Mahiga creek demolition Four city dads join call to help illegal settlers
Four more Cebu City Councilors have joined the call of Councilor Alvin Dizon to give relocation if not financial assistance to families displaced from the ongoing clearing of the Mahiga Creek in barangay Mabolo.
Councilors Alvin Arcilla, Nida Cabrera, Augustus Pe Jr. and Ritchie Osmeña visited the clearing site yesterday morning to meet the affected families and observe the conduct of the clearing operations.
“We are one with the mayor on the need to already clear the creek of illegal structures. But we also wanted to make sure that we give relocation to the affected families,” said Osmeña.
Osmeña and Pe said they would seek for a venue where Rama could dialogue with the council on the matter.
“Looy gyud kaayo sila. The way they were treated nga murag mga iro. Murag walay tag-iya. Lisud baya ning mawagtanagn tag balay. I will fight nga mahatagan gyud sila ug relocation site if not financial assistance,” said Osmeña.
Rosita Ikot, who is in her 50s, was crying while the city’s demolition team worked on her neighbor’s shanty in sitio San Isidro in barangay Mabolo. Her shanty could also be demolished anytime.
Her sickly husband, Natalio Ikot, was lying on a mat with an oxygen attached to his nose.
“Ang amo lang unta nga malooy si Mayor namo,” said Rosita Ikot.
Councilor Dizon said he also instructed a widow to have herself admitted at the hospital.
Emilda Simbahon suffered from high blood pressure and fever because of mixed emotions brought about by the demolition of her shanty, which left her and one child homeless.
Only four city councilors showed up after Dizon invited the City Council to join him in his visit to the demolition site yesterday.
Dizon said he already asked Mayor Rama during the Local Housing Board meeting on Monday afternoon on the need to relocate the affected families who had been in the area for about 20 years already.
An option is to give them financial assistance, which is equivalent to two months of minimum wage, said Dizon.
He said Rama wanted the Mahiga Creek cleared first before he would discuss the need to relocate the affected families.
Rama, Dizon, said had instructed Speed, DWUP and the city planning office to look for a possible relocation site for the affected families.
Dizon, the chairperson of the housing committee of the city council, said that he was concerned of the welfare of the affected families.
“I’m beginning to doubt the sincerity of the mayor as far as the condition of the urban poor is concerned,” he said.
Councilor Arcilla promised to help convince Rama to give the affected families relocation or financial assistance.
Meanwhile, the Mandaue City government warned that it would enforce police power if a household would continue to stay along the danger zone despite the city government providing them relocation site.
Urban Poor City consultant lawyer Francisco Amit said yesterday that the moment they would exercise police power against a household, then that household would not avail of the relocation site or any financial assistance from the city government.
Starting June settlers along the Mahiga Creek settlers in the Mandaue City side will be transferred to a relocation site in barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City. /With a report from Correspondent Jucell Marie P. Cuyos and Intern Joy Cherry S. Quito
