Doña Pepang Cemetery: Rain stalls demolition

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City government started demolishing houses in front of the Roman Catholic Cemetery known as Doña Pepang Cemetery but only three of the 40 structures were removed owing to heavy rains.

“Ning-volunteer gyudsila og demolish sa ilang structures and nitabangrapod ta sa PROBE. Dunaymo-resist pero ato man gihapon na i-implement ang clearing order,” said Marigen Diano, supervisor of the city’s Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (PROBE) team.

PROBE has five days to clear the area in the event of a resistance from the residents.

The city government plans to convert the 9,282-square meter cemetery, situated along M.J. Cuenco Avenue, into a heritage park. The cemetery was previously owned by the Archdiocese of Cebu but was swapped with a city-owned lot in Barangay Pasil. The city government entered into an agreement with the Archdiocese of Cebu to convert the cemetery into a park.

Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor chief Collin Rosell said the city is prioritizing the nine illegal structures along the highway in M.J. Cuenco Avenue.

“For prioritization and plan of action, giuna ang structures nga naa sa dalan kilid sa highway and padung sa sulod sa cemetery. Isunod ang ubang structures diha,” he said.

Relocation

The affected families are accommodated at an open space in the neighboring Barangay Lorega-San Miguel but Rosell said those who will qualify for the city’s housing program will eventually be housed at a medium rise building.

As this develops, the Lorega-San Miguel Barangay Council issued a resolution requesting Mayor Michael Rama through DWUP to reconsider its plan to relocate the families there. The barangay council said there are still families in the barangay that are yet to be accommodated at the socialized housing site.

“It is unlikely appropriate to relocate these affected DonyaPepang Cemetery Families to this beloved barangay Lorega-San Miguel considering that there are still considerable number of families whose membership entirely belong to Acacia Informal Settlers Association (AISA) and likewise victims of March 18, 2014 fire, remained informally resettled in some pockets of land within the newly drawn socialized housing site awaiting to be formally relocated by DWUP and in so doing, the relocation of such DonyaPepang Cemetery families could bring mental discomfort, emotional distress, and possibly stir social unrest, not only to among those who have not been properly placed, but as well to a greater number of barangay Lorega-San Miguel residents,” the resolution reads.

Rosell said there are 68 families that were affected by the fire last year that were not given a lot for relocation. These families were reportedly renters and sharers and do not qualify under the socialized housing program of the city.

“Ang kanang sharers and renters sa Lorega, supposedly dili na sila ma-accommodate pero sa kadu-gay na nila dinha, maluoy man ta nila maong naa pud tay plano para nila and not just pasalig lang,” he said. — (FREEMAN)