Some T. Padilla roads widened

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City government already started the initial work for the restoration of the 10-meter road easement in Barangay T. Padilla that was recently hit by a fire.

The houses of about 50 families destroyed by the fire will be affected by the restoration while 70 other structures left undamaged by the fire but that are encroaching along F. Villa and T. Villa streets will also be affected.

Councilor Alvin Dizon, chairman of the council’s committee on housing, said that he is sponsoring a resolution to be proposed this Friday which provides assistance in the form of housing materials to the owners of these 70 other structures that will be affected by the road widening.

After the city finishes the widening and asphalting of the 600-meter F. Villa and T. Villas streets, reblocking will be conducted according to the Subdivision Plan prepared by T. Padilla barangay captain Michael Ralota, who is an architect.

The plan divides the fire-stricken area in 86 slots of 25 to 50 square meters each.

The lots will be raffled to the fire victims who will sign a memorandum of agreement with the owners that they will pay their dues and will not engage in illegal activities such as drugs, wiretapping and other crimes.

Dizon said that during his meeting with the owners and affected residents, it has been agreed that the owners will be permitted to impose a hike in rent but the increase should follow the standard 10 percent increase per year mandated by the law.

This means that if a resident is paying about P2,500 for a 50-square meter lot, the owner can only increase the rate by only P250.

Earlier, the owners told Ralota that they want to increase the rent from P2,500 to P3,000 per month which is about 20 percent.

“So ang tag-iya, di makapasagad og increase sa renta. Ang mga residente, kinahanglan mobayad gyud sila because otherwise, they can be subject to eviction,” Dizon said.

About 10 percent of the occupants in the fire stricken area have failed to pay their rent for the last 10 years.

Dizon said that they will let the residents negotiate with the owners first on how they will settle their past dues before the city government intervenes.

The debts have already reached to P200,000 for some delinquent payers.

Meanwhile, the city government is willing to do more road widening especially in the urban barangays where roads are narrow, making it hard for rescue vehicles to pass during emergencies. (THE FREEMAN)