Children play at the edge of the pile of garbage at the Inayawan landfill. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)
Is the sudden relocation of informal settlers in nearby Inayawan landfill in preparation for the multi-billion mixed-use development project in the city waste site?
Though Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said the relocation is meant to prevent the deaths of settlers by a garbage landslide, he revealed that his administration is serious about converting the site for a park, residential and commercial spaces.
During the mayor’s forum with Cebu media, Thursday morning at the social hall of the Cebu City Legislative Building, Rama said the project will be another tourism destination for Cebu City.
He said they are considering options for better access to the landfill from South Road Properties (SRP) and the highway.
Rama tasked SRP office head Bo Vasquez to come up with proposed designs for bridges from SRP to the landfill, barangays Pardo and Basak as well as the widening of the road in Mambaling and Duljo Fatima.
READ: 70 FAMILIES HAVE TO GO
An estuary separates the landfill from the South Road Properties (SRP). A Korean-based company has proposed to develop a mixed-use development project in Cebu City landfill complete with an eco-park, residential and commercial spaces in what is now an area covered by towering mounds of city refuse.
The mayor didn’t give a specific time frame for the implementation of the project but said that he wants to do it within his term. The mayor also announced his re-election bid for 2016.
Rama ordered the voluntary evacuation of 70 families living near the landfill within 24 hours after receiving reports of the imminent threat posed by a garbage landslide to them.
About 10 out of 70 families voluntarily evacuated to the Inayawan Elementary School. The rest were given 10 days to leave the landfill site./ With Correspondent Michelle Padayhag