ANGELES CITY — The city government here has started the mapping and tagging of residents of a contested land in Sitio Balubad, Barangay Anunas.
City councilors met with some of the affected tenants during a consultative meeting at the Sangguniang Panlungsod session hall on October 18.
Angeles City Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr., has instructed Councilor Arvin Suller to meet with the affected tenants of Sitio Balubad, Barangay Anunas.
Some 53 Anunas tenants, who attended the meeting, agreed on the said move of the city government to identify the legitimate tenants of the said area.
Present during the consultation meeting are Barangay Cuayan Captain Rufino Candelaria, and Barangay Anunas Captain Augusto Flores together with some of the tenants of about 500 houses affected by the scheduled house demolition and clearing of the property by the Clark Hills Development Corporation.
Lazatin said the city government seeks to expropriate the land and is now in the process of identifying the affected tenants.
The city council has approved two resolutions that authorizes Lazatin to initiate expropriation proceedings after the talks between the tenants and the Clarkhills management bogged down.
Clarkhills attempted to proceed with the demolition October 16 but the residents resisted and fight it out with the demolition team.
A truck of the demolition team was burned down in the ensuing confrontation.
“We do not want any of the Anunas residents to get hurt. There should be no social injustice,” said Lazatin who has vowed to fight for the rights of affected residents.
The residents were awarded Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) in 1998 during the time of Presidents Joseph Estrada and Fidel Ramos.