Old Kamagayan barangay hall occupants: ‘We do not pay rent’

Mayor Rama told police to check on claims that old Kamagayan barangay hall is being made into a boarding house

Plasy Miano, 79, is one of the senior citizens taking temporary shelter at the old Kamagayan barangay hall. | Photo by Emmariel Ares

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The residents who are temporarily residing at the old barangay hall in Kamagayan, Cebu City, have denied the allegations that they are being made to pay rent to live at the building.

According to them, they all reached out to their barangay captain, Raquel Avila, who allowed them to stay at the hall rent-free until they could find a more permanent residence elsewhere.

A few senior citizens also moved into the barangay hall after their homes were demolished last month. They also denied that they had to pay rent to live at the place.

Kamagayan brgy hall residents explain

Ulysses Mercader, 24, who had been living there for six months, told CDN Digital that the families temporarily residing there did not pay rent but only split the costs of utilities, such as electricity and water bills among themselves.

“Bisag piso, wa gyud mi gipagawas para ibayad. Tubig ra jud ug kuryente. Ang among maconsume ra pud, mao ra pud na amo bayran,” said Mercader.

(Even a piso, we did not shell out money to pay. We only pay for the water and electricity. And we only pay what we consumed, that is also what we paid.)

He said that they also handled the task of sending the bill payments.

Permitted to stay out of kindness

Some older residents, Rosita Cabato, 74, and Plasy Miano, 79, also said the barangay captain permitted them out of kindness because they had nowhere else to go.

Cabato and Miano told CDN Digital that the senior citizens, like them, were exempted from paying the shared utility bills because they could not afford them.

Currently, 19 residents are living at the old Kamagayan Barangay Hall, which, reportedly, is serving as the barangays’ evacuation area.

CDN Digital reached out to Barangay Captain Avila for comments, but she was unavailable as of this writing.

Rama’s order

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, earlier, directed the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) to look into allegations that the old barangay hall of Kamagayan was being rented out to residents of the barangay.

Rama instructed the Police Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog, CCPO chief, to investigate this matter when they met earlier this week.

In a follow-up interview on Friday, June 16, 2023, the mayor said that the old barangay hall was supposed to be a ground zero after office works in the barangay had been transferred to the new barangay hall along D. Jakosalem Street.

“I need to have the report from the police (first),” the mayor said.

Asked if the city would give relocation should it be proven that the old Kamagayan barangay hall was being used as a “boarding house,” the mayor responded: “Let the barangay look for the place, not the city. I want the full investigation and findings by the police.”

Blocking Don Pedro Cui St.

Asked if the old Kamagayan barangay hall was set to be demolished, Lawyer Collin Rosell, city administrator, did not give a direct answer, but he said that the building blocked Don Pedro Cui Street.

“Kanang Kamagayan barangay hall dugay na na sya. Kung imong tanawon, nagbabag na siya sa dalan. Pero dili na lang ta maglalis siguro. Dili na lang na nato siya istroyahan pa. Basta makita man na nimo nga nagbabag sa dan sa Don Pedro Cui,” he said.

(Kamagayan barangay hall that is really a long time issue. If you look at it, it is blocking the road. But we will not argue about that. We will not talk about it. What I can say is that you can see that it is blocking Don Pedro Cui.)

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