Man claims part of road as his, sets up barricade

CEBU, Philippines - A claimant to a portion of an alleged private property that serves as a stretch of road in barangay Cabangcalan in Mandaue City barricaded the way by piling sand and pieces of wood and, as a consequence, stopped the flow of vehicular traffic Wednesday.

The Pilit Cabangcalan road serves as an alternate road for private owned vehicles that try to avoid traffic when going to Cebu City and back.

Traffic flow went back to normal Thursday after a team from the city led by assistant city legal officer Jamaal Calipayan persuaded the claimant to lift the obstruction. The claimant has alleged that the title to a portion of the road is in his name.

According to city legal officer Giovanni Tianero, the claimant blocked the road because he was worried that the city won't pay him for the use of his property.

However, Tianero said the claimant could not block the road as it has been in use since time immemorial.

But since the claimant has tolerated the use of road for a quite a long time now, the claimant can only be paid for just compensation, which the city will determine when the road was first used, its value, and the corresponding interest. 

He said the claimant has nothing to worry about since the city is willing to negotiate and appraise his property. (FREEMAN)