Friday, January 05, 2007
Port demolitions set for tomorrow
THE Cebu Port Authority (CPA) will start removing squatter-vendors along Baclig Ave., Cebu City tomorrow, Jan. 6, in preparation for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit.
CPA General Manager Angelo Verdan said there are about 170 structures to be demolished by the vendors themselves.
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The CPA will give P20,000 for each structure to the affected families, who will also be assisted by a task force in transporting the demolished materials.
But in order to avail themselves of the P20,000 offer, the squatter-vendors must demolish their stalls before noon of Jan. 9. Beyond the cut-off, Verdan said, no payment shall be made and the Squatters Prevention, Encroachment and Elimination Division (Speed) of the Cebu City Government will take over the job.
Preliminary meetings of the Asean summit will start on Jan. 10.
Another group of CPA personnel will be tasked to clean and beautify the area after the demolition, including the painting of street gutters.
Once the area is cleared of squatter-vendors, the CPA’s engineering team will remove the steel wall that serves as a divider between Baclig Ave. and Serging Osmeña Ave.
Verdan said that the CPA has decided to turn over Baclig Ave. to the City Government, to decongest traffic from the boundary of the cities of Cebu and Mandaue to T. Padilla St.
Since early last year, Baclig Ave. in the port zone was opened to the public and has become an alternate road during peak hours.
Verdan said that all the squatters living on the sidewalks of various streets within the port zone will be relocated, as part of the clean-up drive.
CPA Commissioner Carlos Co, who also owns Cebu Oversea Hardware, believes once the port zone is cleared of squatters, investors will be encouraged to put up businesses in the area.
Several private properties within the port zone are ideal for warehouses, offices for shipping lines and cargo forwarders, duty-free shops, hotels, restaurants and food repacking centers, said Co.
Last month, the CPA removed trisikads and vendors from the ports.
The trisikad drivers received P7,000 each as financial assistance, while the vendors whose stalls were demolished got P20,000 each. (EOB)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (January 5, 2007 issue)
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