Settlers of sitio Mahayag, barangay Subangdaku in Mandaue City look at the homemade Christmas tree a day after the demolition that occured last month.
A Christmas tree made of a bamboo pole and used yellow plastic greets visitors to the recently dismantled “Tent City” in sitio Mahayag, barangay Subangdaku in Mandaue City.
“Kana nga Christmas tree, mao among paglaum nga tagaan mi ug hustisya sa among kahimtang karon (That Christmas tree symbolizes our hope that we will be given justice to our present condition),” Elma Remedio said.
After Mandaue City Hall’s demolition team took away the tents used by the settlers, 51-year-old Remedio and her family continued to stay in the area under a makeshift tarpaulin made of sacks she sewed together and held in place with rocks.
“Maayo pa ug ing-ani amuang kahimtang, kaysa tamakan among mga katungod (It’s better for us in our current condition rather than they trample our rights),” she said. said.
Remedio and 33 remaining families set up their “Tent City” which Mandaue City Hall said violates a ban against structures within the three-meter easement zone of the Mahiga River.
Injunction
Mandaue City Hall’s demolition team dismantled the Tent City touching off a confrontation with some settlers.
Subangdaku police later jailed one of the settlers, 24-year-old Jessica Suniega as well as Sanlakas Secretary General Aaron Pedrosa Jr. Charges of obstruction of justice and resisting arrest were filed against the two.
Pedrosa said a petition for a permanent injunction of the demolition is pending in court.
The petition will be heard in April next year. “There’s no clear relocation site,” he said.
The Mandaue City government developed the Pakna-an relocation site to accommodate the settlers who live near Mandaue City’s side of Mahiga Creek.
Requirement
But settlers of sitio Mahayag who stayed in the Tent City area complained that the Pakna-an site remains unfinished.
They said each beneficiary is required to pay a P45,000 down payment for the house and lot, a claim refuted by the Housing and Development Office (HUDO) which said the down payment is P2,040 for each occupant as mandated by the national government’s Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC).
The Tent City settlers also accused the head of their former association, Leopolde Chavez, of pocketing the P2,040 paid by each of the 100 beneficiaries that were relocated to the Pakna-an site.
They said Chavez told them that the P2,040 was part of the requirement set by SHFC which helped the Mandaue City government purchase the relocation site.
The settlers alleged that Chavez bought a Starex van from the money he stole from them.
Prayers
Chavez denied the allegations, saying he has the deed of sale for the secondhand vehicle he bought in 2010 to prove his innocence.
“Once and for all, I have never stolen from them and there is nothing to steal from them. Asa man ko ug makurakot gikan nila? Wala man mi membership fees or unsa (What would I steal from them? They have no membership fees or anything),” Chavez said.
About 40 families from sitio Mahayag relocated in the Pakna-an relocation site which had yet to have its own water and power supply.
Aside from the P2,040 down payment, the families will pay P1,800 a month for 25 years for their house and lot.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) allocated P25 million for the site’s drainage system and P50 million for a riprap project, HUDO chief Tony Pet Juanico said.
But Remedio and the 33 families insisted that they will stay in the site and pray that the Mandaue City government will understand their plight.