CLO denies partiality in clearing operations

CITY Legal Office Composite Enforcement team leader Atty. Cesar Beloria clarified on Monday that they are not selective in their approach in clearing the city of illegal structures.

He challenged the people spreading such misinformation to check on the records of the CLO all over Bacolod City to prove that they are not selective in their action.

Thirty demolition orders were implemented in various locations in the city, he said.

He cited the demolition order within Barangay 7 where some affected families have voluntarily demolished their houses while only eight families questioned the demolition before the court.

Beloria said they respect the legal action taken by the said families.

He stressed that, by law, the primary responsibility of clearing the road lots from illegal occupants falls on the jurisdiction of the barangay.

The city is already helping clear the area because road lots are not meant to be lived but are meant to be served as access to everyone and not just for few individuals or families, he explained.

The government has the right over road lots, Beloria stressed.

Moreover, he also mentioned the informal settlers at Barangay 16 whose houses are also up for demolition to give way to the construction of ETCS IV.

Based on initial survey, the original number of affected families was only 47 but now it rose to 154 families.

Beloria said the increase in number was quite questionable but he will still give them the benefit of the doubt and conduct another evaluation and screening as they will still determine those who deserve the relocation site and those who are not.

The increase might have been caused by the clearing operation initiated by the barangay where affected families transferred to the present location of the proposed ETCS IV site.

The ETCS IV project is a joint project of the City Government of Bacolod and the Department of Education. DepEd will provide the funds for the construction of the 24 classrooms while the city will also provide counterpart funds for 24 classrooms.

Meanwhile, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia said that the city has every right to remove the illegal occupants in the area.

"We want to showcase this project because Bacolod is the first city to avail of the 50-50 scheme of DepEd. They hope to open this next year and they want to start the project as soon as possible," he said./CNC