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[av_heading heading=’694 families live along city creeks’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MERIANNE GRACE EREÑETA
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ILOILO City – In this highly urbanized city, 694 families live along creeks, and the local government has no relocation site for them.
The executive director of the Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office (ICUPAO) admitted they did not expect the number to be this big.
“Wala na-preparahan sang gobyerno lokal ang problema sa informal settlers,” said Wilfredo Jurilla.
A total of 118 informal settler families live along the 3-meter easement of the Dungon Creek alone, ICUPAO data showed.
Among them, 37 were from Barangay Calubihan, Jaro; seven from Barangay Dungon A; 30 from Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao; nine from Barangay Santa Rosa, Mandurriao; 10 from Barangay Cuartero, Jaro; and 25 from Barangay Bolilao, Mandurriao.
Along Mansaya Creek, which crosses four La Paz barangays, were 340 families — 190 in Mansaya, 62 in Lapuz Norte, 76 in Don Esteban, and 12 in Sinikway.
Rep. Jerry Treñas invited Jurilla to a conference with the Department of Public Works and Highways Region 6 regarding the flood that hit the metro during the onslaught of tropical storm “Marce” on Nov. 25.
With several streets flooded, many public utility jeepney drivers headed home early, stranding commuters waiting for rides for several hours.
Engr. Rodney Gustilo of the Iloilo City District Engineer’s Office blamed the informal settlers along waterways, among others, for the flood. He said they can dredge the creeks when the informal settlers are removed.
Along Budburan Creek lived 148 families – 25 from Barangay Aguinaldo, 21 from Barangay Railway and 61 from Barangay San Nicolas, all in La Paz; and 39 from Barangay Alalasan, Lapuz.
Ten families also live along Rizal Creek and 78 along the Iloilo River. They were from Barangay North San Jose, Molo.
Jurilla warned the number of informal settler families will increase.
Many families are currently building their houses along creeks but the city government’s hands are tied. It cannot remove the informal settlers and demolish their houses unless it provides a relocation site, said Jurilla.
The city government is considering a 6.3-hectare in Barangay Lanit, Jaro as relocation site, but this has yet to materialize.
For now, city hall will have to rely on barangay captains, who have the power to bar informal settlers from putting up structures along waterways, Jurilla said.
In a previous interview, Jurilla said Department of the Interior and Local Government Memorandum Circular No. 2011-17 tasks village chiefs to:
* adopt measures to effectively curtail the proliferation and further increase in the number of informal settlers and mendicants in his or her locality; and
* find ways to relocate existing informal settlers to site(s) with due regard to general welfare and well-being./PN
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