NAGA city officials will have to look for a new relocation site for 26 families who fled their homes after a landslide hit the mountain slope area they occupied in barangay Naalad, Naga City last May 28.
The private lot the city arranged to rent from a foundation is near a riverbed that reportedly gets flooded easily when it rains.
“I’ve been living in this area all my life, I’m aware of the water’s reach when it floods,” said 29-year-old mother Paraluman Omambac.
Only five of the 26 families stay at an elevated part of the relocation site. The rest occupy areas 10 meters away from the riverbed.
The relocation area, which is near the residents’ original village, is owned by the Hospicio de San Jose de Barili, a facililty for the aged.
Yesterday morning, representatives of the foundation went to the area to appropriate the 30-square-meter lot per family area to be rented for each family for P90 a month. Most of the residents were assigned in an area near the riverbank.
They’re afraid that their houses would be swept away since the river’s water level is known to rise quickly.
“We just want elevated lots that will be safe from the flood,” Omamboc said.
If they won’t be moved to an elevated area, Omamboc said she and her three children would rather return to their old house even though it sits on a landslide-prone area.
She said they raised their concerns to Naga City Mayor Val Chiong.
The mayor assured them that they would negotiate with the land owners to have them occupy an elevated area.
The Naga City government already distributed P10,000 financial assistance to each family last Saturday.
Some families already installed permanent house posts while some still remained in their improvised tents. Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya