Lapu demolition leaves 70 settlers homeless

Barricades set up by residents of sitio St. Joseph of barangay Marigondon in Lapu-Lapu City didn’t stop a demolition crew from tearing down at least 32 houses yesterday morning.

Tension was high but the clearing operation, escorted by about 100 shield-bearing anti-riot policemen, went peacefully .

“I instructed my men to apply maximum tolerance. They were not armed. We had a Swat team as backup but their firearms were sealed with masking tape so it would be easy for us to track who fired a gun from the police ranks ,” said Lapu-Lapu City Police Director Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas.

“I pity them but we are just enforcing the court order,” Lawas added.

A resident, Ryan Cañete, was arrested after a bolo and a knife were found in his possession.

Rowena Maranga, a 40-year-old resident offered to take down her own house in order to salvage the materrials for reuse.

The team heeded her request.

The property occupied by about 70 settlers is owned by the Philippine Estate Corp. which will develope the site into a subdivision.

Lemonsita Abao, 74, refused to leave her house even when the demolition team started destroying the houses.

Abao, who has been living there for more than 10 years, was emotional when her daughter, Wendelyn, and neighbors rescued her inside her house.

Wendelyn said they still don’t know where to live after this.

“Mag-tolda lang siguro una mi diri samtang mangita pa mi og kabalhinan. Pobre gyud kaayo mi. Lisud gyud kaayo ang pagpangabang og balay,” she said. (We will just build a shack here while looking for another place to live. We are poor and can’t afford to rent,” she said in Cebuano.

Court sheriff Jasper Tajanlangit led the demolition team and brought the writ of demolition issued by Manuel Sabillo, assisting judge of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities in Lapu-Lapu City.

Some residents complained that the police violated their rights by not keeping a 50-meter distance and that the demolition team members were not wearing IDs.

But Primo Cadampog, special investigator of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) who witnessed the demolition, said he did not see any violations.