Imeldific way: Get eyesore out of Pope’s sight

PALO, Leyte—They may be an eyesore, but don’t leave them out in the cold.

“We want to see Pope Francis, too,” is the collective cry of the 250 families living in bunkhouses in Barangay Candahug, who are the subject of a relocation order by Mayor Remedios Petilla.

Petilla, mother of Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla and Leyte Gov. Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, wants to transfer the families—all survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda”—to another bunkhouse located 5 kilometers away.

The reason: So Pope Francis will not see them in their abject condition when he visits the town in January next year.

Is somebody stepping into Imelda Marcos’ red suede shoes in her very same home city?

The former first lady is known to send bulldozers to bring down homes of informal settlers if they appeared to be an eyesore to her foreign guests.

“I try to beautify the country—they call it extravagance,” Marcos once said.

And now Petilla.

“[The transfer] is being fast-tracked because of the scheduled visit of the Pope next year,” Petilla said.

‘Clearing operation’

But the 1,290 residents, who had been staying in bunkhouses in Candahug since their homes were destroyed by Yolanda on Nov. 8, 2013, are opposing the transfer for two reasons: the new bunkhouses are far from their children’s schools; and they also want to see the Holy Father.

Petilla said the families would be transferred to bunkhouses in Barangay Tacuranga or a permanent relocation site to give way for the visit of the Pope.

Municipal officials told the affected families that the bunkhouses in Candahug would be affected by a “clearing operation.”

But in reality, they do not obstruct the road even with the ongoing road widening project that will increase the present two lanes to four.

Sources told the Inquirer that Petilla does not want the Pope to see the victims still in their bunkhouses when he visits Palo on Jan. 17, 2015, to meet with the victims of Yolanda.

Candahug is the first village upon entering Palo from Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City, Leyte.

While it is not clear if Pope Francis will pass by the Government Center in Barangay Candahug where the bunkhouses are located, the Holy Father is scheduled to go to Palo for at least three activities.

Based on the temporary schedule earlier relayed by Palo Archbishop John Du, the Pope will arrive at the Tacloban City airport at 10 a.m. on Jan. 17 and would hold a Mass at the vacant lot in front of Tacloban airport before proceeding to the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo to dine with the poor.

He will then proceed to bless the Pope Francis Center for the Poor, a project financed by the Vatican for the care of the elderly, the orphans and less privileged.

After the blessing, Pope Francis will go to the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral to address members of the clergy and religious congregations.

He would also bless the newly refurbished Palo Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lord’s Transfiguration, before returning to the Tacloban airport to fly back to Manila.

From a bunkhouse to another

According to the families, former residents of Barangay Baras, San Fernando and Candahug, they were told to leave their bunkhouses by November and transfer to bunkhouses in Barangay Tacuranga.

There are 384 bunkhouses in Tacuranga but only 180 are occupied.

“We will not worry if we will be transferred to a permanent area. But aside from being far away, our relocation site will be another bunkhouse. It has been almost a year and we have no security as to where we will live,” said Evelyn Navarra, 29, and a mother of two children.

Navarra’s family has been living in one of the bunkhouses in Candahug since February, after their house in Baras was washed out by the storm surges generated by Yolanda.

She said the bunkhouses in Tacuranga were far from the public school in Baras where her children were studying.

“If we move to Tacuranga, which is quite far, the possibility that they will stop studying is not remote,” she said.

Transferring from one bunkhouse to another is too much for them to bear, said Tony Enciñas, 53.

Permanent relocation sites

“If they want us to be transferred, then transfer us to a permanent relocation site,” he said.

Municipal social development worker officer Lina Bardelas said the families will be transferred either to the bunkhouses in Tacuranga or to a permanent relocation site.

The municipal government has identified the village of San Jose where about 500 units are to be built by the Tzu Chi Foundation and another 169 by the GMA Foundation as possible relocation sites.

The development of the sites began last month but no specific time frame was given for the project’s completion.

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