Settlers ordered to vacate riverbanks before year-end
Settlers along the Iloilo River banks have only until the end of the year to leave their houses or else, their structures will be removed.
Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said the removal of illegal structures along the coasts of Brgy. So-oc, Arevalo district, Brgys. San Pedro and North San Jose in Molo district, and Muelle Loney area is still part of the Iloilo River Development Project.
The Iloilo River Development Project won a gold award in the 2010 International Awards for Liveable Communities in Chicago, Illinois recently.
Mabilog said he will coordinate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on what can be done to implement the programs for the protection of the river.
“We want to know what best practices we could follow to preserve the Iloilo River which we all know was used by our ancestors as a means to transport their goods,” he said.
Mabilog had earlier ordered the removal of the illegal fish pens and structures floating in the Iloilo River.
The mayor said he will ensure that the city government will safeguard the area and he will also ask the City Council to create a regulation ordinance for the preservation of the river.
It is stated in the Iloilo River Development Plan that squatters living along the river will be relocated while private structures such as houses, restaurants, hospitals, shopping malls and others must conform with the policy of keeping the river clean and safe.*
