The temporarily relocation site for Butuanon River dwellers in Brgy. Paknaan in Mandaue City. | CDN Digital / Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Residents of ‘Ganghaan sa Paknaan’ will soon be transferred to a permanent dwelling.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes made the announcement as he shared breakfast with the residents on Friday, July 12, to celebrate in advance his 57th birthday on July 20.
‘Ganghaan sa Paknaan’ serves as a temporarily relocation site for families from Sitio Pagatpatan, also in Brgy. Paknaan, who were evacuated from their old dwellings along the Butuanon River because of threats on their safety.
READ: Mandaue fire victims residing inside CICC demand relocation site
Around 180 of the 200 families from Sitio Pagatpatan in now at the Ganghaan.
Cortes said they continue to convince the 20 remaining families to also relocate.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes shares breakfast with occupants of ‘Ganghaan sa Paknaan” on Friday. | CDN Digital photo / Mary Rose Sagarino
Permanent housing
Cortes said that Ganghaan occupants are among those that will be prioritized for accommodation in the city’s urban poor relocation sites.
So far, they have already identified as total of six relocation sites here. The first one is the Tipolo Residences, a mid-rise socialized housing building located in Sitio Maharlika in Brgy. Tipolo.
READ: CLI donates socialized housing building to Mandaue City
He said that two of the five mid-rise buildings that will be built in the area are now almost complete. These are allocated for families who were displaced by a huge fire that hit Brgy. Guizo in 2016 and families from Brgy. Tipolo who were displaced by a fire in 2019 and are currently residing inside the compound of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).
The city’s other relocation sites are located in Brgys. Subangdaku, Guizo, Cambaro, Opao and Looc.
READ: Mandaue City prepares relocation site for fire victims
Danger Zone
Cortes said that Ganghaan families used to occupy a danger zone. Their safety was threatened every time that the water level at the Butuanon River would rise due to heavy downpour.
They were also badly affected by a massive floodidng that happened in 2022 after the river overflowed.
In addition, Cortes said they had to relocate the 200 families because of the implementation of a “relief channel” that allows water from the Butuanon River to freely flow to the nearby Cansaga Bay and the Mactan Channel.
Under the relief channel program, water is diverted from the main channel in the event of a massive rise in the water level, in order to reduce the risk of flooding in nearby communities.
“Kung m0 uwan simbako makalas ang kinabuhi, being the mayor sa Mandaue, dili nako madala sa akong konsensiya. Sa gikaingon ko na nga ang kaso pwede ra gyud atubangan, ang patay dili na gyud mapabangon,” Cortes said.
‘Dili na mi mahadlok’
Mary Gwen Pepito, a member of the Mangrove Urban Poor Association and one of the Ganghaan occupants, said she is now able to sleep well at night knowing that her family is safe at their current dwelling.
She admitted that they were at risk while they lived in Sitio Pagatpatan that is located along the Butuanon River.
“Sauna sa Pagatpatan grabe gyud kaayo ang baha. Karon pagbalhin namo diri okay na kaayo. Dili nami mahadlok kung m0 uwan kay safety ra mi dili pareha sauna nga kung mag-uwan dili mi makatulog tungod sa kabalaka,” Pepito added.