Sunday, March 30, 2008 Vice president says he'll speak with governor on compromise with occupants By Rene H. Martel Sun.Star Staff Reporter
VICE President Noli de Castro yesterday assured Cebu City urban poor beneficiaries living in Cebu Province-owned lots that he will directly speak with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia for a compromise agreement that will ensure that no one will be placed at a disadvantage.
After gamely having his pictures taken with them, however, he left behind people with wan faces because they wanted to hear more from him.
“Usapan pa rin, tulad ng dati ( A mere talk like in the old times),” said one retired military officer who is a member of the Alliance of Barangay Apas Community Associations (Abaca).
Urban poor leaders, too, were disappointed because they expected something more concrete from the vice president, who is the country’s Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chairman.
De Castro was the guest speaker in yesterday afternoon’s gathering held at the St. Theresa’s College auditorium as part of the 16th-year celebration of the creation of Republic Act No. 7279, or the Urban Development and Housing Act (Udha).
Not clear
He spoke of the HUDCC’s national accomplishment report, particularly on the 34,000 who availed themselves of the Pag-ibig Fund’s Abot Kaya housing loan.
He said he has delayed signing the memorandum of understanding for the turnover of the Central Command (Centcom) lots back to the Province because of some concerns he wanted cleared.
“Hindi pa klaro sa amin anong gagawin sa mga apektado (It’s not clear yet to us what will happen to those affected) .... Nag-request ako ng meeting kay Governor para pag-aralan ang (to study) options para makarating sa isang (to come up with a) compromise solution na walang maapi (no one will be at a disadvantage),” he said.
Abaca’s Ma. Linda Paracuelles said the meeting will take place on April 23 yet.
“Wala mi malipay sa iyang gisulti (We’re not happy with what he said),” one of the urban poor leaders said.
Notices
“Ang pinaka-practical na gawin ay makipag-ugnayan sa (What is the most practical way is to coordinate with the) Provincial Government para malaman natin ang kanilang plano (so we would know their plans),” de Castro said.
The Cebu City Government was supposed to trade a 3.3-hectare lot in the North Reclamation Area with Capitol’s 60 parcels of land in 11 barangays in the city had a land swap agreement pushed through.
Since negotiations fell through, the Province already sent notices to the estimated 5,000 occupants of these lots, which include those living in 18 lots donated to the Centcom.
Prior to de Castro’s arrival, Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu, north district) urged him to implement Presidential Proclamation (PP) 409 now, which was the sentiment of the Abaca members present in the gathering.
PP 409 declared “certain parcels of land situated in Barangay Apas, Cebu City as socialized housing sites under Republic Act 7279.
When de Castro came to Cebu last October, Abaca handed him a letter asking him to once and for all decide on the issue and send a directive to concerned agencies to proceed with the process of giving the lots to the beneficiaries.
Win-win
De Castro, then, promised a “win-win solution” for the over 1,000 Apas socializing housing beneficiaries threatened by the Cebu Provincial Government’s lot recovery program.
Yesterday, Del Mar said it is immaterial whether the Centcom or the Province owns the lot since the proclamation should be respected by whoever is holding the title for the 32-hectare area.
“It is unchristian for you to suffer this way for so long,” del Mar said, emphasizing the need for the PP 409 beneficiaries to own their lots now.
De Castro, though, asked those present in the gathering to be patient because the process takes long.
In yesterday’s occasion, he also gave out original titles and certificates of full payment to beneficiaries from Barangays Labangon, Apas, and Camputhaw under the community mortgage program of the National Government’s Social Housing Finance Corporation.
