Capitol Site occupants fear eviction, await court decision
A resident (top photo) points to part of the contested lot. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
At least 160 families in Don Gil Street corner Escario Street, barangay Capitol Site, Cebu City are worried that their houses will be demolished today.
They hope the court will issue a temporary restraining order against a private lot owner.
The Regional Trial Court 7th Judicial Region Branch 19 of Cebu City earlier issued another notice of demolition against 284 families in the area. The same court issued a notice of demolition last March 27, 2014 in favor of the Quijada family, who owns the 4,728 sq.m. lot.
Matranillo Vergara, president of the group of residents in the area, said yesterday that the remaining 160 families are not included in the demolition order because he claimed that the lot their houses stand on belong to the national government.
The residents filed a motion to stop the demolition order last June 19 at RTC Branch 19.
Residents of sitios San Roque and Sta. Cruz meet with Capitol Site barangay captain Manuel Guanzon (with microphone) and their lawyer Reymelio Delute (seated next to Guanzon) to discuss their plight. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
They asked the court to exclude them from the March 27 writ of demolition and asked that the court direct the sheriff El Cid Caballes to hold off implementing the second notice of demolition.
Vergara said they have applied for a residential free patent with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 and are scheduled to meet with a representative of the Quijada family on July 7.
He said their former president and the group’s previous lawyer tried to convince them to accept money offered to them by the Quijada family in exchange for their voluntarily leaving the area.
He said there were at least 30 families from the group who accepted the offer.
The residents met again yesterday with their new counsel Reymelio Delute to discuss what to do if the demolition of their houses will push through.
(Delute is identified with former mayor and congressman Tomas Osmeña.)
Vergrara said they decided to not resist the demolition team, and instead will file another case against the Quijada family.