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Monday, June 05, 2006
Busol task force to sue squatters
THE happy days of Busol watershed reservation squatters are over as officials of environment department ordered the Busol Watershed Task Force (BWTF) to charge all squatters found to have continuously built their structures in the area.
The squatters have defied the call to maintain status quo inside the watershed reservation.
In a Busol watershed assessment meeting, Community Environment and Natural Resource Officer Guillermo Fianza urged the BWTF to gather all necessary documents and evidence and file appropriate charges against all identified squatters.
This developed when Forester John Langbis, outgoing BWTF head, reported that there is rampant construction of houses within the watershed even after the barangay consultation on the co-management of the watershed that was held last month.
Langbis said that despite the confiscation of construction materials and the instruction to stop the illegal activities, and for the squatters to vacate the area, they still insist on constructing their structures. "The worst of it, the constructed houses are made of concrete," he said.
On the other hand, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Manny Pogeyed urged the environment provincial legal officer to assist the BWTF in the preparation of affidavits to ensure that the complaints will not be futile.
Pogeyed said that of the complaints filed by the BWTF the previous years, only few cases were decided while most of the complaints remain in court litigation.
Personnel of the City Building and Architecture Office (Cbao) inspected the structures that were recommended for complete demolition.
The environment department has warned the public not to buy, sell or occupy portions of the city watersheds. (DK)
(June 5, 2006 issue)
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