Tuesday, November 04, 2008 Landco given 3 days to provide relocation
ACTING Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama gave Landco Development Corp. three days to provide an accessible relocation site for the evacuated residents of Sitio Dakit in Barangay Guadalupe.
If the developer fails to do so, City Hall will look for an apartment where 16 to 18 families can stay and charge the rental to Landco.
Development
Rama, eight city councilors and Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) officials visited Sitio Dakit and Landco’s Monterrazas de Cebu project yesterday morning to check the extent of the damage of the landslide last month and what the developer has done to prevent a similar incident.
Following the visit and their meeting with Landco officials yesterday afternoon, Rama issued an executive order creating a body that will monitor all upland development projects including Landco’s.
Landco officials already submitted to city officials yesterday their proposal and flood mitigation measures including the setting up of a drainage system within the project site.
The Cebu City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) earlier came out with a report that stated that the Landco project is one of the sources of soil and floodwater that buried 12 houses in muck last April and October.
Evacuation
Because of the incidents, city officials were forced to evacuate Sitio Dakit residents last week.
“For now, I told Landco that we’re giving them three days to provide a temporary relocation site that is accessible to the schools and has water and electricity. If they don’t comply, then we will look for an apartment and transfer the families there, and Landco will have to pay for it,” Rama told Sun.Star Cebu.
In a separate interview yesterday, Councilor Gerardo Carillo said they will consolidate the plans submitted by Landco with the recommendations of the MGB and a geologist that the City commissioned to study the area.
The monitoring body will be asked to check Landco’s progress in implementing the recommendations.
“We have consolidated all the plans, recommendations and findings of studies done and we will ask the body to monitor it closely, until Landco finishes everything. That’s the only time when Dakit residents can return to the area,” he said.
The Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council has already padlocked the houses and cordoned off the area to make sure that the residents do not stay there, especially at night. (LCR)
