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Thursday, August 24, 2006
City Council authorizes Tomas on lot swap talks
Occupants of Cebu Province-owned lots who face eviction got their hopes up, after the Cebu City Council authorized Mayor Tomas Osmeña to pursue negotiations with Capitol for the lot swap proposal.
The council yesterday approved on mass motion a resolution authorizing Osmeña to renegotiate with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia,
to avoid the removal of thousands of families occupying provincial lots in the city.
They also asked the mayor “to put a premium on public interest, especially on the more than 5,000 affected families.”
A corollary motion was also passed asking Garcia to “suspend or hold in abeyance any further action against occupants of Province-owned lots in Barangays Luz and Capitol Site, who already received notices of eviction, pending negotiations between the mayor and the governor.”
Full support
With the resolution, the council is giving “full authority to the mayor and a free hand to pursue negotiations for the lot swap.”
“This also means that we are in agreement that the council will not interfere with the negotiations,” said Councilor Gabriel Leyson.
Initial negotiations to swap a Cebu City-owned 3.4-hectare lot at the North Reclamation Area with the Province’s lots in 12 barangays in the city failed last year, after Capitol officials were offended by the City Council’s apprehensions on the deal.
Garcia is now working on recovering the properties from occupants, some of whom still have not paid the Capitol as provided for in Provincial Ordinance 93-1.
Councilor Nestor Archival, chairman of the council’s committee on housing, proposed the resolution during a privilege speech.
Some 200 leaders of urban poor communities in provincial lots applauded the council after they approved the resolution during their regular session yesterday.
Barangay Luz Councilor Nida Cabrera said they decided to attend the session to get the council to pass the resolution because without it, negotiations cannot resume.
Osmeña already increased the size of the lot to four hectares and is proposing to include the Cebu City Medical Center in the lot swap package.
In his speech yesterday, Archival said he received a letter signed by the barangay captains of all 12 barangays who will be affected by the Province’s plans for eviction, asking the council to give the mayor authority to pursue negotiations.
The governor had put on hold the negotiations until the council comes up with its official stand on the matter.
“Initial attempts for land swapping negotiations between the City and the Province did not prosper, and 30-day eviction notices were recently sent by Capitol to 135 families in Barangay Luz,” Archival said.
The Capitol is also preparing to send notices to 1,400 other families in Barangays Lahug and Camputhaw. (LCR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 24, 2006 issue)
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