TENSION arose between officials and fire victims of Barangays Guizo and Mantuyong, Mandaue City after the two groups failed to agree on the site development plan for the affected 9.2-hectare area.
Several residents, victims of the fire last March 12, opposed the development plan for fear that they might be evicted from the property.
The Mandaue City Government started yesterday the first phase of the site development, which was to dump filling materials in preparation for the construction of roads. The area will also be reblocked.
The project aims to elevate the area as it is located near a river and gets easily flooded when it rains.
During the back-filling yesterday, members of a homeowners’ group expressed dismay, saying the government is not true to its promise not to remove them from the area.
Federation of Mandaue City Uban Poor Inc. (FEDMACUPI) president Norma Garbo and Rosalinda Rello, member of its board of directors, asked that the back-filling until the government promises in a memorandum that they will be given a relocation site, and that they be allowed to rebuild in the area after it is developed.
The two talked to Atty. John Eddu Ibañez of the City Legal Office inside the Guizo Barangay Hall.
MOA
“Mosugot mig reblocking, tambakan nila og filling materials kon naa tay MOA kanus-a mi makabalik o kon makabalik pa ba mi (They can reblock the area as long as there’s a MOA that we can go back there),” Jaime Baga, vice-president sa FEDMACUPI, said.
The group also complained against what they described as lack of coordination among city officials on what to do with the area.
Ibañez denied this.
“Sayop ilang gipang-istorya. Even before nagsugod atong kalamidad dinhi sa siyudad, way back March, nagsige na tag invite nila. Ang nahitabo, more than 20 notices (of invitation for dialogue) gibaliwala lang nila (They ignored all our invitations to a dialogue),” said Ibañez.
Ibañez said the City consulted the residents affected by the fire that burned down more than 500 houses.
Ibañez also wondered why the homeowners’ group couldn’t attend the consultations scheduled by the City, unlike other homeowners’ associations.
Ibañez said the Ombudsman asked the group’s president why they are blocking the City’s project.
Yesterday, the group also applied for a temporary restraining order through Atty. Erwin Heyrosa against the backfilling operation.
More than 40 officers from the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) and Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) personnel secured the backfilling operation that started at 9 a.m.
A firetruck was also on stand by near the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).
Ibañez said that after they learned that some residents were starting to rebuild their houses even when there’s no site development yet, they sent them “notices to vacate” and “notices to demolish.”
“According to the building code, the affected houses must be torn down because they are a threat to life since they might collapse anytime,” Ibañez said.
He said that after the reblocking, the affected residents can return to their properties.
More than 2,000 families are housed at the CICC after the fire.