City to give P10,000 financial aid to displaced Guadalupe residents

THE Cebu city government will give financial assistance to the families  affected in the demolition of houses on a property owned by a lawyer in sitio ESCO-Englis, barangay Guadalupe, Cebu  City.

Acting Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said that each qualified  family would l get P10,000.

Last Monday, the court ordered the demolition of 46 structures in the 2,000-square-meter property of lawyer Makilito Mahinay.

The demolition team started to tear down the structures but Mayor Michael Rama and Labella arrived and stopped the  activity.

Rama said he signed a motion asking the court to defer the demolition for humanitarian reason.

Labella, for his part, said he would ask the judge to postpone the demolition until March next year as the affected families have children going to school, mostly in nearby schools.

However, he said that the court did not grant his request and scheduled the demolition on November 30.

Labella said he wants the relocation site in barangay Quiot, which has  about one hectare to be developed immediately.

Labella said  the affected residents promised to voluntarily tear down their houses.

Collin Rosell, head of the Division for the Welfare of Urban Poort (DWUP), said they will conduct an onsite inspection of the relocation site this week so they can start with the development plan.

Rosell added they plan to put ip temporary shelter in the relocation site to accommodate the affected families.

He added they plan to put up seven three-level low rise buildings in the area which can accommodate about 60 families.

On the other hand, City Councilor Alvin Dizon appealed to Rama not to consider political affiliations in helping the affected families.

“I wish the service or help being provided by the city is not selective. The city should help all  the families that have problems concerning eviction. It should not be discriminatory in assisting only the identified Team Rama community,” said Dizon, who is affiliated with Rama’s political rival camp, Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).