Lagoon residents now face eviction

Some 30 families who are living in a flooded area in sitio Mangga, barangay Mambaling are now facing eviction.

Worse, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that the city government will not provide any assistance to the affected residents because they are considered illegal settlers in the area.

The mayor yesterday phoned businessman Vincent Go, the owner of the 7,000-square meter lot, to inquire what he has been doing to address the flooding problem.

During their telephone conversation, Go told Osmeña that he already had the area checked by an engineer and it was learned that it is not feasible to put up a drainage there because the area is lower than the main drainage and it is impossible to connect them.

The property owner also explained that before the drainage could be put up, there is need to fill up the area to make it level with the existing drainage system. However, they could not dump filling materials there because of the squatters living there.

“He has enough filling material to fill it up, but he can’t fill it up because of the squatters there. So he is filing a case to keep them out,” Osmeña told reporters after his conversation with Go.

Concerned of the possible health risks that might affect the residents, especially children, the mayor has earlier personally asked Go to put up a drainage as a long-term solution to the flooding in the area.

While waiting for the property owner’s decision, Osmeña has ordered the city engineer’s office to pump out the water to prevent it from becoming breeding site of mosquitoes.

The residents have been complaining about the lagoon, blaming the property owner because it was the reclamation project that allegedly caused the problem.

The barangay officials brought up the problem to the City Hall, prompting Osmeña to ask Go to do something about it.

But yesterday, Osmeña learned that the residents have illegally put up their shanties there after they were evicted from the nearby lot owned by Augusto Go.

“We can’t force him to accommodate the squatters in his property. I don’t think it’s fair for me to make him spend to maintain this area for the benefit of the squatters,” the mayor told a news conference.

Osmeña also said the city may also pull out the stand by water pump that the engineering office had put there to pump out the water. If residents have problem on mosquitoes and dengue what they need to do is pour used oil on the stagnant water, he added.

In a separate interview, Mambaling barangay captain Rodolfo Estella confirmed that the residents are just squatting in the property of Vincent Go.

He said he would just abide with whatever decision the city government will take because even the barangay could not provide relocation site for them.

“We will just assist the city whatever it decides to do to solve the problem. Di ko kaako nga tagaan og relocation site ang mga tawo kay ang city ra g’yud makahatag ana,” Estella said. - Wenna A. Berondo/LPM