DOJ opinion on titled lots 'unchanged'

ALMOST a year after typhoon Yolanda hit the Visayas, the National Government has yet to decide what to do with proposed resettlement sites that are not covered by titles.

Secretary Panfilo Lacson, head of the Office of Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR), said his office asked other government agencies to consider areas that are covered only by tax declarations as relocation sites for Yolanda survivors.

“Sabi namin baka pwedeng maski tax dec ay mai-declare na na suitable site for development pero matigas yung noo ni Ms. Leila de Lima (We asked if areas covered only by tax declarations can be considered as resettlement sites but Leila de Lima, secretary of the Department of Justice or DOJ, is stubborn),” he said during his visit to Bantayan Island, Cebu. “The legal opinion rendered by DOJ is a big flat no so we
cannot do anything about it. We have to abide by the top lawyer of the government.”

Filprimehomes


Several families in northern Cebu have to be relocated because their houses were located in areas that are at risk during storm surges, floods and landslides. But the development of resettlement zones and the building of houses in these areas cannot proceed because the sites are not titled and thus, do not comply with government requirements.

Local government units facing this problem include towns in Bantayan Island and those in Camotes. Bantayan and Camotes lots cannot be titled because the areas are declared
natural reserves and protected areas.

In December last year, the National Housing Authority (NHA) identified more than 103,000 families in northern Cebu whose houses were damaged or destroyed when typhoon Yolanda made landfall in the area. Of the number, about 31,000 families need to be relocated to safer ground.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released P11 billion for the 205,128 houses to be built in typhoon-hit areas in the Visayas. The DBM has also released around P39 billion to national government agencies involved in rehabilitation work.

Proclamation

Sta. Fe Mayor Jose Esgana asked Lacson during a press conference what the National Government intends to do to address the issue.

Lacson said OPARR proposed that a presidential proclamation be issued to reclassify land in some Yolanda-affected areas in the Visayas as alienable and disposable.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), he said, identified 4,000 hectares that are appropriate for relocation sites.

Lacson said the NHA only needs 1,364 hectares to build 205,128 houses in the Visayas.

But he said the areas identified by DENR are remote, do not have good access roads and still do not have electricity.

“This is work in progress. Let me assure you that national government agencies are working double hard to address the issues,” he said.

Lacson attended the turnover of repaired and newly constructed classrooms and day care centers in Bantayan, a project of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.