Newsbriefs

Condo for 93-1 lot occupants proposed

THE provincial government proposed to build a high-rise condominium building to house the occupants of the province’s Cebu City-owned lots covered by its Ordinance 93-1.

Provincial Board (PB) Member Gigi Sanchez, who chairs the committee on municipal and provincial properties, floated the proposal in yesterday’s meeting with the homeowners associations in barangays Luz, Apas, Lahug and Kalunasan.

Under the proposal, residents will pay a monthly fee of P3,500 for 25 years after which they will assume ownership over their units.

The building’s ground floor will be converted into a commercial space and will be opened for lease to interested companies particularly fast food chains so the province could earn a monthly revenue, Sanchez said.

Sanchez said this housing scheme was implemented by Thailand’s government in a similar land dispute situation.

“Considering the locations of these places, we can put up the building and have the lower floors rented commercially. This will give perpetual income to the province,” she told reporters yesterday.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella said the proposal needs further study. “It is my desire that the amount of amortization should be at an acceptable level,” he said. Councilor Alvin Dizon, head of the council’s housing committee, said he welcomed Sanchez’s proposal.

“But before undertaking any housing projects, it is important to consult the urban poor taking into consideration its affordability, viability, etc,” Dizon said. / Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac and Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos

Niches for missing passengers to be built

NICHES will be built for the remains of the 45 passengers that have yet to be recovered from the sunken vessel MV St. Thomas Aquinas.

“We are planning to build a memorial apartment for the cadavers in Carreta Public Cemetery for the remaining unidentified bodies,” Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes manager Bong Ebo said.

He said 2GO promised to shoulder the construction of the structure. Ebo said they already identified 70 remains and shipped 65 of them to their respective families.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgar Labella, who presided yesterday’s press briefing in City Hall, said he favors the idea but will have to wait for Mayor Michael Rama’s decision. Rama is scheduled to arrive in Cebu City from abroad today.

“We are ready with all the documents for the bodies. What we need now is the blessing from the city government for us to start construction of the niches,” Ebo said.

Relatives may decide to keep the remains of their loved ones in Carreta or exhume it and bring it to their respective homes once they are identified.

The niches will be marked by the case numbers of the remains. These case numbers are also used to tag the remains during DNA sampling. Results of the DNA samples may be released as early as three months, Ebo said. /CORRESPONDENT JOSE SANTINO S. BUNACHITA

More livelihood to curb cyberpornography, Radaza says

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said her administration will expand its livelihood programs to curb the spread of cyberpornography in some barangays.

“It is obvious that there are people who find it hard to land a job, especially if they are not skilled workers and others are already over-aged,” Radaza said in Cebuano.

Radaza said she will task the Public Employment Services Office (Peso) to assess the number of unemployed in the barangays so jobs and livelihood will be provided to them.

Trainings will also be available for willing applicants, she said. Barangay Ibabao, Cordova town where a series of raids on cyberpornography dens occurred in the past few days, is less than a kilometer away from Lapu-Lapu City. / Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza

Workers injured at construction site

TWO workers were injured after being buried in soil in a construction site in barangay Sapangdaku, Cebu City yesterday afternoon.

Twenty-one-year-old Oscar Catarino and 55-year-old Lolobert Narciso were rushed to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.

Councilor Dave Tumulak said the victims are from Seville Construction which is working on a building for senior citizens. “They were immediately pulled by their co-workers. They are now safe,” Tumulak said. / Correspondent Jose Santino S. Bunachita