Photo courtesy of Sunstar Cebu
By Junex Doronio
CEBU CITY — Stressing their support for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s order to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DSHUD) to build at least a million housing units annually, urban poor groups and civic organizations in Cebu called on the government to halt the “unabated demolition without proper relocation.”
On Monday, September 11, urban poor leaders of Sanlakas, Akbayan, Partido Laban ng Masa (PLM), and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), among other groups, trooped to the DSHUD-Region 7 office in Lopez Jaena Street in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City to ask the government agency to reconsider the plan to build condominiums which, they said, the ordinary wage-earners cannot afford.
“They have housing to start with, but the cost to build vertical 15 to 20 stories is expensive. Only those with regular income can subsidize or become this project’s beneficiaries. They have housing to start with, but the cost to build vertical 15 to 20 stories is expensive. Only those with regular income can subsidize or become this project’s beneficiaries,” Sanlakas Cebu Secretary-General Teody Navea said.
He added that while they support the PBBM administration’s effort for urban poor housing, it “must be affordable for even the poorest of the poor sectors.”
“The condominium is middle class. Who is poor enough to pay for an elevator? Who is poor enough to pay for your security guard? Aside from paying for the units, you pay for the maintenance,” Navea added.
The urban poor leaders also called on the government to ensure that families living within the river’s three-meter easement zone who will be affected by the clearing operations be given temporary shelters and or rental subsidies in order to meet their daily needs.
They also lambasted the “continuing demolition of houses of informal settlers without providing secure relocation sites.”
DSHUD-7 officials, however, declined to comment on the issues raised by Navea and company. (ai/mnm)
