Hipodromo fire victims can rebuild homes — CH
One hundred and twenty-one home owners of Sitio Cahipa,BarangayHipodromo,CebuCityareallowedtorebuild their houses that were burned to ashes in a fire last week.
This was the instruction of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, said Division for the Welfare of Urban Poor (DWUP) head Genevieve Alcoseba.
The fire-stricken area includes the National Housing Authority (NHA) property, a private property, an Ortega property, and an abandoned road.
“Ang instruction is to clear and restore the abandoned road. For those structure owners nga wala sa NHA ug Ortega, i-apil og himutang but we have to pave way for the big road gyud,” Alcoseba said.
She said the Ortega property, which is over 2,000 square meters, was already expropriated by the city government. Over 100 home owners are occupying the lot. City’s Department of Social Welfare and Services chief Lea Japson said the final and validated number of houses razed by fire was 121 houses, while the displaced families were 287 or 1,250 individuals.
Alcoseba said her office is still finishing the community mapping and the technical description of the affected properties.
She clarified though that the fire victims could no longer reconstruct on where their old houses stood.
She said the city will establish the six-meter abandoned road and the re-blocking scheme to ensure the sitio is passable in times of emergencies.
Alcoseba said each household will get the same lot area allocation, adding that there will be consultations with the affected families on this matter.
She said the mayor eyes to construct a public market on the Ortega property.
“We have yet to meet ni mayor Tom for the final plan kay wala pa mi kahibaw sa terms sa pagpabalik og construct sa mga fire victims sa lugar,” she said.
Alcoseba said the homeowners association in Barangay Hipodromo already talked to Executive Assistant Francisco Fernandez about the city’s plan for the property. —
Marvette A. Demecillo/KBQ
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