Fire victims to remain for now

Acting Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella says the city government will abide by any decision reached among all parties concerned in the lot dispute. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

Adversarial positions eased up yesterday when an  initial agreement was reached allowing displaced families of sitio Avocado, barangay Lahug to  stay in the area   until Cebu City Hall, the provincial government and the University of the Philippines Cebu (UP Cebu) finalize terms of a donation of a relocation site for them.

City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo, who represented Acting Mayor Edgardo Labella, said City Hall is willing to assist UP Cebu in developing the proposed relocation site for fire  victims in Nivel Hills, barangay Busay.

“We have to figure things out. There is an alleged agreement between UP and the province. We have to look into the legal mechanisms. But it would be very much easier if we all agree,” he said.

Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino, who attended the meeting, said they hope to finalize a settlement in one to two weeks.

He  said the settlers and City Hall acknowledged that UP Cebu owns the fire site.

UP  is willing to allow informal settlers to temporarily occupy 2,500 square meters of the lot owned by the school. Meanwhile, Cebu City, which doesn’t want to evict any of the residents,  will let

UP develop and build on the other 1,500 square meters pending terms of a relocation site.

Since the affected settlers are Cebu City residents, Castillo said the city can  help develop the proposed Nivel Hills area as a socialized housing site.

He said an agreement could be made for this.

Cebu City Hall fields heavy equipment for a re-blocking of the fire site in sitio Avocado, barangay Lahug. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

Castillo said they understand UP Cebu’s concern about losing the funds for the proposed high school building in the fire site if it isn’t implemented soon.

“That’s why we told them that we have to work on the relocation. If the site has livable conditions, with water, electricity and access, rest assured, the victims will voluntarily relocate,” Castillo said.

In the meantime though, Castillo said UP Cebu should allow residents to temporarily stay in the area.

Labella said the city will abide by any decision that will be agreed upon by the parties as long as it is a win-win situation.

He said there are several pending and decided cases in the city between land owners and informal settlers.

If the city doesn’t allow settlers to rebuild after a fire, Labella said he’s afraid this would encourage other land  owners to  just burn contested lots to remove settlers.

“It will set a very bad precedent that instead of invoking the rule of law and filing cases, they might just burn lots with informal settlers. Informal settlers also have rights to be protected,” he said.

Tolentino said representatives of both parties met late  Monday night after an earlier meeting  was cut short when a commotion started brewing at the fire site.

“Both parties now have a better understanding and appreciation (of the issue),” he told reporters yesterday.

Tolentino said UP Cebu Dean Liza Corro and some homeowners were present during the meeting.

He said City Hall representatives and the homeowners “acknowledged” that the fire site is indeed a property of the university.

“It was explained to Dean Corro that the re-blocking is only temporary. The city’s purpose is to make sure that in case the settlers rebuild their homes and another fire hits, it won’t be as dangerous as what happened last week,” Tolentino said.

When UP Cebu started to stake out boundaries prior to putting up a fence on Dec. 31,  City Hall officials rushed to the site  to stop it.

Tolentino said the school needs to “understand or feel” the plight of the affected settlers.

Tolentino said he’s optimistic that a win-win solution can be reached.

The provincial government decided to donate a 2-hectare parcel of  land in barangay Busay, Cebu City, as a relocation site for the settlers in sitio Avocado even before the fire hit last week.

But Tolentino said they were unable to clarify details of the deed yet since they saw no urgency  for it at the time.

“We made a plan for all informal settlers in the area, not just for those affected by the fire. But if we want to address their situation, we have to find out in the plan where to put them,” Tolentino said.

Once a spot is clearly identified, he added, the Cebu city government may come in to help.

Tolentino said the parties may reach an agreement in one to two weeks. Gov. Hilario Davide III said wants to see a resolution before the week ends.

“There are some provisions we wish to change. Hopefully, we will be able to finish it before the week ends so that we’ll sign it already,” he said.

Dean Corro explained the school’s need to proceed with the school building project which will be followed by three other school building projects worth more than P20 million.