■ CITY COUNCIL TURNS DOWN PROPOSAL TO EXEMPT 93-1 OCCUPANTS FROM PENALTIES

In a 10-8 vote, the Cebu City Council disapproved a move to give beneficiaries of the 93-1 lots the option to pay their principal balance without penalty. The council also rejected a separate move recommending to abolish 93-1 homeowners associations and let the City’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) handle the beneficiaries individually instead. It also disapproved a call for the Provincial Government to use the properties the City Government gave them for projects with socio-economic impact. In a privilege speech during the regular session last Aug. 28, opposition Councilor Jose Daluz III said the measures he proposed might help resolve the 30-year issue concerning beneficiaries of the 93-1 land swap deal. ‘We have to learn a lesson from SIR (slum improvement resettlement). It has been there since 1970, but it’s not finished until now. If we want to resolve that program, we have to give them the price that is proper for them. They’ve suffered a lot,” he said. Daluz’s main motion was to give the beneficiary an option to pay the principal balance without any penalty and to let them pay P500 to P800 per square meter. His other suggestion was to let DWUP deal with the beneficiaries individually to avoid politicking, and to urge Capitol to use the lots it got from the City to operate terminals, hospitals or government offices and not just for commercial purposes. But the majority bloc voted against the measures. Councilor Eugenio Gabuya said it would be better to wait for DWUP’s report. He added that the City can’t dictate the Province on how to use the lots since the deed of donation and acceptance has been signed already.