- Demolished residents fear being uprooted from livelihood, schools
RESIDENTS of Soliman Street, Kapitan Tomas Monteverde, Agdao District pleaded for resettlement and relocation after seeing their homes demolished on Thursday, April 11.
The demolition team of the City Engineer’s Office told TIMES they are set to demolish about 60 houses in the area.
Enrique Ferraren, Soleman Homeowners Association’s former president, said the demolition team should spare the houses of homeowners who have yet to receive their compensation.
Ferraren added they have received no project plan from the Department of Public Works and Highways, which did not present an authorized representative during their dialogue.
“Ang DPWH wala nagpakita og project plan, ipatan aw lang sa amo ang project para makabalo mi. Kami magpaguba mi, dili mi manukol, ang among gibarugan ang balaod,” he said.
He recalled some homeowners have settled with the DPWH with an amount ranging from P20,000 to P1.2 million depending on the house’s structure. He was also promised an amount of P600,000 by an appraiser named “Sherwin”
“Okay nami ana Sir kay makapalit na mi ana og relocation site, makatukod namig disenteng balay ana,” Ferarren shared that he approved with the amount offered.
During a dialogue with the City Planning and Development Office, the promised P600,000 shrunk to P150,000. However, he declined the offer but hasn’t received any updates yet.
Lenlen Ochigue, a renter of one of the houses to be demolished, felt she was rejected twice while loading their household items the night before the demolition.
Ochigue shared that their family previously resided in an area (still in Soliman St.) that was demolished in 2011, and transferred to their current home in 2016.
After the previous demolition, they were offered a relocation to Los Amigos, a government-owned 22-hectare land.
“Maglisod mig pangita og balay kay mangutana naay bata dili pwede, mangutana og pila mi kabook dili pud pwede (It’s difficult to find a new house because they usually ask how many we are and how many kids we have),” she shared the difficulty in finding a new apartment prior to the scheduled demolition.
Ochigue said the lot allotted for them in Los Amigos is still under construction and they can’t stay there given the distance of the place.
“Diri man gyud ang panginabuhian, lisod didto kung wala kay trabaho, ako nagabantay ko sa akong duha ka apo,” she said.
She shared they have requested the demolition team, that they will dismantle their house on their own to salvage some materials in hopes of reusing them in the future.
No relocation, No demolition
Ferarren recalled the words of Mayor Sebastian Duterte during the barangay’s founding anniversary on April 3 assuring the demolition would not push through.
However, two days later, a dialogue with government agencies on April 5 declared the demolition would be conducted.
In the video posted by Ferarren on Facebook, Duterte said there will be no demolition if there is no relocation for the residents in place.
Contrary to the statement of Duterte, the City Mayor’s office issued an Order of Demolition on Feb. 6 addressed to Daisy Mira, Arlene Malinao, Fructusa Abrenica, Nelson Abrenica, Esmeralda Lorenzo, Renario Romero, and the residents of Soliman St.
“In compliance with the Certificate of Compliance on Summary Demolition No. 01, Series of 2004, relative to your illegal structure located at Soliman St. Barangay Kapitan Tomas Monteverde, Agdao District, it is informed that the demolition of the said structures will take place on April 11, 2024, at 8:30 in the morning until the said order is fully implemented,” the order reads. It was received on Feb. 21.
Ferarren told TIMES in a phone interview on the morning of April 12, the demolition team stopped their operations in Block 2 and did not reach Block 3. Along with his neighbors, they are on standby for the demolition team as of press writing.
