Mindanaotoday.com | Urban paradox
Uriel Quilinguing | Views from the South
THE 3rd Housing Summit in Cagayan de Oro on Wednesday, June 22, was a reality check for those who recognize the complexity of urban poor issues, particularly those who take the growing number of informal settlers seriously.
Engr. Ermin Stan Pimentel, City Housing and Urban Development Department head, must have sacrificed a lot collaborating with City Hall offices, partnering with government agencies, and linking with non-governmental organizations.
The facts and figures which the CHUDD chief mentioned in his opening remarks are quite revealing, one of which was the reduction of informal settlers by 12,000 in the past nine years.
He said the current estimate is 22,000 from 34,000 in 2013 – a 35-percent reduction of those who need shelter, water, electricity, health care, education and jobs, among other essential services.
In hindsight, the 2011 Sendong flood which killed hundreds aside from the missing and displaced thousands, uncovered the wanton disregard for safety and respect for the rule of law – the number of families residing in “danger zones” and those illegally occupying lands who must be relocated to safer areas and relocation sites.
I agree these figures need to be validated. These estimates change through time due to population growth, rural-urban migration, job opportunities, affordable housing units, and peace and order conditions, among others.
CHUDD, however, is barely five years since it was created only after Mayor Oscar Moreno was re-elected to a second term in 2016 and it was the first among highly-urbanized cities nationwide.
Pimentel said it was only then when Moreno had the backing of the City Council which allocated funding for land acquisition (land banking) for relocation sites of displaced informal settlers.
Everything went smoothly in Moreno’s final third term which would end noon of June 30, this year .
Paradoxically, just when the Moreno administration has been recognized for its exemplary performance in various fronts, its socialized housing program which includes land-titling could have lured more informal settlers – those who settle on land without a title to it or without the land owner’s consent.
With this, a growing sector of the urban population is being left behind, unlike others who have been enjoying better access to basic services and opportunities.
Thus, poverty is no longer just a rural phenomenon.
Just lately, there have been executions of demolition order in areas occupied for months and even years by informal settlers.
The transition period for the outgoing and incoming elective government officials appears to be the most opportune time for such.
(Uriel Quilinguing has an AB Philippine Studies degree from Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro under the mentorship of the late Rev. Fr. Francisco R. Demetrio, S.J., a historian of note.)
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