Displaced residents ask city gov’t to let them stay at Osmeña Shrine

Cebu Daily News correspondent Nestle Semilla interviews an occupant of a shanty at Osmeña Shrine. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

Displaced residents in Cebu City who built makeshift houses at the Osmeña Shrine in Barangay Kalunasan are pleading to the Cebu City government to let them use the 4.2-hectare vacant lot.

The residents alleged that they were victims of fire and demolition, thus they evacuated to Osmeña Shrine after seeing a vacant lot there.

Last May 27, Cebu City Acting Mayor Margarita Osmeña ordered the clearing of all illegal structures at Osmeña Shrine.

The Prevention, Restoration, Orderly, Beautification, and Enhancement (PROBE) team served the demolition order on May 30 to at least 50 structure owners.

Vergie Superales, one of the settlers, said that she already shelled out P5,000 to build their shanty in the shrine. “Hangyo unta mi nga ari lang usa mi total wala pa man sad ni gamita nila (city government). Bakante bitaw ni, wala man sad ni namo ingon giangkon (We are pleading to the city government to allow us to stay here while the lot is still not used. Anyway the lot is vacant and we are not going to own it),” she told Cebu Daily News.

Another displaced settler, Hilario Casinday, said he was looking for a place to relocate somewhere else in the city together with his neighbors after his house in Barangay Lahug was demolished as it stood on a private lot when they accidentally found the Osmeña Shrine.

“Pag-ari namo, naa na may naglatid-latid. Sila ang nag-una. Niana raman sad sila kung naa mi nakursunadahan nga lugar, pwede sad daw mi molatid (When we arrived here, we saw people making demarcation. They told us to also demarcate the lot that we like),” Casinday said.

He said that as a city resident, the local government should at least give them a relocation site.

Casinday said that he is a supporter of Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña and during the election he was actively campaigning for Osmeña to his neighbors.

“Pag-election bitaw nangayo sila’g tabang namo. Karon kami na pod nangayo nilag tabang. Hain naman ilang saad nga dili mi nila demolison? Karon kami unta napud ilahang tabangan (During the election they asked help from us. Now it is our turn to ask their help. What about their promise not to demolish us? Now they’re supposed to help us),” he said.

Casinday, who works as a baker, said his salary is not enough to buy a lot for their new home.