Doña Pepang settlers hold protest at City Hall

Settlers in Dona Pepang Cemetery hold placards in a protest before the Cebu City Hall after their houses were demolished as the cemetery will be converted into a park. (CDN PHOTO/ LITO TECSON)

Several settlers in the Doña Pepang Cemetery protested in front of City Hall yesterday saying their relocation site remains a question.

“Why were our homes demolished when there is still no relocation site for us? When we went to barnagay Lorega theere was no space,” said 58-year old Zenaida Alictin in Cebuano.

She said she grew up in the area, where her grandmother, her parents and  she   earn a living taking care of the niches of those interred in the cemetery.

The group of around 40 people were accompanied by members of Sanlakas Cebu.

“They have no objection to the plan of the city to develop the cemetery but not at the expense of the poor. So far, nine houses volunteered to demolish their homes believing that the city would provide them with relocation. But the city’s assurance of a relocation is not true,” Sanlakas Cebu Secretary General Teody Navea said.

“The residents were duped. Unfortunately, the city’s offer for relocation is non-existent,” he said.

READ: Tomas wants judge to inhibit from Doña Pepang cemetery case

Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) chief Collin Rosell said the settlers should have  verified with his office  about their relocation rather than holding public rallies and protests.

He said meetings were already made, without resistance, and that the city has already identified the reblocked fire site in barangay Lorega San Miguel.

“For people who say that there’s no relocation, my advice is: our office is open. There’s no need to rally.  Just present yourself and you will be relocated if you think you’re qualified,” Rosell said.

He assured that all  40 families will have space in the relocation site as long as they own structures in the cemetery.

Barangay Lorega earlier passed a resolution saying that they can’t accommodate the displaced settlers  since there are still around 60 families, who are renters, that have not been accommodated.

But Rosell said the city already decided to  prioritize the cemetery settlers since they are being  displaced by a government project.

The renters, he said, can still be accommodated in the socialized housing program but may be relocated elsewhere.

Since last week, at least nine structure owners located along M.J. Cuenco Ave., in the entrance leading to the cemetery, started dismantling their houses voluntarily.

The city’s demolition team was supposed to continue clearing the area  yesterday but didn’t push through due to the rains.