LGUs under watch on demolitions

Any problems or issues tied to the Mahiga Creek demolition as pursued by the Cebu City government were resolved after it offered a relocation site and promised financial aid to the displaced families.

But the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) reiterated that local officials should conduct consultations and ensure a relocation site for settlers displaced by fire and demolitions.

The commission said it is monitoring local government units to adhere to the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) as part of its efforts to correct its reputation as a clearing house for demolitions and evictions.

“Most of the administrative demolitions are the orders of local officials. That’s why it is a conflict of interest to be at the same time the clearing house for demolitions,” PCUP Commissioner Ma. Joy Jarabelo said.

She said Executive Order 152 that designated the commission as responsible for overseeing the conduct of demolition and eviction involving urban poor communities was amended by EO 708, which reverted the authority to the LGUs.

Jarabelo said the commission is tasked to monitor compliance on the housing act to ensure humane treatment of displaced settlers.  PCUP chairman Hernani Panganiban said the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) already submitted a resolution asking for the reversion of EO 152.

The resolution was also addressed in a letter to President Benigno Aquino III.

Panganiban said he hoped the President will include the resolution in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 25.  The resolution will also be distributed to all LGUs in Metro Cebu.

Panganiban said a separate agency is needed to facilitate resource mobilization and financial assistance to displaced families.

He said national and local leaders were too focused on disaster risk management that they failed to realize that informal settlers bear the burden of their disaster mitigation initiatives.

Panganiban said Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo is working to restore authority to issue certificates of compliance for evacuation and demolition to the PCUP. Reporter Marian Z. Codilla and Correspondent Patricia Andrea Patena