Selling of rights prevalent in city's relocation sites
The inclusion of unqualified beneficiaries in the city's resettlement sites and the selling of rights of qualified beneficiaries for large sum of money are the two common irregularities that are prevalent in the city's relocation projects.
Councilor Antonio Pesina, chair of the committee on urban poor, human rights and minority group, of the Sangguniang Panlungsod said he found out that there are beneficiaries of relocation sites that are not supposed to be qualified.
Pesina disclosed that Iloilo City Urban Poor Federation Inc. president Benfred Tacuyan, one of the three leaders of the urban poor groups who asked for his ouster from the committee on urban poor, owns a two-storey edifice in the Bitoon relocation site. He took pictures of the house for purposes of legislation.
The lot where the house was settled is named after Paulino, Benfred's father. The councilor questioned Tacuyan's inclusion as beneficiary of the relocation site saying he is not qualified to become one.
The awarding of rights to Tacuyan is only one of the issues that Pesina wants to resolve as he started his probe on the alleged irregularities in the different relocation sites. He stressed he will continue to demand from Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office (Icupao) head Roy Firmeza the necessary documents to prove the present occupants of the relocation sites and on-site development projects of the city.
Pesina said he also came to know of several cases where the listed beneficiaries no longer occupy the home lots. In other words, they sold their rights to others which are supposed to be non-transferrable.
The master list of the Icupao must be accompanied by documents such as demand letter from the owner of the land that they used to occupy and ejectment orders from the court. The problem on city's relocation site will continue as long as the Icupao could not provide these documents to the members of the legislative body, said Pesina.