Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs officials and members led by Jessie Legaspi (second from right, standing) outside a padlocked office of a building for organized elders on Tuesday. (photo by lito rulona)
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By JOEY NACALABAN
Correspondent .

CITY administrator Teodoro Sabugaa on Tuesday said city hall is preparing to file an ejectment case against an ex-councilor who has allegedly claimed ownership of a building constructed for the elderly in Barangay 40.

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Sabugaa said the City Legal Office was tasked to prepare the case.

This came after officials and members of the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (Osca) complained that former councilor Alfonso Goking padlocked the office of Osca head Jessie Legaspi, preventing her from doing her work.

Legaspi said the former councilor has been claiming ownership of the building. The ex-councilor led the Cagayan de Oro Federation of Senior Citizens Association (Cafesca) for nearly two decades until he lost in an election to Eugenio Atrigenio. The latter served for three years but he was unable to hold office in the disputed building because Goking allegedly barred him.

In 2016, Goking ran again but lost to Legaspi, said Osca officials.

Osca has 133 chapters throughout the city with a combined membership of over 100,000 members, 52,000 of whom are card-bearing.

When Moreno became mayor, they said Cafesca was replaced by Oro Federation of Senior Citizens’ Association (Oro Fesca) with Leonardo Bantilan as president.

Goking, according to Bantilan, did not recognize Oro Fesca and continued to lead Cafesca. The ex-councilor also holds office in the same building.

“Gaka apektohan ang among mga gimbuhaton diri hilabi na sa pagpanghatag sa payout sa mga kaubang senior citizen  kay ang mga sakop niya naa mas tunga gasayaw-sayaw,” said Bantilan.

Legaspi’s group has sent a letter to Mayor Oscar Moreno, asking for city hall’s intervention.

Osca officials asserted that the group’s building, standing on a 429-square meter property in Barangay 40, belongs to the city government. They cited a 1996 memorandum of agreement among the Department of Social Welfare and Development, city government, and the senior citizens’ association that supposedly stipulates that the lot and building are city hall-owned.

According to Sabugaa, city hall kept mum at first because it wanted the senior citizens to settle their differences among themselves.

“Pero nahibaw-an ko nalang nga gaangkonon naman ang maong building. Gipang-padlock naman ang opisina ug gapang hinadlokon niya ang tawo didto sulod. Na di nani maayo gamitan ta na nig kusog pinaagi sa balaod,” Sabugaa said.

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