FAMILIES who are on the brink of being evicted from their dwellings in Cagayan de Oro said they'd rather go homeless than accept the P1 per lot project of the City Government.

"Dili mi gusto sa Piso-Piso kay wala kana nakahatag og kabulahanan ug kasigurohan sa mga beneficiaries (We are not keen on that ‘Piso-Piso’ program because it does not give security to the beneficiaries)," said Rudy Ramoso, head of the urban poor group whose members are facing demolition on their houses near the Agora market area.

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"Piso-Piso" was a land resettlement program under the Emano administration, which distributes land to irregular settlers for P1.

The program, however, was declared "disadvantageous" by state auditors because City Hall had to borrow money from the banks to fund the program and get nothing in return.

Ramoso, chairman of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap in Region 10 (Kadamay-10), counted at least 3,000 households or 5,000 families that he said would be affected by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's order declaring the area an industrial-commercial site.

The affected areas are the sitios of Little Bohol, San Lazaro, Lapaz Extension, and neighboring places near the Agora Integrated Bus Terminal (IBT) -- all within Barangay Lapasan.

Ramoso said the area has recently been declared as part of the Macabalan Port extension.

He said the settlers -- some of whom have been living in the area for 20 years -- are at the mercy of the landowners who were favored by the Supreme Court in a decision on July 23, 2008.

Urban poor groups, Ramoso said, already learned their lesson when one of the resettlement areas under "Piso-Piso" was taken back by the owner because City Hall failed to pay the remaining amount for the land. He also noted that "Piso-Piso" beneficiaries neither have land titles for their lots nor do they possess any valid legal instrument showing their ownership of the land.

City Hall, instead, can help the landless families by exploring alternatives for the families to stay in their present dwellings permanently.

Ramoso said they want to see Mayor Constantino Jaraula to discuss their problem.

Emano, now a vice mayor, has pending graft charges in connection with the "Piso-Piso" program. Several councilors under his party were also named in the complaint, filed by Atty. Ed Tamondong way back in 2003.

No other "Piso-Piso" project has so far been initiated under the Jaraula administration. (ALR)