LA TRINIDAD, Benguet –The Baguio State University (BSU) Regents still mull over a part of its property to be used as relocation site, while setting a March deadline for the evacuees to vacate the temporary shelters in the area.
In a letter to Puguis Punong Barangay Evelyn Ramos, BSU president Rogelio Colting gave the evacuees until March to fully vacate the area.
Two families have already vacated the temporary camp as of Friday morning.
Colting in his letter said that homeless evacuees based on the list given by Ramos will be given a portion of the present site. “The tents of the victims who shall be allowed to extend (their stay) must be concentrated in a corner of the present site (and) shall not hamper the operation of our upcoming activities,” he said.
Mayor Artemio Galwan said “We will see to it that everybody is treated fairly on who will stay and who will be transferred.”
BSU is set to celebrate its 24th Charter Day Anniversary this January 12.
Colting added that evacuees not included in the list should vacate today, January 9 as the university prepares the area for its upcoming anniversary program.
Seventeen families will vacate the BSU grounds out. About 42 tents are erected in the site.
Colting said that the occupants who will be allowed to stay in the area should not expand their shelter boxes “in order to maintain uniformity and the good image of the vicinity.”
Evacuees are being encouraged to bunk in with relatives or friends rather than staying in the Tent City grounds, he said.
Permanent relocation is eyed at the Tawang area, which is also owned by BSU, to which Colting countered would take a Board of Regents decision to sell the lot.
The lot has been identified by the DENR as the best site for relocation based on safety standards.