News clippings and a PowerPoint presentation were made by Cebu City Hall officials to justify their ongoing clearing operations at the Mahiga Creek in yesterday’s court hearing.
“Illegal structures cause and aggravate flooding. There is an urgent need to clear the three-meter easement along riverbanks,” said Alvin Dizon, head of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDC).
Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Soliver Peras of Branch 10 presided the hearing on a petition for a temporary restraining order on the demolition of structures filed by Pagtambayayong Foundation in behalf of eight settlers.
About 100 settlers attended the hearing but Judge Peras noted that only eight of them were petitioners in the case.
He asked each petitioner whether they received a notice of demolition from the city government.
None of the petitioners reside in sitio San Isidro, barangay Mabolo, Cebu City, the area hit by the ongoing demolition.
Six petitioners said their houses are still intact, while two of them admitted they didn’t receive a notice of demolition.
Original petition
Pagtambayayong, through its president Francisco Fernandez, filed a pleading for other settlers to intervene in the case.
But Judge Peras said Fernandez filed the original petition and that other settlers should intervene by themselves.
Carlo Vincent Gimena of the Cebu City Legal Office said Fernandez has no legal standing to be a petitioner in the case because the foundation is a “juridical entity and is separate from its members.”
He also said the petitioner failed to include as respondent the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor, an entity responsible for providing relocation sites for settlers.
Lawyer Dax Quijano, counsel for the petitioners, said the settlers simply want the city government to grant them a relocation site should be they evicted from their houses.
“We have the law. Let’s apply it. It’s simple, the law requires that a notice be made (before demolition), adequate relocation site, and no heavy equipment (near the homes subjected to demolition),” he said.
Gimena said the affected families in sitio San Isidro “voluntarily demolished” their houses and the city government merely removed the debris. In their PowerPoint presentation, Santillan said the illegal structures blocked the flow of water in the waterways.
Santillan showed photos on massive flooding caused by “illegal structures” built on and along the rivers, particularly the presence of debris and garbage on bodies of water and culverts.
He showed news clippings that reported a baby swept by floods in 2003, six persons who drowned in 2006 and two scavengers who died a year ago.
Santillan said all these unfortunate incidents happened on the rivers where illegal structures are built.
He said five major rivers in Cebu City were identified as “flooding” zones because of their silted riverbeds.
He said they need to dredge the areas and clear the three-meter easement zone.
This includes the demolition of establishments owned by prominent personalities in the area, Santillan added.
The petitioners said they reside along the creek for the past 20 years and are qualified beneficiaries of the socialized housing program under Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.
Around 142 families live in the Mahiga Creek. Of that number, 32 families situated in sitio San Isidro were evicted from the area.
Arguments
Santillan said they brought the affected residents to a temporary relocation site at block 27 of the North Reclamation Area (NRA).
He said the settlers were given a chance to choose which area to occupy.
About 40 20-footer containers vans are prepared by the city to house the settlers. Two families may take one van, Santillan said.
The settlers need not pay for electricity and water bills, as these are provided for free by the city government.
“We are pressured because of the rainy season,” Santillan said.
Santillan also showed photos that showed Noel Artes, chief of the Squatters Prevention, Elimination and Encroachment Division (Speed), informing and consulting with the settlers on the demolition.
Judge Paredes gave the two parties five days to file their respective written arguments to the court.