Demolitions affect the residents’ mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
CAGAYAN DE ORO — Raisah Macarambon is willing to move out from her residence in Zone 2-B, Barangay Mambuaya, a hinterland village in Cagayan de Oro, as long as the demolition goes through the legal process.
“That’s all we want,” she told Bulatlat in the vernacular.
On May 14, a clash broke out between affected residents and members of a demolition team. Aside from the reported notice to vacate posted by the barangay government pursuant to a local ordinance, residents did not receive any court order.
Representatives from the local government of Cagayan de Oro intervened and there was a temporary suspension of the demolition. A dialogue between the affected households and representatives of the landowners’ heirs was supposed to be held at Mambuaya Barangay Hall on May 21 but it was postponed with no specified reasons.
“They gave us another threat,” Macarambon said, expressing frustration after the postponement.
A demolished house in Zone 1-A, Barangay Mambuaya, Cagayan de Oro. Photo by Franck Dick Rosete/Bulatlat
The Lozada family reportedly own the land in which around 300 families reside.
In a report by DXCC RMN Cagayan de Oro, the lawyer of the surviving heirs said that the demolition was legal through City Ordinance No. 6854-99 which regulates the construction or erection of structures. It authorizes barangay captains to summarily stop or demolish all new constructions on public and private lands without building permits.
The residents, however, demanded a court order.
Under Section 10, Article XIII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, urban or rural poor shall not be evicted nor their houses demolished, unless in accordance with the law.
Residents’ legal counsel is keen on checking if the city ordinance mentioned did not supersede national laws.
On March 14, a portion of land in another area in Barangay Mambuaya donated by the Lozada family and GJG Realty and Services was turned over to provide relocation to 269 affected families from Zone 1-A and Zone 2-B.
Barangay Mambuaya Captain Philip Porras even told RMN DXCC Cagayan de Oro in an interview during the turnover that the landowner can demolish the houses as long as they secure an order from the court.
For Macarambon, the relocation provided is not livable, seeing it as allegedly prone to landslides.
Plight of the poor
For a decade, Macarambon has been a resident of Barangay Mambuaya, a roughly 40-minute jeepney trip from the city proper.
Prior to residing in the said village, she hailed from Alubijid town in Misamis Oriental and eventually rented a house in Barangay Balulang, Cagayan de Oro, for better opportunities. In 2011, her family was affected by Typhoon Sendong that killed over a thousand individuals, mostly in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.
She was unable to get a relocation after the deadly typhoon despite following up for three years.
Raisah Macarambon answers questions from the media on May 21, 2026. Photo by Franck Dick Rosete/Bulatlat
Asked where she got the idea to build a house in Barangay Mambuaya, Macarambon told Bulatlat that she got it from a friend she met in Barangay Balulang when she was still renting. This led her to purchase land rights from a previous Barangay Mambuaya resident for only P12,000, although she was told that the land might have an owner.
“As I did not have another destination, I [took the opportunity] because I was not able to get a relocation,” she said in the vernacular.
Susan (not her real name), a resident of Barangay Tignapoloan, another hinterland village in Cagayan de Oro, was waiting at the Mambuaya Barangay Hall on Thursday with her child, planning to attend the supposed dialogue.
She was also in the process of building a house in Zone 2, Barangay Mambuaya. Like Macarambon, she was also invited by someone to live there but she did not pay anything.
Susan told Bulatlat that she also took the chance as they only have until next month to live with her stepfather. Her family has nowhere to go since their land had already been sold by their parents.
Living in Barangay Mambuaya, she said, is an advantage because her partner is working in the city proper—a two-hour trip via public transportation to Tignapoloan village.
Macarambon appealed to the local government to provide them a livable relocation where it is safe and will not affect their livelihood.
‘They are human’
Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), an urban poor group, condemned the demolition in Barangay Mambuaya amid the rising cost of petroleum products, goods, and utility bills.
Eufemia Doringo, Kadamay secretary-general, said that demolitions affect the residents’ mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
“Whether it is public or private land, the fact remains that they are still human. They should not be treated as trash or a burden to society,” she added, commending demolition-affected families for continuing the fight.
The State, she said, should be held accountable for the lack of decent housing for the poor, lambasting government officials implicated by corruption scandals involving millions in public funds that could be used for the national government’s housing programs. (DAA)
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