A 63-YEAR-OLD woman has sued a Cebu City Hall official for ordering the demolition of her house in Barangay Camputhaw, Cebu City.
Petitioner Dinah Mabini filed a civil complaint for injunction before the Regional Trial Court against Raquel Arce, head of the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification Enhancement (Probe) office.
Mabini, through her lawyer Dominador Cafe, said if her house is demolished, she would end up in the street because she has nowhere else to go.
Arce said she will continue the clearing of Mabini’s house next week if the court fails to issue an injunction or temporary restraining order (TRO) against the demolition.
“If there is no injunction, TRO or even a hold order from Mayor Michael Rama who signed the clearing order, we will push through with the demolition,” she said.
Arce said she is only doing her job because the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council already made a recommendation to clear the house because it is “hazardous.”
Caved in
A portion of the house has caved in because of a nearby construction, posing risks to the family, Arce said.
“Besides, she is not the owner of the lot. The matter has been long overdue but we did not act on it right away because there was no clearing yet,” she said.
“The honorable court should come to the aid of this lowly widow who is being oppressed by very influential individuals,” the petition read.
Mabini’s two-storey house sits on Lot 911-B-C-2-B on Molave St..
In August 2012, Robinsons Land, through its contractor Art Builders, asked Mabini to allow them to encroach three meters beyond her fence for the digging for the foundation of the condominium being constructed beside the petitioner’s house.
Cracks
In December 2012, the front portion of the construction collapsed after a landslide. Cracks on the house began to show.
The contractor later convinced the petitioner and her neighbors to move to a safer place while the laying of foundation is in progress.
The affected residents were transferred to a nearby apartment, where they stayed from April 2013 until Nov. 4, 2014.
Art Builders also signed an agreement with Mabini, agreeing to pay her about P30,000 per month as compensation for lost income from her boarding house.
It is also provided in the agreement that Art Builders will demolish the house and restore it at the contractor’s expense.
In June 2014, Art Builders’ contract with Robinsons Land was terminated and Dakay Construction took over the project.
In June 2014, Dakay stopped paying P30,000 for rental of the petitioner’s apartment.
Mabini was forced to return to her house.