Advincula to UPMin: Compensate settlers

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
Davao City Councilor Victorio Advincula Jr. urged the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) to give just compensation to the settlers within its property in Mintal as soon as the latter are removed from the 20-hectare area where the proposed City Sports Complex will be built.
In an interview, Advincula said UPMin should both pay for the improvements and compensate the settlers for the land that would be taken from them since they are the ones who first lived in the area before the school was established in 1995.
“The problem there… Ang gusto himoon sa UPMindanao, correct me if I’m wrong, is bayaran lang ang ilang improvement. Pero ang yuta na ilang naokupar it is because na-award na daw sa goberno sa ilaha wala na (What UPMindanao wants to do, correct me if I’m wrong, is to pay only for the improvements. But they will not pay for the land which has been occupied since it has already been awarded by the government to them),” Advincula said.
He said majority of the settlers in the area occupy up to two hectares of land, which is also the source of their livelihood.
“They make their living out of the land. They can’t do that with 150 square meters that would be awarded to them as relocation. They cannot plant in an area that small,” he said
Advincula said just compensation will help the settlers find another source of livelihood.
He said based on the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with UPMin and Board of Liquidators signed in 1998, the school will be the one to relocate and compensate the settlers.