Mandaue wants to build road network in recla site

THE Mandaue City Government will build a road network in its 6.5-hectare relocation site in Barangay Paknaan.

Tony Pet Suico, head of the City Housing and Urban Development Office, said the roads are needed to build drainages in the area and to bring electricity and water to the occupants.

The construction of an access road from Cansaga Bay to the relocation site was recently completed.

Suico, in a recent interview, said the Habitat for Humanity, an international organization that builds houses for the homeless, plans to construct a multi-purpose building in the relocation site.

About 1,200 families affected by demolitions of illegal structures along waterways can be accommodated in the site.

Suico said the demolition of illegal structures in five areas in Barangays Banilad, Maguikay, Tabok and Paknaan will be finished within the first quarter of the year.

The next rounds of demolition will affect about 200 households living along the Mahiga Creek in Barangay Subangdaku.

Suico said he will soon request the City Legal Office to set a schedule for a pre-demolition conference among the affected house owners, the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor, the Commission on Human Rights, and other stakeholders.

“We cannot clear the area without complying with the guidelines provided by the law,” Suico said.

The City has encouraged affected residents to voluntarily demolish their houses. They are either given financial assistance or a space in the relocation site.

Suico said the dredging and beautification of waterways that were already cleared are ongoing.

The City Engineering Office has put up a fence in the area while the City Agriculture Office has started planting trees.

“We also tap the services of the barangay captains and Sangguniang Kabataan officials for the tree-planting. This is a collective effort,” he said.

Last December, the City Government turned over 41 houses to beneficiaries of its socialized housing program in the Paknaan relocation site.

The City implements the socialized housing program in partnership with the Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives Inc.

A survey conducted by the City Engineering Office found that about 4,000 dwellings lie within the three-meter easement of rivers. Structures built within three meters from the river are considered illegal.