Acting Cebu City Mayor Edgar Labella talks to fire victims in sitio Avocado, barangay Lahug on Sunday. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Barangay Lahug, UP Cebu seek dialog on re-blocking
Tension briefly erupted yesterday as Lahug barangay officials tried to stop heavy equipment of the Cebu city government from clearing the burned fire zone in sitio Avocado.
Acting Mayor Edgardo Labella rushed to the scene to clear up apprehensions that the activity was going on without consultation.
“I emphasized to the residents that there is a need to clear the area because by January 4, the Lahug Elementary School will be used by the pupils. So they yielded,” said Labella.
“Barangay officials asked to be consulted about on the re-blocking and I yielded. There is no problem,” he said.
Evacuees are temporarily taking shelter in the public elementary school after the fire displaced over 670 persons.
City Hall is pressed to help normalize housing arrangements soon before January opens a new year and busy activities of the Sinulog.
The post-fire routine of “reblocking” – clearing debris, widening roads for emergency access and correcting the road setback of cramped houses to improve a burned site – is being done for the first time under Labella’s watch as acting mayor.
UP CEBU LANDOWNER
Re-blocking after a fire has been a standard in the Rama administration, but this particular urban community fire has unique factors.
While Labella assured residents that they will be allowed to return and rebuild their houses, the land owner – the state-run University of the Philippines Cebu – has not yet been consulted.
Cebu Daily News learned from UP Cebu dean Liza Corro last night that no one from City Hall has gotten in touch with her yet, and that school engineers still have to assess what part of the property was affected.
She said the university would not take advantage of the misery of victims of the Dec. 26 fire and hopes that a dialog with the city government and stakeholders would lead to a “win-win” outcome.
UP Cebu campus has a total land area of 12.8 hectares, but informal settlers occupy almost half of it.
The land use restriction, unresolved for decades, has hampered plans of the university to expand and build new facilities.
Another significant factor is the political identity of Lahug, whose leaders are not supporters of the Rama administration.
Councilor Mary Ann de los Santo, who is now aligned with the opposing Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan, said the city government did not coordinate with barangay officials for the clearing operation.
Suspended Mayor Michael Rama boards a van after visiting the fire scene and evacuation center.
(CDN PHOTO/JULIT JAINAR)
She facilitated a pulong-pulong yesterday with residents and Dave Tumulak, Cebu city disaster office head, where fire victims were asked if they were amenable to the re-blocking.
The city government normally gives cash assistance of P10,000 for each fire victim whose family owns a house, and P5,000 for a renter or house-sharer based on a verified survey by social workers.
Yesterday, backhoes of the Department of Engineering and Public Works started removing fire debris in the morning.
Some residents stopped the clearing team headed by Harold Alcontin. Acting Mayor Edgardo Labella rushed to the scene to intervene.
“I told the residents that it is for their own good because it is the policy of the city government never to dislocate you.
At the same time, we have to insist on re-blocking. I went there. Not long after, Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos arrived with the OIC barangay captain (Ginging Muana),” he said
Barangay officials complained that they were not consulted beforehand on the re-blocking.
Acting Mayor Labella said this wasn’t true. He said their meeting was held last Sunday with Prevention Restoration Order Beautification Enhancement (Probe) disaster group and the barangay representative Sammy Heron.
Heron, a former Lahug councilor, is currently one of the staff members of the barangay.
“A representative of the barangay came and yielded. I asked the assistance of police to prevent untoward incident to happen, and for the clearing to happen,” Labella said
In an interview with ABS-CBN, however, Muana denied that they agreed to have the area re-blocked. She said that Heron only said yes to the clearing operation but that the barangay still has to discuss whether to allow re-blocking.
That is why she asked help from de los Santos.
“I did not block the clearing but I asked them to temporarily stop since some fire victims asked my assistance to have it stopped because they did not accede to it,” said de los Santos.
“I tried to call Labella many times but to no avail. Texted him twice but no response before I asked to temporarily stop the clearing. The city did not have the courtesy of coordinating with barangay officials in doing the clearing contrary to what Labella claimed,” she said.
But Acting Mayor Labella said that on the contrary, he requested the barangay captain herself and that she sent a representative.
In the Sunday meeting they discussed that it is City Hall’s policy that no one should be displaced in the aftermath of a fire and that re-blocking should immediately follow.
“They said the city government didn’t coordinate with the barangay officials. I said that’s impossible. I called for a meeting. They said yes to re-blocking,” said Labella.
The clearing operation proceeded yesterday.
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