‘Allow Luz families to stay’

With no suitable relocation site for them, the 32 families displaced by the May 11 fire in barangay Luz, Cebu City should be allowed to rebuild their homes, Cebu City Hall said.

In a pleading, City Hall lawyers asked Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Ramon Daomilas of Branch 11 to defer the demolition of homes of the 32 families in barangay Luz. They said there was no need to compel them to leave the area.

They said a resolution was approved by the Local Housing Board, requesting the City Council to authorize Mayor Michael Rama to negotiate with the lot owners for the city to buy the property being occupied by the affected residents.

A hearing is set this Friday afternoon. Should the settlers be displaced, the city said they couldn’t provide a relocation site as of now.

The relocation site in barangay Budlaan, Cebu City will reportedly be affected by the construction of the Colon-Cebu 138 Kv Transmission Line Project of the National Grid Power Corp.

Republic Act 7279 opr the Urban Development and Housing Act states that demolition shall not be effected unless there is adequate relocation provided by the local government.

The city also reiterated that the residents have been living in the area for over four decades now and demolition is discouraged as possible.

Judge Daomilas earlier directed Sheriff Joseph Olmedo to first consult with the lawyers and officers of the homeowners’ association, and local barangay officials in the area before conducting the demolition.

The 32 affected families in sitios Nangka, Lubi and Mabuhay in barangay  Luz  refused to leave the area despite a standing court order to do so.

The families claimed to have been relocated by the government in the province-owned lot in barangay Luz, Cebu City in 1956. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol