Upended

In the temporary restraining order he issued against Cebu City Hall’s re-blocking of sitio Avocado, Judge Soliver Peras said it isn’t difficult for the Cebu City government to help the University of the Philippines Cebu (UP Cebu) relocate the fire victims to a suitable relocation site.

What the good judge implied was that it is a shared responsibility of both the school and the city government to provide housing for the settlers, who despite their refusal and continued claim of tenure in the area by virtue of having stayed there for years, have no strong legal claim to the lot being claimed by the school.

The TRO, which is good for 72 hours, also stated that UP Cebu cited a lot title that somewhat proves their claim to the property even if it is challenged by the settlers in court.

However, the TRO may have been upended by the charges of forcible entry filed against the 74 settlers who have rebuilt their homes after the reblocking. UP Cebu clearly is on the offensive, having been provoked by the re-blocking to lay claim on the property donated to them by the Cebu province.

It must be frustrating for Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, who coordinated with UP Cebu officials in trying to come up with a peaceful solution to the problem, seeing all her efforts going to waste with this court action.

We wonder though if she and everyone concerned will be able to settle this amicably in what may be an ample opportunity for the Rama administration to use this as political capital before the elections.

Again, we echo the point made in Judge Soliver Peras’s temporary restraining order which stated that there’s no stopping the city government from helping UP Cebu find a suitable relocation site for the settlers.

But despite reports of meetings between the city government, UP Cebu and the province, all of it seemingly got flushed down the toilet due to unilateral action taken by the city government and now by UP Cebu.

It’s up to the province now to get both sides communicating but again, the elections will render immaterial any decision that may have been arrived at among all stakeholders.

It’s not the end of the world. This problem had occurred before when de los Santos was still Lahug barangay chairperson and the mayor was Tomas Osmena, who then threatened to withdraw the city government’s donation to UP Cebu at the South Road Properties (SRP)–but clearly this lot dispute between the families and the school cannot go on forever.

Both the city government and the school should be reminded that it is up to them to work out their differences and help the settlers find new homes. Rather than act as the landlord, the school should not be remiss in its responsibility to the settlers.