The families that have settled under the first Mandaue-Mactan Bridge have decided to leave their safety up to fate and will just pray that no accident will happen when the repair of the bridge will go full blast this summer.
The settlers on both the Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu sides of the bridge will not abandon the houses they have erected under the 846-meter span unless the local governments of both cities will provide them with acceptable relocation sites.
Editha Buaron, 61, a settler in Barangay Looc in Mandaue City, said they could not be asked to just leave without due consultation since she was born and raised in this coastal village facing Mactan Island, long before the bridge that was built 44 years ago placed her house under the shadow of the span.
“Hatagan usab mi nila’g tarong nga relocation site kay dili baya mi mga mananap, mga tawo baya mi. Residente ug botante mi sa Mandaue,” she said.
(They should give us a relocation site because we are humans, not animals. We are also residents and voters of Mandaue City.)
“Mag-ampo lang gyud mi nga way maigo (We will just pray that no one will be hit by falling debris),” she added.
Buaron is among the long-time settlers of Barangay Looc whose house will be at risk of falling debris when the bridge’s contractor begins replacing the bridge’s worn out cement flooring.
A net installed by the contractor who will rehabilitate the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge is the only thing that separates settlers from objects that might fall once repair begins. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Residents of Barangay Looc began showing active resistance to eviction in the wake of the pronouncement on Friday by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Cebu that it will proceed with the stalled repair of the bridge this summer irregardless of the presence of about a hundred families living under the bridge.
Renult Ricardo, assistant district engineer of DPWH-Cebu 6th engineering district office, and Chuck Lopez, representative of contractor Jegma Construction and Development Corp., have assured there will be safety measures to protect the settlers, but it remained unclear what will these be.
Dionilo Pinote, 51, who also said he has lived all his life under the bridge in Barangay Looc, admitted he received a final notice from DPWH last Thursday informing him that he was among those who will be affected by the first phase of the project, which involves the construction of a U-turn slot under the Mandaue-side of the bridge.
The construction of the U-turn slot will affect 33 houses, according to DPWH Cebu. It is meant to replicate the same U-turn slot that was built on the Lapu-Lapu side of the bridge, said Ricardo.
But Pinote, like his neighbors, was adamant against moving out until a negotiation will be made between the affected residents, the city government and DPWH officials.
“Naa na silay notice gihatag sa amoa. Pero wala mi nipirma sa ikatulo kay i-demolition palang mig kalit dinhi. Kinahanglan unta kaming mga pobre tabangan gyud mi. Dili mi kadali-dali og balhin. Aduna untay negotiation,” he said. (They have given us notices. But we didn’t sign the third notice because we feared that if we do so, they will immediately demolish our houses. We are poor so they should at least help us. They can’t force us to leave just like that. There should be a negotiation.)
Pinote said the most they can hope for from the city government of Mandaue will be for them to be resettled somewhere where they can still continue to earn a living.
Mandaue City has offered to relocate the bridge settlers in a city-run resettlement site in Barangay Paknaan, but they were reluctant to go there since the area has no electricity and has limited potable water supply.
As of last count, 81 families from Barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City will be affected by the bridge’s repair, along with the 33 families in Barangay Looc that has been designated to be the U-turn slot on the Mandaue City side.
Settlers on the Lapu-Lapu side of the bridge earlier rejected Mayor Paz Radaza’s offer of cash assistance to the affected families. They demanded to be given a relocation site instead.
More settlers, like Buaron, will be affected when the second phase of the project starts, which will require replacing the bridge’s cement slabs.
Buaron said it will also be hard for her family to just leave since their livelihood is in the area, as she and her husband both earn their living at the Looc wharf.
Buaron said her family has initially decided to voluntarily vacate their house, until they found out that there will be no relocation site for displaced settlers like them.
Buaron said that if authorities are worried about their safety, they will be willing to leave the area during the day and to return at night, or when the workers are done with the bridge’s repair work for the day.
But Mandaue City Housing and Urban Development Office (Hudo) chief Tony Pet Juanico opposed Buaron’s suggestion.
He said the proposal will not work because the residents will still be at risk of falling debris for the duration of the repair, which is expected to last six months.
He also stressed that once the area is cleared of informal settlers, “there will no turning back” for them.
Juanico said he and other concerned officials of the city will meet with DPWH representatives on Monday to finalize their next moves, particularly on how to convince the affected residents to peacefully leave the site.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
