BARELY four months after the first clearing operation, some families who used to occupy the Osmeña Shrine in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City rebuilt their structures on the property.
The development prompted the Prevention Restoration Order Beautification and Enhancement (Probe) to conduct another clearing operation in the area yesterday.
Probe started to dismantle some of the 300 illegal structures built inside the property following the 72-hour notice issued to the affected families last Oct. 4.
Probe Chief Abel Diloy said that Mayor Tomas Osmeña also issued a clearing order directing him to remove the structures.
“This is just a continuing procedure since they were already subject for demolition before. When I first came here, I told them to present their side to the City Legal Office if they’re questioning the move but they did not show up,” Diloy said in Cebuano.
He said there might have been lapses committed by the previous operation, allowing the residents to reconstruct their structures inside the shrine.
The first demolition inside the shrine was implemented last June as ordered by then acting Margarita “Margot” Osmeña, since the families don’t have the City Government’s permission to occupy the area.
She gave the order even if the residents claimed that her husband, Mayor Osmeña, was the one who allowed to construct houses there, reportedly as a campaign promise to them.
The mayor, however, denied it, saying he doesn’t even own the property and he has no authority to allow them to build their houses.
During the demolition yesterday, Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr. arrived in the area and asked the clearing team to stop the operation because they’re not authorized to do it.
Alcover, who supported the claim of the residents, said the demolition is illegal since the City no longer owns the property.
Ramonito del Campo, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Association of People’s Initiatives, said the City is no longer the owner of the property because it has been donated to the Christian Evangelical Coalition of Cebu, an interfaith group.
Del Campo said they continue to occupy the property hoping that the National Government will grant them the ownership of the lot.
The demolition was temporarily halted at noon yesterday but Diloy said they will continue the operation until all the illegal structures are removed.
When Probe first demolished the structures inside the shrine, the residents filed a complaint for damages and asked for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and injunction against the City Government.
The court, however, did not issue any order stopping the clearing works.
