are included.)

“Kung gub-on man gani, kay wala man g’yod mi mahimo, tagaan sa unta mi’g hinabang nga mastart namo asa mi magpuyo, mangabang ba mi’g balay,” she added noting that her disabled parents are also currently living with her.

(If they will demolish it, because we don’t have a choice, then they should first give us the assistance so that we can use it to start in the place where we plan to live, should we rent a house.) 

DWUP  brgy coordinator

Sought for comment, Jennifer Alviola, the barangay coordinator from the City’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP), said she would forward Alma and Juliet’s concern to the DPWH after admitting that both Alma and Juliet were not in the list of the cash assistance beneficiaries.

“Kay based sa among listing, wala man jud sila. Then kani na project, year 2016 man ni. Nya nakaabot mi ani year 2019,” she added.

(Because based on our listing, they are not here. Then this project, it was still 2016. And we still reached this project in 2019.)

She, however, assured that the mandate of the Mayor was to ensure that the affected residents received the cash assistance due them before they would be asked to leave the area.

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