32 ejected families in Iloilo City relocated

By Perla Lena

ORDERED TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES. Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office head Atty. Edmundo Buensuceso on Friday (September 28, 2018) meets with 32 families ordered ejected from Barangay Jereos La Paz. (Photo by Perla Lena)

ILOILO CITY -- The city government came to the aid of 32 families who were ordered ejected from a private-owned lot in Barangay Jereos, La Paz district.

Lawyer Edmundo Buensuceso, head of the Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office, said Friday the families were alarmed by the release of a demolition order following an ejectment case filed against them.

Buensuceso said the families will be accommodated on a six-hectare government-procured lot in Barangay Lanit in Jaro district. They will only be allowed to establish a temporary shelter because the site has yet to be developed before permanent structures are built.

“At least, they have a lot where they could not be ejected anytime,” he said.

The families received from the city government materials they need for sanitation, such as water drums, pipes and pumps. They are expected to start moving to the new site anytime next week.

“No actual demolition will take place because they will be having this relocation site,” he added.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III said the provision of the relocation site to affected individuals and groups will continue as part of the city government’s “Pag-ulikid” (care) program.

The 32 families are the first batch to be accommodated at the Lanit relocation site since Espinosa assumed as mayor in October last year.

He added that aside from the relocation site, the city government, through “Pag-ulikid”, has turned over two of 11 committed patrol cars to the Iloilo City Police Office.

They are expecting additional vehicles to be given to the Philippine Coast Guard and other departments of the city to boost the delivery of services. (PNA)