ILOILO City – Relocation lots of the city government for informal settlers and those displaced by government projects are allocated on a first come, first served basis, stressed City Administrator Hernando Galvez.
Galvez, the concurrent chief of the Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office (ICUPAO), stressed this in reaction to a proposed resolution of Councilor Jay Treñas calling on the ICUPAO to relocate 29 families facing eviction in Barangay Jereos, La Paz district.
Treñas is the chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s committee on urban poor affairs and minority groups.
“First come, first served basis ina, indi nga kun sin-o lang da ang kilala naton. Pasensyahanay lang ta,” said Galvez.
The SP deferred taking action on Treñas’ proposed resolution.
“Indi kita dapat mangin selective,” said Councilor Plaridel Nava, noting that hundreds of displaced families from two to three years back were still waiting for their relocation and these should be prioritized by ICUPAO.
According to Galvez, 70 families displaced way back in 2010 yet are being prioritized by ICUPAO.
They are currently temporarily staying at transient houses provided by the city government in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro district, he said.
The city administrator also clarified that under the law, only the poor and homeless are qualified for government relocation sites.
Galvez acknowledged that ICUPAO has a lot to do to straighten its records. For one, it has no proper documentation of beneficiaries.
Nava questioned the proposed resolution of Treñas. “What is so special with these (29) households,” he asked.
The 29 households were the subject of a writ of demolition in Civil Case No. C-V-5 58-14 involving a privately-owned lot of Barangay Jereos, La Paz.
Passing an SP resolution every time there are families facing court-ordered eviction would destroy the bureaucratic processes at ICUPAO, according to Nava./PN
