Mayor Michael “Mike” Rama, Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia and Councilor Edgardo Labella II had gone to the area early in the day to check the situation and ask the court sheriff to cancel the implementation of the demolition.
The homeowners also created a human barricade to prevent the demolition team, which was escorted by personnel of the Philippine National Police, from hammering their houses.
Special Sheriff Edilberto Suarin was supposed to serve and execute the writ of demolition of more than 100 houses located in the privately owned Lot No. 937 but did not push through with it due to the intervention of the city officials.
Suarin told reporters that only a temporary restraining order from the court could stop the demolition but that he would wait for the outcome of the meeting between the two parties.
On Oct. 11, 2022, the Regional Trial Court Branch 9 in Cebu City had issued a final notice to implement from Oct. 17 to Nov. 11, 2022, the writ of demolition issued in Civil Case CEB-19845 dated July 20, 2010 against the lot occupants.
Included in the demolition order was the Sitio San Miguel basketball court and stage, and the Señor San Miguel Chapel.
The notice came with the note that copies of the writ of demolition had already been served in previous final notices.
However, after the negotiations between Rama and the involved parties on Thursday, Suarin handed out another final notice of demolition scheduled for Oct. 27.
Suarin said if the residents failed to vacate their houses, the City Government would no longer intervene in the demolition.
Rama told SunStar Cebu that he would call another meeting with lot owner Mariano Godinez and members of the Cebu City Police Office to come up with a win-win solution on the issue.
“Dili ko mopirma og butang nga dili kompleto sa akong gusto ug ilang gusto,” said Rama. (I won’t sign anything that does not include what I want and what they want.)
The mayor did not divulge what requests or conditions he would offer the private owner of the lot and the residents.
However, Rama gave the assurance that the City Government would provide assistance to those who would be affected by the demolition.
Rama said he would check any possible lot that could be used as a temporary relocation site for the residents.
In a separate interview, Garcia said there were some legal requirements lacking for the demolition.
The private lot owner also failed to issue a notice to the City Hall about the demolition, which affects individuals who are constituents of the City Government.
“Mao na nga ang akoang gi hangyo sa tag-iya, sa sheriff. Hatagi intawn ni sila og higayon. Number one, maka istorya gyud sa tag-iya or ang nidaog sa kaso kunohay kay para naa silay peace of mind and perhaps makakita ta og solution sa problem,” said Garcia.
(That’s what I requested from the owner, the sheriff, to give them a chance. Number one, that they could speak with the owner or the one who won the case, so they will have peace of mind and perhaps we could find a solution to the problem.)
Last Oct. 6, Labella filed a resolution in the City Council for the City to act on the plea of residents who could lose their homes.
A demolition order against the residents of Lot 937 already came out in 2012, but this did not push through because of the intervention of Labella’s father, the late mayor Edgardo Labella, who was then a city councilor.
The elder Labella filed a motion for reconsideration on the ruling of Judge Soliver Peras of Regional Trial Court Branch 10 on April 9, 2012. The motion was granted.
The dispute involving Lot 937 started in 2010, but it dragged on for several years due to legal interventions made by the city government.
The officials of Archangels Residents Merger Inc. or Armi, the association of residents living in the disputed area, said the lot is owned by the government as it was bought by the City Government in 1959 as a settlement area for the military personnel who were assigned in Camp Lapulapu in Cebu City. (with CTL)