No place to go for families under Mandaue-Mactan bridge

Workers of Jegma Construction prepare for this Saturday’s repairs on the first Mandaue-Mactan Bridge. (CDN PHOTO/FERDINAND EDRALIN)

TWO days before their eviction, families living under the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge have yet to find another place to live in.

Evangeline Cañete, a 60-year-old barangay staffer, said she doesn’t want to leave the house where she was born and raised her family in.

“It’s okay for us to move or demolish part of our room or part of our fence and door, we are willing to move. But don’t evict us from our house,” she said in Cebuano.

Cañete said the P20,000 that Mandaue City Hall will give to her won’t cover the expenses she incurred when she  built her home.

And she said she is willing to forego the cash aid if it means she is allowed  to stay in her home.

Barangay Looc secretary Arsenia Lumapas said the financial assistance will be based on the minimum wage multiplied by 60 days.

She said families living under the bridge since March 1992 will receive more than P20,000.

Tony Pet Juanico, Mandaue City Hall Housing and Urban Development Office (HUDO) chief, said they can release the cash aid by next week.

He said there is no commitment of financial aid from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-7) for the families.

Major repairs on the first Mandaue-Mactan Bridge are set to resume on Saturday, posing risks to the settlers underneath.

The bridge will be partially closed at night for the next five months.