Capitol warns illegal settlers from its lot

CEBU, Philippines - The Capitol has warned individuals who are planning to construct houses on province-owned lots in Upper Panabang, Barangay Apas, Cebu City as these would still be demolished right away.

“I am warning them. Kung naa pa sila’y huna-huna mag-construct didto, mas maayo dili lang sa unta samtang wa pa nagtugot ang probinsya kay mausik lang ilang kwarta. Ang pag-implement sa policy very, very strict jud,” said Loy Anthony Madriga, head of the Capitol’s Security Team.

Madrigal said they have already demolished at least 40 unfinished structures in the area the past few weeks.

The province owns the property, which is situated in the hilly part of Apas.

Madrigal said some residents from Sitio San Miguel, whose houses have been demolished last month, are allegedly planning to build structures in the property.

This has prompted the Capitol to visit the site regularly to prevent families from settling in.

Madrigal said that to avoid being detected, the illegal settlers would first build a skeleton house and wrap it with a tarpaulin.

Weeks after when the tarp is removed, a new house is found inside it.

Madrigal further warned that they will confiscate housing materials that they will find in the area during inspection.

He said there are already about 300 houses in this area, whose owners are considered “legit” occupants, considering the number of years they have been in the property.

“Ang uban dugay na, mao na’y mga gitawag nila nga ‘bona fide.’ Posible ibaligya sa ila ang yuta,” said Madrigal.

But there are also long-term settlers who may face legal sanctions for selling property rights to new dwellers, he said. He revealed that the other day, they witnessed one of these rights handed to a would-be settler of Upper Panabang.

“Daghan pud namaligya og rights. Gahapon naghatag og kasuwatan ang bag-ong settler nga napalit nila (ang yuta),” said Madrigal, saying that they will study any legal action on the matter.

“Di na nila pwede buhaton. Di gani pwede magparenta diha. Ang atong gibuhat: We are enforcing, identifying kinsa’y namaligya og rights sa properties then we forward that to the city legal office,” he said. — /NSA (FREEMAN)