Dizon: Provide relocation before demolition

CEBU City Councilor Alvin Dizon yesterday asked Mayor Michael Rama to provide relocation site or financial assistance to families displaced in the clearing of the Mahiga Creek.

Dizon said while the city has complied with the mandate of the Urban Development and Housing Authority (UDHA) to remove families from danger zones, the law also requires the identification of a relocation site for the affected families.

“A partial implementation of the law is no implementation at all,” Dizon said in the committee report he delivered during yesterday morning’s council session.

Occupants of sitio Holy Name, Sindulan, New Frontier, San Isidro and San Vicente in barangay Mabolo asked the city government to give them a resettlement site.

Their concern was referred to the committee on housing headed by Dizon.

In his committee report, Dizon asked Mayor Rama to “ensure that families affected by the clearing and dredging project are provided with adequate relocation or financial assistance if the former is not possible.”

Dizon said with the constant raining, he is worried for the safety of the affected residents especially the children.

He also asked the Local Housing Board to study the possibility of using the funds from the National Housing Authority to provide relocation site for the affected families.

Mayor Rama in a separate interview said the affected families have been forewarned of the Mahiga Creek clearing and concerns on their relocation have been referred to the Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP).

The city’s demolition team removed 17 structures along the Mahiga Creek in sitio San Isidro while 11 others have voluntarily demolished their structures.

Affected families have threatened to go to court to stop the demolition.

“It’s really up to the residents kung unsa ilang buhaton in reaction to the move of the mayor. The people have the right to take legal action. If they believe their rights are being violated, then they can always go to the court and question the action of any local government official,” Dizon said.

Eight houses were torn down yesterday and 119 houses have yet to be demolished by the members of the Squatters Prevention, Elimination and Encroachment Division (Speed).