51 Cebu City establishments face demolition

WATERWAY CLEARING Structures that encroach on the Lahug-Kamputhaw-Tejero waterway in Cebu City have been ordered demolished by the local government, including this concrete shed in this photo taken on Nov. 25, in a bid to address the city’s flood problem. —PHOTO COURTESY OF CEBU CITY INFORMATION OFFICE

CEBU CITY—The Cebu City government on Monday served notices of demolition to at least 51 business establishments, including three homegrown malls, for violating the three-meter easement of rivers.

The owners of these establishments were given 10 days to clear or demolish the structures that encroached on the city’s rivers, according to former Environment Secretary and now the head of the city’s Task Force “Gubat sa Baha (War against flood)” Roy Cimatu.

“What we’re doing now is a challenge, but with the mayor’s political will and our aim to recover our rivers, I’m optimistic that we can do it,” Cimatu said on Monday.

Cebu City has been experiencing severe flooding during heavy rains that officials blamed on clogged rivers and waterways.

Cimatu said he would request the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to run a slope survey on the seven major rivers in the city—Guadalupe, Kinalumsan, Mahiga, Lahug, Estero de Parian, Bulacao and Butuanon—to measure the elevation as well as the slope of each river and determine which areas needed gate valves to control water flow, particularly those at the mouth of the river.

“Through this, we can mitigate the flow of the water, especially if it is high tide so that it (the sea water) cannot enter the river and cause flooding,” Cimatu explained.

First to go

He said the city would be going after business establishments first because the local government was still looking for relocation sites for the residents living along riverbanks.

Among those issued demolition notices were the Gaisano Main, 138 Mall and Colonnade Mall—all located along Colon Street in downtown Cebu City that were found to have encroached on the three-meter easement of Estero de Parian.

Under Presidential Decree No. 1067 or the Water Code of the Philippines, no infrastructure should be allowed within the three-meter easement zone along the river. This includes the construction of any structure above the waterways.

Cimatu said there was a need to clear the rivers from illegal structures, including commercial establishments and dwellings of informal settlers.

The city government was set to demolish at least 14,000 to 18,000 structures that encroached on all seven rivers in the city in a bid to clear the riverbanks from informal settlers and commercial establishments that violated the easement zone of rivers.

Mayor Michael Rama earlier said no one would be spared from the demolition of structures violating the three-meter easement, adding City Hall would not succeed in its efforts to solve the flood problem in the city if big structures built along or on the rivers and waterways were not removed.

“I’m telling you, no sacred cow. It’s now or never,” Rama said.

—NESTLE SEMILLA INQ