Demolition of Talisay houses peaceful so far

TWO houses were demolished yesterday in the disputed lot of lawyer Rene Sesbreño in barangay Lawaan I, Talisay City.

Except for two rocks thrown by unknown parties near the demolition crew, the activity went smoothly.

Sheriff Constancio Alimurung said the crew  would return today to finish enforcing a court order to clear 40 houses in a  two-hectare lot.

It will take “two weeks kung tuloy tuloy,” he said.

House owner Romy Deparine said he  accepted the fact that he had to find lodging elsewhere.

A few neighbors have started taking down parts of their own houses in compliance with the court order.

Demolition of the two houses actually started Feb. 1. Later in the afternoon, two men on a motorbike ambushed an Isuzu pickup, shooting dead all three persons inside, including Sesbreño’s wife Virginia.

The shooting escalated tension over the lot demolition, which the Sesbreños insisted was the cause of the ambush because residents refused to accept that he was the co-owner of a portion of the 7.8-hectare property originally owned by his client, a  Borromeo.

“We don’t know where the rocks came from,” said Sheriff Alimurung, who said he didn’t consider yesterday’s incident “resistance” by occupants.

Six Talisay policemen guarded the site.  The sheriff arrived about  10 a.m. with a demolition crew of seven men.  When Cebu Daily News visited the site, about three rocks  were thrown but didn’t hit the crew.

The demolition was scheduled last  Monday but was reset  due to bad weather and an earthquake.

Police were given five names by Sebreño as possible “masterminds” of the Feb. 1 ambush but authorities have yet to make an arrest or file a case.

A a .9mm pistol found inside the Isuzu pickup was confirmed to belong to the driver, Marlon Joshua Young, one of the shooting victims.

Supt. Rex Derilo, chief of the Firearms and Explosives, Security Agencies and Guards Supervisory Section, said the pistol was licensed.

Another house owner, Nestor Zapanta,  said it was painful to watch his house being torn down  but couldn’t do anything except follow the law.  He said they would ask the court to reconsider its ruling and to file charges against the sheriff for allegedly enforcing a demolition in the wrong location./CORRESPONDENTS RHEA RUTH V. ROSELL AND GABRIEL C. BONJOC