Displaced families in Capitol Site living in tents

Residents of F. Ramos Extension in barangay Capitol Site, whose houses were demolished last Friday, are left living in tents as they await relocation by the city government. (CDN Photo/Junjie Mendoza)

Around 20 families in barangay Capitol Site are now living in tents near the site of their demolished houses.

With no proper walls to protect them, they are exposed to the heat of the sun. If it rains, they will surely get wet. There is no privacy at all.

Barangay officials put up six tents several hours after the Prevention Restoration Order Beautification Enhancement (Probe) team of City Hall demolished the houses on Ma. Cristina St. on Friday.

Felicitas Abordonado, 64, said they have no choice but to stay because the relocation site proposed by the city government in barangay Pit-os is “so far away.”

“Wa gyud miy mabuhat. Lisod kaayo kay way klaro man ang relocation. Wa tay mahimo kay pobre ra man ta  (We can’t do anything. It’s difficult because there is no clear relocation site. We can’t do anything because we’re just poor),” she told Cebu Daily News.

Abordonado said she has lived in the area since the 1960s. She used to be a laundrywoman for the Cebu Doctors’ Hospital, just a few meters away from her demolished house on Ma. Cristina Street.

Abordonado said her family received P10,000 financial assistance from a foundation last week. With the amount, they were supposed to find a temporary place to stay.

“Dili kaigo among kwarta (Our money is not enough),” she said. Her share was used for her daily living expenses and to pay off a debt.

Abordonado lives with her 43-year-old nephew Roderick who earns a living by doing odd jobs like painting and as a watch-your-car boy.

She was worried that the Probe team will take away their furniture, which has encroached on the road.

About 100 families were displaced after the demolition. The houses were torn down in order to open a road connecting to F. Ramos St. extension.

Capitol Site barangay captain Manuel Guanzon said the barangay put up six tents to provide temporary shelter to the displaced families.

“We, in the barangay,  also plan to give financial assistance to the families, maybe more or less P5,000,” he said.

Councilor Alvin Dizon, who heads the committee on housing, said the affected families were in a deplorable situation.

“They are exposed to the elements like heat and dust, especially the elderly and children. There is a concomitant duty and obligation for the city government to provide an alternative dwelling for these people to start anew,” he told CDN.

“These people are not animals. Their only transgression is finding themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he added.

Dizon requested Probe team head Raquel Arce to postpone the demolition since the council has scheduled an executive session on June 3 to discuss the concerns of the families.

The session will push through to allow the settlers to express their concerns especially on the relocation.

Dizon said the affected families were willing to transfer as long as they’re given options and enough time. He tried, but failed, to contact Mayor Michael Rama and Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella while the houses were being dismantled to plead with them to put a hold on the demolition.