Barangay Anunas residents voiced their disappointment in an interview with The Angelite last October 18, mentioning that the Angeles City Local Government Unit (AC LGU) does not give enough support and solutions to aid their situation in light of the impending demolition by Clarkhills Properties Corporation.
This follows AC Mayor Carmelo ‘Pogi’ Lazatin Jr.’s statement on the Angeles City Information Office’s Facebook page, where he announced the city’s intention to initiate expropriation for the disputed land in Barangay Cuayan and Anunas, with around 500 houses situated on it.
However, an Anunas resident mentioned that this is the lone solution the AC LGU has offered to them. Furthermore, it was also stated that there were no concrete documents to how much land the City Government would expropriate and how many families would be affected.
“Parang pumayag daw si Clarkhills until masukat [ang area]. Ang [desisyon] pa rin niya [Lazatin], mag-eexpropriate lang ng land. Ganoon pa rin. Walang other choices [Clarkhills agreed with the AC LGU’s call until the area is measured. Lazatin’s decision is to still expropriate the land. The situation remains the same. There are no other choices given],” the Anunas resident stated.
Another resident mentioned that even though the AC LGU announced on Facebook that the Mayor had supposedly requested the city’s police forces not to interfere in the demolition, they were still present while accompanying the demolition team on October 16.
“Tiluy de pamu rin. Dinatang keni pulis, mga 50. Ating SWAT, from city la rin den. Then, deng fire department atsu la rin [They still continued despite Lazatin’s calls. There were 50 police present alongside the SWAT and the fire department],” the resident stated.
Moreover, the residents also stated that police forces were involved in destroying their barricade in the hopes of the demolition team entering their area.
“Isipan me, dapat ing pulis mag-meeting yamu. Ala namang dapat klasing gulu. Ing linto, ila pa mismu ing miglasak king barikada mi [We did not get support from the City Government. Supposedly, the police should only conduct a meeting here without any violence. However, they were the same people who destroyed our barricade],” another resident expressed.
This is a developing story.
Written by Khayla David
Photo by Ray Allen Paguinto
Layout by Winston Adam Lejarde
