CH, Tejero execs work on road restoration

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Hall's Division for the Welfare of Urban Poor and Tejero barangay officials to closely work with each other in order to finally implement the road restoration project in the community hit by fire two years ago.

In an executive session yesterday, both offices were made to explain why the project has stalled.

Barangay officials, represented by councilor Garry Lao, stressed that they were not properly consulted on the project and that they have been waiting for the project plan and design for them to help explain to affected constituents.

"We have no problem with the project. Ang amoa lang is we have been asking for the project design. Nothing was shown to us. Sa dili pa ma implement ang project, we need to see first the details and program of works for the road opening and restoration," Lao said.

Further, the barangay official stressed that the proposed 10-meter wide road restoration affects a number of residents and homes including him and barangay captain Jessielou Cadungog.

Lao said that there are 58 households affected over Alviola street near the health center while another 39 near the barangay Carreta boundary.

With this, Tejero barangay council earlier passed a resolution suggesting the seven-meter wide road instead of the city-initiated 10 meters.

Lao alleged that 39 households claimed to have received P10,000 supposedly for livelihood support from the Department of Social Welfare Services.

But their office accordingly learned later that it was a form of yielding to demolition of houses to make way for the road restoration.

Speaking on behalf of the city government, DWUP head, Atty. Collin Rosell, defended by saying that they are very much willing to finally implement the project even with the suggestion of the barangay officials of having a seven-meter wide road instead of 10 meters.

Rosell added that according to their records, the area is "mostly" public land as opposed to claims of barangay officials that it is privately-owned.

Moreover, the department head also reiterated that based on their records, the 10-meter road along Alviola Street all the way to the Carreta boundary exists, hence naming the project as road restoration and not opening.

The project followed a huge fire that hit Tejero last August 2011 and led to re-blocking of houses to which the barangay officials were satisfied about except for the issue on the road aimed wider to accommodate vehicles especially during emergencies such as recurrence of fire.—  (FREEMAN)