Friday, May 30, 2008 CH tears down gates By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter With Mia E. Abellana
CARETAKERS of the Adarna property in Sitio Luton, Ba-rangay Mabini yesterday tried to stop a Cebu City Hall team from tearing down three gates that blocked public access to the only road there. They failed.
With the cease and desist order signed by Mayor Tomas Osmeña, the team from Cebu City Hall also made sure that earth-moving activities on the new road the Adarnas built have been stopped.
The security guard and caretaker demanded a court order but were helpless when 20 personnel of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC) and the Squatters Prevention Encroachment Elimination Division (Speed) tore down the first gate.
Argument
They were escorted by around 10 armed personnel of the Cebu City Police Office’s Special Weapons and Tactics and the Security Service Group.
A heated argument ensued between the caretakers and Mabini Barangay Captain Rey Oybenes, who has long been barred from entering the property, when the latter insisted on tearing down the second and third gates.
It took the clearing team two-and-a-half hours to trek the two-kilometer stretch of the property on foot, searching for the three gates.
Violations
City Councilor Gerardo Carillo said he is expecting the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) to submit a report on all the violations committed and damage caused by the lot owner.
The report will be used to support the case for violation of the National Building Code and other local laws that the City Government will file against property owner Teodorico Adarna Sr.
“We have also asked the CPDO, CCDCC and Speed to assess the damage, then we will charge to Mr. Adarna all the cost of the removal of the gates and the mobilization of our people and equipment to clear and restore the barangay road,” Carillo told Sun.Star Cebu.
“Based on the initial assessment, I think this will cost him P2 million to P3 million,” he continued.
No permits
Osmeña ordered the removal of any obstruction on the road and for Adarna to stop the construction of a new road, which caused a landslide that covered the asphalted barangay road with rocks and soil last Monday.
The gates and the new road, which crosses over the hills of Sitio Luton, were built without building and development permits from City Hall and an environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which are violations of the Building Code.
The cease and desist order was first served last Wednesday. Yesterday, the City Hall team went back to the site to implement it.
Carillo said that the Adarnas have set an appointment to speak with the mayor this Monday.
In a phone interview yesterday, Adarna declined from commenting on the issue, and said that he will do so next week. But in a TV Patrol Cebu report yesterday, Julius Adarna, the owner’s nephew, was quoted as saying that they will be consulting their lawyer for possible legal actions they can take against the City Hall team.
Land dispute
He also blamed Oybenes for the long-standing land dispute between the Adarnas and a certain Roy Seno, saying that the barangay captain did not do anything to address their problems. But Oybenes said that he has nothing to do with the land dispute and had previously advised both parties to settle the matter in court.
Adarna’s camp has reportedly accused the barangay captain of siding with the Senos, who are his relatives. Oybenes, however, said they are not related and that he has not been meddling on the issue.
“Ug unsay ilang problema, husayon unta nila sa korte ug dili sad nila amongon ang mga residente. Ug nakigstorya pa lang unta sila namo ug tarong, dili ni maabot ug ingani. Ug wala nila giagi sa pwersa, mahusay ra man siguro ning tanan (Whatever their problem is, they should settle it in court and not burden the residents. Had they talked to us, it wouldn’t have reached this point.),” he told reporters during yesterday’s demolition.
Armed men
Oybenes said some armed men have been seen guarding Adarna’s property, denying him and other residents access to the main road.
The sitio road, which serves as the only access of Sitio Luton residents in going to the main barangay road, is located within the Adarnas’ 32-hectare mango farm. While the caretakers claim that the road is part of the property, no one from City Hall can confirm who owns the road.
Because of the dispute with the Senos and the fence that the latter had put up, which also blocked the sitio road, the caretakers said the Adarnas decided to make a new road within their property.
Although the Adarnas had built two steel gates and a wooden gate on the sitio road, the residents said that these were not closed and they never had problems passing through.
They also didn’t mind when the lot owner started the road construction, causing boulders, rocks and soil to slide downhill.
“Gipasaligan man ang mga tagiya sa balay na bayran lang sila ug naay damage. Musugot ang mga tawo o dili, wala man sad mi mahimo kay ilaha man ni. Kuyaw gyud hinoon diri, nag-landslide na gud (Homeowners were assured of payments if there are damages. We can’t do anything because they own this.),” one of the residents said.
Most of the residents in Sitio Luton live within the Adarna property and have been tending the mango farm there.
During the trek around the property, Oybenes was irked and yelled at the security guard when the latter prevented him from entering a part of the property. Apparently, the caretakers knew that the barangay captain intended to pull out a multicab that belongs to one of the witnesses of the Senos in the land dispute.
The Adarnas had prevented the multicab owner from entering their property, making it impossible for him to take his vehicle out of Luton.
“Nganong dili man ko ninyo pasudlon nga barangay kapitan ko diri, ako ning jurisdiction. Nangahagsa na gani ang dalan diri tungod sa inyong gibuhat, nag-lanslide na unya dili ko ninyo pasudlon? Ug ikaw kaha ang dili nako paagion diri? (Why won’t you allow me entry when I’m the barangay captain here. The road has collapsed because of what you did. You caused a landslide and you’re stopping me from entering?),” Oybenes told the guard.
The clearing operation ended at around 4:30 p.m., shortly before Julius Adarna arrived.
Yesterday, for the first time in four months, the owner was able to drive his multicab again.
Police officer
Meanwhile, Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Ronald Roderos yesterday clarified issues over a “regional police official” accused of supporting Adarna in the land dispute in Barangay Mabini.
After reading about it in Sun.Star Cebu, Roderos said he directed Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador to find out who Mayor Tomas Osmeña was referring to as the police officer who supported Adarna.
Roderos said the mayor was referring to Senior Supt. Drusillo Bolodo, deputy regional director for operations.
Roderos, however, said Comendador explained that Bolodo did not intervene in anything but instead, “initiated a mediation process” between Adarna and the Seno family.
Roderos said that weeks before, he also directed Regional Police Community Relations Division Chief Alexander Abadinas to initiate a similar dialogue between the disputing parties in coordination with Comendador, the Security and Service Group and the detachment commander in the area.
Roderos said he has asked Comendador to clarify this with the mayor.
