The Davao City Public Safety and Security Office has been coordinating barangays to prevent the building of illegal structures in coastal communities through the tagging of existing dwelling structures.
“Halos makit-an ninyo nga may mga balay nga naa na sa tubig. Ang instruction nato diha sa coordination nato with barangay officials at least ma-tagging ni sila. (As you can see, there are many houses built in areas with water. Our instruction, in coordination with the barangay officials, is to at least tag them),” PSSO Head Angel Sumagaysay said during the I-Speak media forum held on Thursday at the Davao City Investment and Promotion Center Conference Room.
Sumagaysay said that new structures that were added after the tagging are advised to be demolished.
“Ang number of houses na naa dinha dapat dili na madungagan meaning to say walay mga bag-ong structures ang matukod kay nag ihap na ang purok leaders, nag-ihap na ang barangay captains so it is one way of minimizing kanang mga sprouting the structures o pinuy-anan gyud sa tubig (The number of houses located in the area should not increase, meaning new houses are not to be added because the puroks and barangay leaders already counted them. So it is one way of minimizing the sprouting of structures and dwellings on the water),” he said.
The PSSO, from October 2020 to January 2024, already leveled 334 illegal structures atop dikes that constitute attachments of houses such as kitchens, balconies, and sala. Animal cages and huts on coastal roads were also demolished.
He reminded Dabawenyos that building structures atop dikes or attaching structures around them damages their integrity and can compromise their capability to prevent the overflowing of rivers or canals whenever there is flooding brought about by heavy rains.
Sumagaysay added that they coordinate with barangays for reports about illegal structures and they also monitor areas which, were already previously cleared because some might build new structures there. CIO
