About 30 families in Brgy. 16, Bacolod City, have voluntarily demolished their structures yesterday to give way to the construction of the Education and Training Center School 4, Bacolod City Legal Office Enforcement Unit head, Cesar Beloria, said.

Beloria said the transfer of the affected families was facilitated by the barangay and the city only assisted in loading their things for transport to the Arao relocation site in Brgy. Vista Alegre.

He said the families were provided financial assistance by the city government.

Out of the 184 structures to be demolished, 70 owners were awarded lots at the relocation site while the rest are still processing their awards, Beloria said.

A few families have been disqualified and their records are being reviewed by the Bacolod Housing Authority since there are some who claimed to be qualified based on the number of years they have stayed in the area, he said.

Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson said the ETCS 4 will be constructed on the 2-hectare property of the city at the Reclamation Area to decongest ETCS 1 to 3.

He said this will be a 3-storey building with 48 classrooms.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro and Mayor Evelio Leonardia signed a memorandum of agreement at the DepEd main office on February 9 for a 50/50 partnership in the construction of the new elementary school on city property at the Reclamation Area.

Bacolod is the first city in the Philippines to be given this partnership by the DepEd.

Sayson said he hopes the construction of ETCS 4 will start before the year ends. He said 50 percent of the cost will be shouldered by the city and the other 50 percent by DepEd. The city has already earmarked P24 million for the project from the 2012 Special Education Fund, he added.

Meanwhile, Sayson said they have allocated a supplemental budget of about P3 million for the concreting of 14th and 15th streets in Brgy. 7. The project will be implemented after the areas have been cleared of illegal structures, he said.

On the other hand, about 36 structures were also demolished by the court sheriff in Purok Kabakawan, Brgy. Villamonte yesterday, based on a writ of demolition issued by the Regional Trial Court.

The affected residents are asking the city to provide them relocation.*CGS

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