Saturday, June 30, 2007 Stunned by demolition, chief berates CH officer By Rene H. Martel Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE barangay captain of Cogon Central Ramos was accused of badmouthing a Cebu City Market Authority official who led the demolition of a structure housing his personal items and barangay supplies.
Jun Dacayana of the Cebu City market police said that Barangay Captain Danilo Alfafara reached him on his cellular phone while the demolition was ongoing yesterday and called him names.
“Sakit siya’g sinultihan. Gi peste, gi-atay-atay. Suko kaayo siya. Akong giingnan nga `Sir, dili nimo i-focus nako imong kasuko, adto sa market authority kay unless dunay order, dili man mi mag-demolish’ (His words were hurtful, and he was cursing me. So I explained to him to direct his anger to the market authority because we don’t demolish unless there is an order),” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Names
The barangay captain then asked some barangay officials to get the demolition team’s names and Dacayana told them it was tantamount to threatening them.
Alfafara and several barangay officials are in Davao for an educational tour.
A barangay staff member was the one who informed him of the demolition of his structure, which sits behind the barangay’s covered court, in front of the New Ramos Public Market.
In a telephone interview, Alfafara said he was so angry because the market authority “did not have the courtesy” to inform him before tearing down the structure.
“Gisapot ko. Nanawag ko kay naa koy structure didto, ako nang tindahan before, bodega sad nako ug sa barangay karon.
Nahibulong ko nganong giguba. Kon duna silay plano, ila unta kong gipatawag. Naa koy gihangyo nila (ug demolish) na isdaan nga gihimong sugalan wala giguba (I was upset. I called them because I have a structure there that used to be a store and is now being used as a storage room for the barangay. If they planned to demolish it, they should have informed me),” he complained.
Year-old order
He said he will bring the matter to the City Government or file a complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman for abuse of authority.
But Market Administrator Raquel Arce said they were just following the order of City Administrator Francisco Fernandez to destroy all illegal structures surrounding the market.
“The demolition order was given in July last year yet and we’re now instructed to implement it. We didn’t know that the barangay captain is out of town. If I will be held answerable for that, I was only doing my job as market administrator,” said Arce.
Dacayana said that Alfafara might have gotten angry because he thought the structures of Fidel Besabella, with whom the barangay captain has a conflict, were not included.
But Besabella’s common toilet was destroyed while other structures were partially demolished.
Arce said all structures will be torn down by Monday in compliance with Fernandez’s order.
