Saturday, December 06, 2008 Barangay chiefs offer to collect lot payments for Capitol By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
TO get Capitol to pursue the sale of Province-owned lots in Cebu City to their occupants, some barangay captains said they are willing to act as collection agents to guarantee that the Province will get the payments.
Village chiefs of Barangays Kalunasan, Camputhaw, Busay and Luz said they are happy that Capitol has allowed them to negotiate in behalf of their constituents.
They appealed to Capitol, however, to extend the payment period for lots covered by Provincial Ordinance 93-1 so that occupants can resume their payments and avoid eviction by the Provincial Government.
Help
“Sa akong paminaw, basin nangita ang Capitol og assurance nga ma-collect nila ilang kwarta through the barangay captains. Sa among mga meetings, uyon ra mi nga mutabang og collect kay amo man gihapon constituents ang mo-benefit ana (I think Capitol just wants to be sure payments will be collected through the barangay captains. We are willing to help in collecting the payments because it’s still our constituents who will benefit from it),” Busay Barangay Captain Eliodoro Sanchez told Sun.Star Cebu.
If Capitol agrees to give the occupants one last chance to pay for their properties provided the barangays guarantee the payment, the barangay officials said they might also request government housing agencies or urban poor nongovernment organizations to assume the occupants’ obligations.
Sanchez said this will be a win-win solution since it will allow the occupants to pay for their lots on installment basis and the Capitol will get the payments.
There are some 4,500 families occupying provincial lots in 11 barangays in the city, which the Province sold to the occupants in the early ’90s.
Of the 4,358 home-owners covered by Provincial Ordinance 93-1, only 1,440 occupants have reportedly paid their obligations in full.
Ordinance 93-1 authorized the disposal and sale of Province-owned properties to its actual occupants during the administration of former governor Vicente de la Serna in 1994. The payment period was set at five years.
Those who have not paid for their lots were sent notices of eviction after negotiations between the City Government and the Province for a land swapping agreement failed in 2006. The Capitol has been negotiating directly with the occupants since then.
Grateful
Luz Barangay Captain Nida Cabrera said they will just wait for whatever decision Capitol will make, but they are grateful its officials are now open to negotiating with the barangay officials.
“Sa una, kuyawan man gyud mi pero karon open na man sila... Muhangyo lang sad mi kay naa man guy sulti-sulti nga og madayon man gani nga i-extend, i-increase daw sa Capitol ang lot prices, dili lang unta na mahitabo,” she said. (LCR)
