By Manuel L. Morató
We were so hurt by the demolition of our passage way that led to our ancestral home that is no longer there. I had to call 2 carpenters who used to be my employees, now retired to immediately come to secure the steel gate that was left open and swinging leading to a 20-meter- deep drop that could kill anyone who does not know that the common access to my sister’s house no longer exists. That worried me so much that I had to secure it firmly, right away, to prevent a fatal accident from happening.
The Barangay is helpless in helping the neighborhood. They, too, are pressured by those in power, disobeying their orders. I have heard them complain. But it was kind of Barangay Captain Camille Malig David to respond to my appeal. She too was put under pressure. I am quoting her message to me:
“For all intents and purposes, we were requesting Sta. Lucia to defer excavating that parcel of land since last year upon your family’s request. January this year Sta. Lucia sought out to us if they could continue excavating the pathwalk which was again asked to be deferred by me unless they could provide clear and convincing proof from competent court that orders them to continue, to give you ample time to exhaust and avail remedies. I truly apologize if my actions were not enough for your behalf since my office and myself are bounded by laws in discharging our duties. I sincerely wish I could have had a lot in my disposition to help you without discord from prevailing laws.”
It is actually the duty of Sta. Lucia Land to get an ejection order from the court because the title of the land truly belonged to my mother and it is being disputed in court. We claim possession of that small parcel of land as our access in the compound that connect us which we agreed upon in a meeting with Barangay Captain Camille Malig David earlier this year. It was not for us to stop the excavation, but for Sta. Lucia Land and their group to get a court order to demolish what still belongs to us. We claim ownership to the entire property. Until such time the courts rule with finality can they touch that pathway which only measured 2 x 2 meters which can be considered within the easement. As a matter of fact, we claim part owners as well of the entire property, as Willed to us by our late mother. Tama si Barangay Chairman Camille na ang Sta. Lucia Land ang kumuha muna ng Court Order, and for us to express our side in Court.
It was not for us to ask the court to stop an ejection order for we’ve agreed in the Barangay hearing that the passage way they will allow us to use. That is why there was a big sign of “NO TRESPASSING.” It’s the alleged “owners” now should get the court order, if they have the right. Without a court order, even squatters cannot be ejected. What more to these titled lots that our late mother Willed to her six children. Barangay Captain Camille, it was not for us to ask the court not to demolish the pathway. It’s the usurper’s duty to get the court order and for us to respond to contest it. Kung gusto nila talaga sirain, they must follow the law as ordered by the court. They must probably knew that the court will not grant it to them for the Barangay and the police stopped them; that it needed an order from the Court. Itinuloy pa rin nila.
Kapitana Camille, I thank you for trying. But I know that the Barangays are under the mercy of the City Hall and the Barangay Captains have to succumb to the power that be.
The previous Barangay Captain, Alberto Flores, a friend whom I’ve extended PCSO assistance for his constituents, approved to demolish our parents’ home without even telling me nor my sisters what he granted solely to a sibling. He kept it a secret; approved it by himself and made no mention to anyone since 2017. According to the Barangay, the previous Barangay Captain Alberto Flores left no record in the Barangay headquarters when he stepped down. He not only owed my entire family including myself and the neighborhood to know and at least be informed that a 70-year-old historical home was going to be demolished (our parents’ ancestral home) based only on the request of doing “a minor repair,” according to our neighbors when they were made to sign “no objection petition.” But we were not even told about it for we would have not agreed; and we could have saved the ancestral home of our parents. We were ignored and bypassed, including the RA 10066 that prohibits structures 50 years old and above to be demolished without going to court.
Let me ask some questions, if I may:
1. Is it true that to build a 21 storey building, the lot must measure at least 1,200 sq. meters? But the three (3) lots of my mother totals 1,102 sq. meters only, short of 98 sq. meters. Is that why they scraped every inch of the property up to our respective walls without leaving an easement of 2 meters required by law? Dinikit sa wall ko which had been there first since the 1950s when our ancestral home was constructed by my father and put in the name of my mother.
2. I would like to ask that if my cantilevered garage is now put in danger because of shaving my wall that is affecting the foundation of my cantilevered steel garage and parking lot. It was so designed by Architect Bobby Manosa. The steel cantilevered garage might collapse on all the cars parked. There are 10 parking slots for 10 cars. Not only that, it might put ourselves in great danger.
We were told to “refer it to the Barangay para mai-record. Madalas daw ngayon ang lindol at ang hukay ay nasa boundary line kung nasaan ang mohon.” It was my late father who put that wall to secure the ancestral home he had built on the adjacent lot.
“Pa-check mo din muna ang structure and ground mo kung meron hairline crack. Dapat may kasamang Barangay Representative o City Hall engineering office representative para may witness sa inspection result. Gagawa ng soil analysis ang gagawa ng inspection. Pakunan mo ng video or pictures during the inspection ng Barangay and Quezon City engineering office,” we were told by a concerned person who is utterly disturbed by the construction of a high-rise building in a residential area. They too are affected, one of which is the supply of water in their residence, sucked in by the two high-rise buildings simultaneously being constructed near each other.
May we request the Barangay Sacred Heart headed by Barangay Chairman Camille Malig David to request Sta. Lucia Land to submit the safety report to the Barangay? It’s their responsibility and our Barangay has the right to request to protect all the adjacent properties whose walls have been shaved off by scraping our walls too closely, to increase the size of the lot.
Let me add what actor Jimmie Fails once said in an interview about the movie he starred in, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco.” He spoke of San Francisco as home for him. He said: “A family house puts the family together. When we lost that house, the family went with it.”
How true. That’s what happened to my family when we lost our ancestral home.
It’s really sad. Our family compound for over 70 years ended last November 5, 2019, the day we were isolated from one another, something we thought would never happen.
For comments and suggestions email at mlmorato@yahoo.com
