Landfill settlers ask: ‘Where do we go?’

City Hall tears down houses; displaced families asked to leave Inayawan school

Displaced landfill settlers try to salvage housing materials after their houses were demolished by City Hall’s Probe team. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)

The Cebu city government yesterday demolished houses and other structures near the piles of trash at the closed Inayawan landfill.

A day before, families who had to leave their houses in sitio Dumping Site and temporarily stay at the Inayawan Public Elementary School were also told to leave.

As of yesterday, a relocation site has not been readied.

¨We’re asking Mayor Rama to identify a relocation site. Where do we go now?¨ said Vanessa Banua in Cebuano.  She’s lived at the dumpsite for 13 years.

Her house, where she also raised hogs, was among those demolished yesterday.

Residents had to transfer their hogs after demolition team destroyed their houses in barangay Inayawan. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)

She said many of them cried as their houses were torn down. They lost not only their homes, but their livelihood as well.

She worried about where they will stay.

She said the P5,000 financial assistance from City Hall was not enough to sustain their needs while waiting for a relocation site.

Margie Parong, a landfill resident for 16 years, said her 19-year-old child has been forced to drop out of school to look for a job and augment the household income.

Like Banua, Parong also raises pigs for a living. She worries about where to keep her livestock.

Banua said they were confused when city and barangay officials  told them that they would  be relocated to  a socialized housing site in the mountain barangay of Budlaan.

She said they were initially told that they would be transferred to sitio San Isidro Labrador, which is still in Inayawan.

City Hall’s Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (Probe) team yesterday led the demolition of at least 80 structures in sitio Dumping Site.

READ: Landfill settlers ask: Where do we go after Friday deadline?

According to Probe team head Raquel Arce, there weren’t any problems during the demolition.

“There were some settlers who went there and watched the demolition but there was no resistance. Some still tried to plead but we told them the time for dialogue is over and we’re now in the implementation (phase),” Arce said.

She said the city gave the settlers at least 20 days to voluntarily dismantle their structures before the city carried out the demolition.

At least 80 families were forcibly evacuated by the city government last month after the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC) declared the area as a danger zone.

The council cited the risk of a trash slide and fires at the landfill, where  piles of trash rise to  20 meters. The settlers were temporarily housed at the Inayawan Elementary School.

But since the weeklong Brigada Eskwela kicked off on Monday, the families were displaced again.

A day after they were asked to leave the school, their houses were demolished.

READ: Rama targets developing Inayawan landfill site for residential, commercial dev’t

The city government already distributed P5,000 financial assistance to each qualified household from the area.

Barangay officials have identified a 2.1-hectare lot in sitio San Isidro Labrador as a possible relocation site but the city has yet to purchase it.

Inayawan barangay captain Lutherlee “Lot-Lot” Ignacio-Soon said the lot owners agreed to allow the settlers to build. But the site has to be prepared first.

“We are still preparing the relocation area. Since it’s an interior area, we have to establish a road opening and we still have to identify the exact area where they can rebuild,” Soon said.

She said they have no target date for the settlers to move in.

She also said only 30 families have qualified and will be accommodated in the relocation site.

“Some of them are lying. They have other places that they can go to. Most of them just built piggeries there. Not all of them really need relocation,” the barangay captain said.

Banua said they tried visiting the relocation site.

“Only selected residents can relocate to San Isidro. But the site is still off limits. There’s a ‘No Trespassing’ sign there,” she said./Xavier University Intern Ana Liza Jane E. Banaynal,Correspondent Nestle L. Semilla