Young Halts Clearing Operation in Ermita

The reblocking of the burnt area in Sitio Bato, Barangay Ermita will be delayed again after Cebu City Acting Mayor Joy Augustus Young ordered to stop the clearing operation conducted in the area without proper consultation.

Young, presently the acting city chief executive officer while Mayor Michael Rama is on-vacation leave for 22 days since last Sunday, has ordered to stop the clearing operation.

He directed the Cebu City Hall officials, particularly City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete and chief clearing officer Raquel Arce, to first conduct consultations with the families that will be affected of the clearing.

“As acting mayor of the City of Cebu, I am directing you not to conduct or implement any clearing operation in the burnt area in Barangay Ermita until further notice,” the memorandum signed by Young reads.

Young said he wants that a consultation should be conducted among the 317 members of the Sitio Bato (Ermita) Homeowners’ Association.

While Young’s record showed there are 317 members of the association but Poblete said there were only about 200.

According to Young the consultation earlier conducted by the city officials at the Ermita Barangay Hall immediately after the fire was not attended by the majority of the fire victims because the barangay hall can only accommodate a few people.

Young said only those members who are supportive of Team Rama were allowed to attend in the consultation while those allied with Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) were kept out. But Poblete said the consultations conducted by them on April 20, 22 and 26 were well-attended, and the reblocking proposal was agreeable to most of the fire victims.

Young wants a thorough consultation to be conducted at a bigger venue on Monday so that 317 members can attend.

According to Young the reason for the consultation is that the homeowners’ association has already applied for a loan with the Housing and Urban Development and Coordinating Council (HUDCC) through the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor.