Nasa humigit kumulang 200 square meters na ang occupied ngayon ng mga settlers na pinagtatayuan ng kanilang mga bahay, ayon sa barangay council ng Osmeña.
Bahile barangay chairman Dennis Borromeo said on Monday many settlers are aiming at the approximately 500-hectare public land on both sides of the road since it was completed.
“It is totally unacceptable that these environmental enforcers who continue to perform their duties despite the COVID-19 pandemic have to suffer violence at the hands of the police, who should be assisting them in their operations,” Cimatu said in a statement.
Initial reports obtained by Palawan News indicate that the environmental officers that included Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-CENRO) forester Roldan Alvarez, members of the city government's anti-squatting unit, and local barangay officials were held at gunpoint, and arrested for questioning before they were released later the same day.
Alex Hermoso, Anti Squatting Office (ASO) chief, said that the presence of the structures is delaying the road infrastructure project. He said that the City Legal Office (CLO) served a notice-to-vacate to the illegal settlers on November 2019.
In his approved resolution on Tuesday, board member Ryan Maminta said it is significant for Palawan LGUs to create them within their municipal councils to prevent illegal settlers from overtaking properties that are not theirs.
