As speculated before, the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) bloc in the Cebu City Council will take advantage of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama’s suspension to pass anew ordinances that were vetoed by him in hopes that acting Mayor Edgardo Labella will be more agreeable and will approve them.
One such ordinance passed by the council calls for a one-year moratorium on all demolitions. Councilor Alvin Dizon, author of the ordinance, said the one-year moratorium actually benefits the city government and the settlers, who will be spared the indignity of being evicted from the areas they are occupying.
“When one thinks about it, the city government does not even deserve such an allowance but since both parties need to be ready, we are considering this option,” Dizon said.
An urban poor group advocate before being elected to the City Council, Dizon had figured in verbal clashes with Rama over the fate of settlers who occupy danger zones in the city or those that are prohibited for human occupation by law.
Specifically, the two officials argued over the fate of the families who occupied the Mahiga Creek, with Dizon insisting that the settlers be relocated and Rama pushing for either a relocation site that the families found unsuitable to their preference or cash assistance so they can go back to their hometowns in the countryside.
It was their clash over the Mahiga Creek families that was the final straw for Rama, and this convinced him to break off from the BO-PK and start his own party.
Four years afterward, the city government’s program to clear the Mahiga Creek of families had failed miserably as evidenced by the appeal of the urban poor groups who called for another survey of settlers in the creek.
The urban poor groups, who attended last Wednesday’s session, wanted the Division for the Welfare of Urban Poor to conduct another survey of the settlers in danger zones like Mahiga Creek so they can be included in the one-year moratorium on demolitions.
While there is a need to relocate those settlers, the city government should also do their part in ensuring that these danger zones or riverbanks are cleared of settlers or buildings that continually pollute them lest they constrict the waterways and cause floodings in low-lying areas.
The ordinance needs to be reviewed, and Labella, who is clearly dependent on Rama’s instructions, may likely follow suit and reject the ordinance. It’s up to the council to see if they can muster the numbers to override it.