40 homes lost in Lapu demolition; 15 Mandaue homes also face removal

ABOUT 40 houses were demolished in sitio Kitchen, barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City, catching most boarders and home owners by surprise yesterday morning.

Most boarders were at work when the demolition began. Others were asleep after their graveyard shift at the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ).

Sotera Vergara, a 60-year-old owner of three houses, said they did not receive any notices of demolition. She said more than 50 homes were torn down.

Vergara said her houses and others were spared because of a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the court.

She said she and the other displaced settlers were not informed by the city government whether a relocation site is available for them.

Court sheriff Jasper Tajanlangit denied that the occupants weren’t issued a notice. He said they already knew they were scheduled for demolition. There was no resistance, he said.

“But we ask that the lot owner give us a relocation site. They didn’t listen,” said Nida Roa, who has lived there for more than a decade.

Tajanlangit and the demolition team will return today to finish the demolition.

In Mandaue City, a demolition order will be issued this month against 15 house and sari-sari store owners.

City Legal Officer Giovanni Tianeroto said this would give way to a four-lane road project in Ouano Extension in barangay Ibabao-Estancia.

He said the road project is half-way done and his office will verify whether the affected occupants were fully paid by the Mandaue City government. Correspondents Jucell Marie P. Cuyos and Norman V. Mendoza