City hall asks court for more time to relocate slum dwellers

By GERALD LEIGH LAQUINON
and LITO RULONA
Correspondents

CITY hall has asked a court for more time to relocate over 100 families that would be displaced if a scheduled demolition in Barangay 31 pushes through next week.

The area is a slum known as Sto. Niño near Limketkai center and Cogon market.

City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) chief Teddy Sabuga-a said the local government is appealing on behalf of many families that would be adversely affected by an order to serve a writ of demolition on Monday to residents of a property of De Oro Bayanihan.

Sabuga-a said city hall would follow due process, and ask the court for some consideration if only to avoid a possible commotion.

On Monday, Councilor Leon Gan authored a city council resolution to ask the court for an extension.

The city council has passed the resolution seeking a suspension of the implementation of the demolition order. It was addressed to Judge Eleuteria Algodon of Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branch 2.

Gan, chairman of the city council’s committee on urban and rural poor, said he hoped Algodon would allow the city government to have more time so it could provide the families a suitable relocation area.

He said the scheduled June 6 demolition would be untimely because of the opening of classes, pointing out that children would be affected.

“Ig-agaw ko man ang tag-iya sa yuta apan ani-a ako sa apektado nga pamilya mibarog,” said Gan.

Councilor Ramon Tabor said President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has promised to fully implement RA 7279 “that there should be no demolition if there is no relocation.”

“That is provided for in RA 7279, and I am very happy that President-elect Duterte has announced that he will not allow demolition if there is no relocation provided by the lot owner or the city government itself,” Tabor said.

Tabor said the law mandates local governments to ensure the relocation of people affected by demolitions.