Luz folks seeking limited widening; Rama wants alternatives

One, not 10 meters.

That was the amount of space the affected families of last Friday’s fire in five sitios in barangay Luz, Cebu City, are willing to give way to for Cebu City Hall’s proposed road-widening project in barangay Luz.

Instead of a 10-meter-wide road, residents and the barangay officials are agreeable to widening their existing roads from 4.25 meters to 5.25 meters on both sides.

They also promised to remove road obstacles like parked vehicles, stalls and stores.

In response, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama told barangay officials to come up with a better proposal to put out fires in these areas.

He said it was the barangay officials themselves who suggested to widen the road there during a meeting he held with department heads at the Grand Convention Center near the fire site.

Rama said the narrow roads prevented fire trucks from putting out the blaze, which raged for two hours.

Paid in full

Barangay Luz captain Rian Tante said an emergency meeting was held by the homeowners association last Sunday.

He said the meeting was held in response to Rama’s order not to rebuild the homes in the five sitios until the area is reblocked for the road-widening project.

Tante said widening the road means lesser space for the affected families to build their homes.

He said most of the families have paid their lots to the province under the Provincial Ordinance 93-1. Most houses occupy at least 20 square meters.

“There are a lot of residents there that have acquired titles and paid their lots in full,” said Marcelina Lapiz, president of the home owners association of sitio Sto. Niño 1, an affected sitio.

Barangay Luz councilor Boy Guerra said they are appealing to Cebu City Hall to allow the families to rebuild their homes.

Four out of five sitios will be affected by the road widening.

Survey

Former congressman Raul del Mar supported the barangay Luz council’s resolution for a one-meter road widening instead of 10 meters.

“The access roads we’re talking about is one way. Fire trucks don’t have to meet,” he said.

Rama said he was prepared to set aside a plan to reblock and widen the access road in the fire affected sitios if barangay officials can find ways to prevent another fire from hitting the area.

He said barangay officials should sign a waiver in which they promise to care for the displaced families.

“I am the mayor of the city. I am the one who should man the city and make sure that there is no repeat of the fire,” he said.

In yesterday noon’s press conference, Rama said he wanted a survey done to determine the original width of access roads in the area to re-open or restore those that were already obstructed by illegal structures to its original size.

“We have to know the ownership of the affected properties. If it’s owned by the province, we have to know if there is a need to seek permission from the Capitol,” he said.

Cash assistance

The mayor later distributed P10,000 in cash aid each to the affected families and said the building materials will follow soon.

Rama said he will allow the fire victims to remain at the Luz school gym until they rebuild their homes.

He already asked education consultant Esther Cubero to coordinate with the Department of Education (DepEd) to allow the fire victims to stay inside the school premises for a few more days before the start of the school season.

Rama said barangay officials should make sure to prohibit any illegal structures from blocking the driveway to allow entry of emergency vehicles.

Fuel refunds should be given to fire fighters from outside the city, he said.

Ronie Sab-a, barangay secretary, said they will allocate funds from their budget to buy a new fire truck and firefighting equipment. “We have a mini fire truck at our disposal,” he said.

Barangay Luz is one of the most densely-populated barangays in Cebu City with a population of more than 21,000.

Alvin Santillana, chief of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management (CDRRM), said they will still finalize the road-widening plan and submit it to the residents and barangay officials for their approval.

“There’s a road widening but we still rely on the decision of the residents,” said Santillana.

Urgency

For their part, the affected families listed construction materials as their immediate priority need.

Tante said the affected residents are asking for plywood, cement and other materials to rebuild their homes.

Tante said the rebuilding gained more urgency with yesterday’s start of the enrollment period at the Luz Elementary School where most of the affected families are staying temporarily.

Tante said the residents are willing to settle for shanties if it means moving out of the school.

For now, he said sanitation is a major problem in the evacuation site, with uncollected garbage and some toilets clogged.

The food assistance given to the families will only be good until tomorrow.

Donors were urged to coordinate with the officials of the Luz Elementary School.

The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will have a fund-raising program for four of their policemen who lost their homes in last Friday’s barangay Luz fire.

Senior Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe, Cebu City police chief, said a concert for a cause will be done inside their camp grounds. With Correspondents Tweeny M. Malinao and Chito Aragon