Families tear down houses, give way to CH reblocking
Unlike the other day, the 33 house owners in Barangay Mantuyong, Mandaue City voluntarily dismantled their houses with the assistance of the demolition team from the City Government yesterday morning.
This, after the court denied the temporary restraining order (TRO) that the families asked for against the City and the Federation of Mandaue Community of Urban Poor, said City Legal Office’s assistant lawyer James Allan Sayson.
“The judge refused the issuance of a TRO because there was no basis. But out of compassion, the judge asked the City to give the residents 10 days to voluntarily demolish their structures,” he said.
In an order issued by Judge Estela Alma Singco of the Regional Trial Court 7 Branch 12 in Cebu City, it was agreed that both parties will have 30 days to submit their compromise agreement.
The families had agreed to temporarily transfer to the Cebu International Convention Center grounds while the City reblocks the property that they stayed on and the nearby area that was razed by fire.
Sayson together with City Legal Officer Omar Redula told the court that the City will send personnel from the Housing and Urban Development Office to assist the families in dismantling their structures.
This way, Sayson said the families can still use the materials when they go back to the area or transfer to the relocation site in Lapu-Lapu City.
Of the 33 households, though, only 32 are qualified to return to their property or transfer to the relocation site. One house owner was disqualified for selling their home lot.
Although the 33 families were not victims of the fire in Mantuyong in March last year, they will still be included in the drawing of lots along with the fire survivors.
As agreed during their meeting with the house owners last Tuesday, Sayson said the City asssured the residents that they can still go back to Mantuyong or be given space in the relocation site.
As of yesterday, around 30 households signed the certification and vowed not to obstruct the City’s clearing operation. /