10 Inayawan families evacuate to school for now

Maribeth Quiroga carries her 2-year-old daughter and leads her eight other children from the community of scavangers that has existed there since the 1990s. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Construction worker Elmer Labastida isn’t convinced that his home in the Inayawan landfill is in a danger zone.

“Ug magbagyo dili man gani na matumpag ang basura. Kung mag linog sad wala pud na mabungkag. Wala sad me ka sulay ug nitaas ang tubig sa sapa (When there’s a storm or even an earthquake,  the garbage piles don’t collapse.  We’ve never experienced flooding even though we live near a waterway.),” the 44-year-old Labastida said.

Nevertheless, his wife and  three children were among  the first 10 families that packed up and left  their homes at 10:30 a.m. yesterday.

Told to move out by the Cebu city government, they will stay  temporarily at the Inayawan Elementary School.

Barangay Inayawan chairperson Lotlot Ignacio-Soon and City Hall personnel witnessed the “voluntary” evacuation which lasted till 3 p.m.

About 70 families live in the landfill.

READ: Mayor’s order: Evacuate all settlers within 24 hours

“They (families) will only stay for one day at the evacuation center. After that they should look for another place to transfer,” Soon said.

Soon said the barangay will also provide meals for one day.

“Only one day because they’re not fire victims. We are just explaining to them that the area is high risk,” she said.

Labastida and his family lived in the landfill site for five years.

He and  his wife salvage  garbage for a living.

Better

Labastida brought his whole family to Talisay City where his sister-in-law lives.

He said he can always go  back to his hometown in Mantalongon, Barili, southwest Cebu.

“I have four goats and two pigs maybe I can do farming and poultry. The place is better than life in the city,” Labastida said.

When Cebu Daily News checked his house, it was empty except for farm animals  tied outside his shanty.

Labastida transferred his farm animals to Talisay City.

Stashed

His neighbors were busy loading  belongings on a Kaoshiung bus going to Inayawan Elementary School.

Settlers in the Inayawan landfill, along with their children, carry their belongings after being told to move out of the “danger zone” posed by heaps of garbage that could collapse. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

A young couple placed their clothes in two pails and a sack bag.

Nicky Mar Quiroga, 21,  told Cebu Daily News that his wife Cerilyn and one-year-old child have lived in the landfill  for nearly a year .

They, too, were  unconvinced that the area is unsafe. But they said they had no choice but follow the Cebu City government’s orders.

A native of Calape, Bohol, Nicky Mar met his wife in Cebu City a year ago. He  earns P200 a day working at the river’s rip rap. His wife stays at home.

Since they don’t have relatives in Cebu, the couple is  asking for help from the Cebu City government.

“Mangayo me ug tabang ni Mayor Rama. Mangayo unta me ug plete kay mo uli na lang me sa Bohol (We’re asking for help from Mayor Rama. We want to ask for fare so we can return to Bohol),” Cerilyn said while carrying her daughter.