Palace warns of legal issues in Rodriguez mayor’s 2-story home proposal

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday acknowledged the good intentions behind Rodriguez, Rizal Mayor Ronnie Evangelista’s proposal for residents to build a second floor in their houses to cope with flooding but warned that it could have legal implications.

At a briefing, Palace press officer Claire Castro questioned Evangelista’s proposal, particularly whether the beneficiaries hold land title to the properties where they built their houses.

“So ang tanong, si Mayor, itanong natin kay Mayor, iyong gusto po ba niyang tulungan, maganda naman ang kanyang adhikain, pero ang gusto po ba niyang tulungan ay mga taong may titulo na sa lupa?” she said when asked for a comment on the matter.

(So the question is, let’s ask the Mayor: Does he want to help people who already have titles to their land? His advocacy is certainly commendable, but is he specifically seeking to help those who already hold land titles?)

READ: Montalban in Rizal declares state of calamity

“Kasi kung tutulungan natin at informal settler sila at ito po ay may ibang may-ari, malaking isyu po iyan,” Castro added.

(Because if we help informal settlers occupying land owned by someone else, that could become a major issue.)

Castro said the government already has housing programs under the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.

“Masakit man sabihin, minsan mabigat na gampanan o gawin, pero lahat po tayo, kaya po tayo may batas ay dapat na tumupad sa batas, hindi po dapat na gumagawa kayo ng istruktura na hindi po naayon sa batas at lumalabag sa building code,” she said.

(It may be difficult to say, and at times, it may be hard to carry out or enforce, but we all have laws for a reason, and everyone should comply with them. You should not construct structures that are not permitted by law or that violate the building code.)

In a 24 Oras interview at GMA News, Evangelista explained that the town’s topography naturally funnels overflow from surrounding rivers, leaving residents with little choice but to adapt.

“Ang usapan namin dito, sila na mismo ang magpapagawa ng bahay nila gagawin nilang two-storey,” he said in the interview.

(Our agreement here is that they will build their houses themselves and make them two-storey structures.)

“May pera na rin ‘yang mga ‘yan. Kasi, alam ko kung gaano karami to? Two-thousand plus to. Hindi kakayanin ng LGU [local government unit],” he added.

(They have money for that. Because do you know how many they are? There are over two thousand of them. The LGU cannot shoulder that.) /mr