By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The demolition of an informal settlement near a riverbank beside the San Antonio Abad Parish Church, located along Lacson Extension in Barangay Taculing, Bacolod City, resumes today after earlier being halted by Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, who was serving as acting mayor at the time.

City Legal Officer, Atty. Joselito Bayatan, confirmed the move yesterday after the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) resolution requesting the postponement, drafted after affected families appeared before the local legislative body, lapsed.

Despite their pleas for more time, the informal settlers have been receiving notices to vacate since 2013, with the area being tagged a “danger zone” due to frequent flooding and expected to be part of a road widening project.

“The houses are built on a stiff cliff and [are] prone to floods, earthquakes, and heavy rains that may result in a landslide,” Bayatan noted.

He added, the informal settlers are “highly vulnerable and there is no reason they should be there.”

When the demolition commenced last week, one particular informal settler, a certain Mercidita Arroyo, said she is expecting financial assistance from the city government./DGB, WDJ