Ermita clearing must move now – Rama
CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Michael Rama ordered Cebu City Hall officials not to hesitate to implement the full-force of the law against anybody who will try to stop the clearing and re-blocking of Sitio Bato, Barangay Ermita.
The mayor instructed Raquel Arce, head of the City Hall clearing personnel tasked to clear Sitio Bato that was hit by fire last April 20, to implement immediate the re-blocking so the fire victims can already start rebuilding their houses.
But Arce went to the Office of the Mayor shortly before noon yesterday saying some people again blocked the access road leading to the interior part of the sitio, jeopardizing the clearing operation.
“Hinay g’yud kaayo ang clearing operation kay anaa man sila nagsamok-samok. Ang ubang mga tawo wala ‘sab mamahawa sa ilang gipangtukod nga barung-barong,” Arce told The Freeman. (Our operation has been made slow by people blocking the road, others refuse to leave their makeshift tents.)
But Rama said the people who are blocking the way should not be allowed to continue their illegal activities.
“Kon magbabag sila sa karsada, wala nay kinahanglan pa nga mokuha’g court order ana kay maisip na sila nga nuisance kay gibabagan nila ang agianan, kuhaon g’yud na sila sila,” the mayor said. (There’s no need for a court order to make them leave, if they are blocking the road, they are considered nuisance.)
The mayor also said what were left of the structures gutted by the fire shall be demolished so as not to give risk to the public.
The City Hall technical personnel already made a draft of how Sitio Bato will be re-blocked - by dividing the area into several lots of maybe at least 16 meters for every lot.
“Daku na kaayo na nga lugar nga katukoran og balay ang four-by-four meters ang gidak-on,” said City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete. But he ordered the technical personnel to make some more adjustments.
Since there are close to 200 houses that were razed by the fire, the city will re-block the area equivalent to the number of houses that were burned.