Mayor gives land to families affected by road clearing

By Noel Punzalan

September 26, 2019

LAND RECIPIENTS. Mayor Shameem Mastura (in red shirt) of Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, speaks on Wednesday (Sept. 25, 2019) with the families affected by the ongoing road clearing operations. The mayor donated land for the displaced families and assured them that livelihood packages were also being prepared to support their daily needs. (Photo courtesy of Sultan Kudarat MIO)

COTABATO CITY: The mayor of Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao province has donated a six-hectare land to some 600 families affected by the ongoing road clearing operation in his town.

Speaking to reporters here Wednesday, Mayor Shameen Mastura said the donated lot parcels are located in his family-owned property in barangays Simuay and Ladia.

“The affected families live on temporary shelters near the highway and inner roads and they have nowhere to go. And so our family decided that we give them a safer place to live (in),” Mastura said in the vernacular.

The mayor, who belongs to the political clan of the Masturas in the first district of the province, said the total land area would be subdivided into 65 sqm lots each for the 600 families.

He said a memorandum of agreement with the recipients ensures that the latter cannot sell their lots, but may pass on their property to their children.

He said livelihood packages, courtesy of the local government, were also being readied for the affected families to support their daily needs.

At least 11 of the 39 villages in the town have been affected by ongoing road clearing operations based on the nationwide directive by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular 2019-121 to clear all public roads of obstructions, upon orders of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The DILG has set its deadline for the undertaking on September 29. (PNA)