Last December 2017, residents of Barangay Salud Mitra, Baguio city, received a demolition order from the City Government.
A total of 10 houses will be demolished on complaint of the Department of Education-Cordillera that the structures in the school compound of Mabini Elementary School are squatters. Four classrooms are to be put up on the spot to be vacated.
One of the affected families is Arlene Berona who said that their house was built there in 1968. She added that since 1970, they were already paying real property taxes to the city government. “I was born and raised here and I will lose my house just like that. They asked us to leave when in fact we were here first before the school was even constructed.”
Ernesto, one of the residents also said the government should at least give the lot to them because this was given to them by their parents and now they plan to demolish their house when he has no work.
According to Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan, the relocation site for the residents who will be affected by the demolition is in Irisan but the residents have yet to see it. This is supposed to be in line with the “NO RELOCATION NO DEMOLITION” policy of the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, where demolition projects will not push through unless there is a relocation site for the affected families. “They thought that the lot is not part of the school reservation. We do not have a problem if they have titles to the lot. But then again they do not have any title to present.”
One unit in the relocation site costs P1.3 million that can be paid for 25 years.
The demolition will be on April 5 to 6, 2018. But the residents are still hoping that the lot will be given to them.** Angel Bolla, UB Intern