Displaced Mananga residents given temporary site

CEBU, Philippines - Residents of Sitio Mananga 1 Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City who are affected by the repair work on the Mananga Bridge have been given a temporary relocation site at Barangay Mohon as the city is still working on the documents intended for the permanent site.

It was reported that last February, 15 houses were demolished in Sitio Mananga 1 due to the ongoing retrofitting work on the pillars of the Mananga Bridge, a project of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Head of Talisay Local Housing Board, Rosalie Autor, said Sitio Cainta in Barangay Pooc was identified as the permanent relocation site for the displaced residents, but processing of the documents would take at least six months.

Last week, residents were given a go signal to temporarily build their houses in Barangay Mohon.

Although Autor said she is not aware of the total area of the site in Barangay Mohon, she assured that the area is enough for them.

"Nagtapok na mi with the residents of Sitio Mananga, unya okay na sila, pwede na sila kabalhin didto sa area," she said.

The temporary relocation site is in Sitio Lower Barangay Mohon, where some 20 families are residing.

In an interview with the residents, they said they don’t have any problems with the government’s decision as long as it's only temporary.

"Okay ra, sugot ra ko kay temporary ra man, pero ang akong kabalak-an kung dili na muhawa, problema na namo," Alex Laspiñas, 50, who has been living in the area since 2006.

The permanent relocation site in Sitio Cainta, Barangay Pooc, has an area of 4,215 square meters which is more than enough to house the 15 families from Sitio Mananga.

It was reported that according to Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas, the site is intended to house residents from Mananga as well as the 38 families displaced from Barangay Lagtang near the public market. —/JBB (FREEMAN)