ABOUT 300 families in Villagonzalo I, Barangay Tejero will become property owners, Cebu City Hall announced, while close to 40 families in Lahing-Lahing, Barangay Mabolo fear they will lose their homes in clearing operations.
The City Assessor’s Office said the 250 lot parcels in Villagonzalo are expected to receive land titles before Christmas this year, in compliance with Republic Act (RA) 10023.
Under the law, those who have lived in their lots for 10 years can apply for a free patent to process a land title.
Before the passage of the law, which then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed last year, it usually took 30 years before a resident can apply for a free patent.
Villagonzalo I was prioritized because it already has an approved subdivision plan, said Leizl Gonzaga of the assessor’s office.
Free patents can be issued to lands that have an area of 200 square meters, maximum.
But Gonzaga said that residents of Villagonzalo live in areas far smaller than the required maximum. Some only have 20 square meters to call home.
After Barangay Tejero, the Land Management Office, which was created by Rama to process free patents, identified areas in Barangays San Roque and Duljo Fatima for application of free patents.
“This is advantageous to the City Government because these (titled lots) will be accounted as taxable (properties),” said Gonzaga.
Majority of the City’s urban poor squat on lands but don’t pay taxes.
These properties would also spur land marketing because the owners of titled lots can already sell their properties.
Gonzaga clarified that they will follow all laws in implementing RA 10023, which means that those within the three-meter easement of creeks are not going to be processed for titling.
In a separate development, Sitio Lahing-Lahing wants 60 more days to pack up before Cebu City Hall clears the three-meter easement for dredging.
Mayor Michael Rama said he would leave it the departments involved to assess if an extension is in order.
“The most important thing for us is on the engineering side, which is the dredging. I want to know where they are now on the dredging,” said Rama in his regular press conference yesterday.
The offices he was referring to are the Squatters Prevention, Elimination and Encroaching Division (Speed), Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) and the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (LDRRMC).
About 39 illegal structures have been identified in Lahing-Lahing, where Rama said water during heavy rains can rise as high as eight feet.
“The important thing is it is very clear there is noticeable uncertainty in the weather,” he said.
Rama said he asked Speed Chief Noel Artes to comment on the extension being sought.
Residents of Sitio Lahing-Lahing fear the program City Hall has adopted to clear the three-meter easement on creeks, with dredging operations, because it will leave them homeless.
They want an extension so they can find alternative places to live.
The clearing, which started in the three-meter easement of Mahiga Creek, caused the displacement of about 30 families of Sitio San Isidro II, Mabolo.
The displaced informal settlers filed cases against Rama, Artes, LDRRMC Executive Director Alvin Santillana and Harold Alcontin, also of LDRRMC, for leaving them without relocation.
The settlers are temporarily housed in tents at Block 27, North Reclamation Area.
