No cash aid, relocation to families along Mahiga: Rama to councilor

CEBU City Councilor Alvin Dizon failed to convince Mayor Michael Rama yesterday to provide financial assistance and a relocation site to families affected by City Hall’s clearing operations on both sides of Mahiga Creek.

Dizon, chairman of the City Council’s committee on housing, said the mayor stood firm on his stand that the City will not provide cash aid and relocation sites to the affected families.

Rama and the Local Housing Board agreed, however, to provide a temporary shelter for
families whose houses will be demolished.

“The City will not give financial aid and a relocation site because the mayor said it will set a bad precedent. Wa gyud mi nagkauyon dihang dapita gihapon kay mi-insist man gyud siya nga nuisance per se (We did not agree on that because the mayor insists the structures are a nuisance),” the councilor said.

Dizon said the mayor wants other government agencies to give the financial aid to the families.

Responsibility

The councilor still believes, though, that the City should extend financial aid to the affected families, saying it is also the responsibility of the City.

The councilor cited the memorandum circular issued by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), which states that local government units should provide adequate consultation and relocation for settlers before any eviction or demolition is carried out.

City Hall reporters tried to get the mayor’s comment yesterday, but he declined an interview because he had another meeting to attend.

After the local housing board’s two-hour meeting with the mayor yesterday, Dizon said the body agreed to provide a temporary shelter for displaced families.

“That’s all we agreed on as far as the settlers near the Mahiga Creek are concerned… (But) if the Mahiga settlers believe that they deserve more under the law, then that’s their call to question the decision of the mayor before the court,” he said.

Dizon said Rama has directed the Squatters Prevention, Elimination and Encroachment Division and the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor and the City Planning and Development Office to find temporary shelter for the affected families.

The councilor hopes the group will be able to find temporary shelter for the families immediately. PDF