Labella: We’ll sue establishments that fail to remove waterway obstructions
Rescue teams from Cebu City retrieve the body of a 14-year-old boy, who was swept away by the floodwaters of the Kamputhaw River on Oct. 13. CDN Digital | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government is preparing legal actions against any of the 83 establishments in the city who will fail to remove their structures obstructing the waterways.
Mayor Edgardo Labella said the city had been issuing notices to these establishments starting with a hotel along General Maxilom Avenue (formerly Mango Avenue) for building right above the Kamputhaw River tributary.
Read: Cebu City demands quick compliance from structure owners encroaching on waterways
Other establishments near riversides have been told to remove their structures as well within a 10-day period. If they fail to do so, the city government is prepared file charges against them.
“Sa katong hotel, wala pa man naexpire ang 10 days, so hatagan sa nato silag chance. (For the hotel, their 10 days have not expired, so we will give them a chance). After the period, there will be necessary actions taken against them,” said the mayor.
Labella said that as much as it would be easier to demolish these structures, the city government had to follow the law and get a court order for the demolition if these establishments would refuse to follow the order.
“We also cannot take the law in our own hands,” he said.
Read: Ad hoc committee formed to study encroaching structures in Cebu City waterways
Still, most of the establishments are cooperative with some of them already reaching out to the city government for voluntary demolitions.
For now, the mayor said the task force for the removal of these obstructions was continuously assessing the structures along waterways in the city for other obstructions that would need to be removed.
The task force is set to report to the mayor their findings soon especially on the establishments which refuse to demolish their obstructive structures./dbs
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