52 houses in Zambales town face demolition

A demolition team is set to destroy resorts and houses in Sitio Talisay, Barangay Camiing in Cabangan, Zambales on Wednesday, April 17. (Contributed photo)

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales — In between sobs, Rosemarie Susi, 23, and her family watched as a demolition team prepared to destroy their home at a fishing village in Barangay Camiing, Cabangan, Zambales on Wednesday, April 17.

“There are eight of us in one house. We don’t know where else to go. We just removed our things first because they said that if we don’t, they will destroy them too,” Susi told the Inquirer in Filipino.

Susi and her family were among the 52 households on the verge of losing their homes to the demolition.

The residents set up a barricade at the entry point of the sitio to prevent the demolition team from tearing down their houses.

Ronald Rillon, 40, insisted that he would not allow his home to be destroyed.

“My 72-year-old father was born here, and he just died in January. We have been here for a long time, spanning several generations,” he lamented.

Rillon recalled the days when only fishermen like him lived in the area.

But in 2009, when the government improved the roads in the area, resorts started to be built. At the same time, the landowner claimed back the 11-hectare land.

“We are finding a way to win our case, but our lawyers abandoned us after getting the money we raised to give them,” Rillon said.

He added, “We never thought that this would happen to us because, as our fathers or ancestors said, no one has claimed it for a long time.”

According to village chief Ronald Duran, the demolition was put on hold because there were negotiations among human rights advocates, the local police, and residents of the area.

“I was still a barangay councilor in 2013 when this case started. I am also accompanying the residents of Sitio Talisay to the hearings, to the mayor to ask for financial assistance to pay for the lawyer,” said Duran.

He said that he continues to give his full support to his constituents, and it was painful for him to see the situation in the area.

“It hurts that it has come to this point that the Supreme Court issued the decision to demolish the structures in the area from April 17 to 19,” the village chief said.