Mayor worries over relocation of fire victims

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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

MAYOR Jed Patrick Mabilog worries over the relocation site for Barangay Tanza Esperanza fire victims as lot owners of the 1.8-hectare fire-razed land is determined not to allow the victims to build permanent homes in the area.

Mabilog said he is banking on the promise of one heir of lot owner Hervas-Bretaña family that they are going to provide relocation land for the displaced Tanza Esperanza families.

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However, he said that during the meeting last January 30, there were seven family heirs who did not accede to the idea of providing the lot for the fire victims.

Mabilog said he cannot simply touch the P12-million city funds earmarked to buy relocation lots for displaced riverbank dwellers as this will go against rules of the Commission on Audit.

The amount is on top of the P36 million promised by Senator Franklin M. Drilon to buy a total of 12 hectares intended for more than 3,400 estimated informal family settlers along the Iloilo and Batiano rivers.

An open bidding for lot purchase will soon be conducted for lot owners willing to sell their land at not more than P400 per square meter to the City Government.

The city is tasked by law to look and provide relocation sites for displaced informal settlers, if these families are ejected upon orders of the court, the city mayor said.

The fire last January 22, 2012 was the biggest to hit the city and Barangay Tanza Esperanza suffered the bulk of damages.

The fire razed 185 houses and 11 houses were burned with 223 families and 1,115 persons affected in the barangay.

Also, 27 houses were razed and eight were burned in nearby Barangay Tanza Timawa Zone 2, while 61 houses were razed and 11 were burned in
Barangay Malipayon.

Mabilog said the fire victims of Timawa Zone 2 and Malipayon are not affected by dislocation, as the lands were not covered by the Hervas-Bretaña ownership. The affected families there are starting to rebuild their homes in the area.