Rama to intensify relocation of settlers

LAST week’s collapse of the stone riprap fence of the Casa del Rio subdivision only gives more impetus to relocate settlers away from the three meter river easement, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said yesterday.

Rama said he already reminded the Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) to complete the profiling of families living in these areas so they can be relocated away from the “danger zone.”

Personnel from the Disaster Risk Reduction Management office and the anti-squatting team already started markings of danger zones, he said.

Families living along the Mahiga Creek were already evicted as of last year.

The clearing was done as part of efforts to clear waterways of obstruction.

Rama said he also ordered an inventory of properties which the city may use for relocation.

Since property in Cebu City is scarce, the city would have to build medium rise housing units to maximize on space, Rama said.

He said there are several properties in the city that can be used for medium rise urban poor condominium units. One such lot is in Bato, Ermita.

Rama said he would also be asking the Cebu Contractors Association to dump their excess filling materials in spaces between seawalls and mainland Cebu City in order to reclaim these areas.

The city government put up seawalls in Ermita area to protect residents from the sea.

If there are more filling materials, Rama said he wanted compacting to continue until the vicinity of the coastal barangays of Sawang Calero, Duljo and Inayawan.

Rama said there was no need for the city to secure a reclamation permit to do this.

He said he only wanted to fill in the gaps between the seawalls and the mainland. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac