At least 2,000 structures in Cebu City: Easement violators

CEBU, Philippines — At least 2,000 structures in Cebu City’s seven major rivers were already tagged by the city government for violation of the three-meter easement rule.

Lawyer Gerry Carillo, chairman of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC), disclosed that, as of yesterday, this is also the same number of the notices issued by the city for the same purpose.

“Ongoing man ta, so far, naa sa mga dos mil (2,000). Hangtod karon nagsige pa ta og tagging, nagsige pa ta og (tag) kinsa ang nasulod sa 3-meter easement,” said Carillo.

“Daghan gyud. Sa usa ka river, naa tay usa ka libo (1,000), unya pito man ni ka river,” he said.

The city government started tagging and issuing notices on Wednesday, August 24, 2022 to structures within the three-meter easement in the city’s seven major rivers, with seven different teams conducting the tagging operations.

Carillo said that so far, there is a smooth flow on the ongoing operations and there was no reported resistance from structure owners.

“So far, okay ra man sad. Wa ma’y opposition kaayo kay they were expecting it kay kanunay man na’ng gibalik-balik sa atong Mayor nga i-recover sa dakbayan sa Syudad sa Sugbo ang three meters. Actually, they’re kind of expecting it tungod sad sa media dissemination,” he said.

He added that the recovery of the three-meter easement of the city’s rivers and waterways is for the safety also of its occupants.

“Besides, kini siya para man ni sa ilang kaayuhan nga pananglitan dunay katalagman, bagyo or kusog nga unos, dili na sila mameligro. This is actually for their safety nga mao ning atong gibuhat kining maong activity,” he said.

This move is also part of the city government’s response to Mayor Michael Rama’s Executive Order No. 2, series of 2022, or the “Gubat sa Baha.”

While there is no resistance yet during the tagging operations, Carillo said that they are expecting a different scenario when the clearing operations will already be undertaken by the city government.

“Makasinati gyud tag opposition niana, but after the tagging and pag-identify, we will be having a consultation diin ipatawag sila (structure owners) unya magpulong-pulong ta. Pahibaw-on nato sila sa tinguha sa atong dakbayan,” said Carillo.

After the tagging and issuing of notices, the barangay officials will have to organize public hearings and consultations with the affected individuals.

Carillo reminded the structure owners that the city government is serious in the clearing of the structures within the three-meter easement of the rivers, which is also among the directives of Rama who is aiming to transform Cebu City into a Singapore-like city.

“Ang atoa lang reminders nga kana, ginadili man gyud na. Time and time again, gipahibawo nato nila nga dili gyud na angay nga magtukod within the three-meter easement, so basically kahibawo sila sa violation and they have to voluntarily demolish it. Otherwise, ang dakbayan sa Syudad sa Sugbo maoy mo-conduct og clearing operations which we will do after seven days,” he said.- JMD (FREEMAN)