MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Nineteen homeowners in Barangay Tabok have received ₱31,000 each in disturbance fees from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) as construction moves forward on a major transmission project designed to strengthen electricity supply to Mactan Island.
The payments were released on Thursday, August 20, as NGCP began clearing properties affected by the Cebu-Lapu-Lapu 230-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project. Aside from the disturbance fees, the affected homeowners were also compensated for portions of their houses and construction materials that would be affected by the project.
The 19 homeowners received a combined ₱589,000 in disturbance fees alone, excluding the separate payments for affected portions of their homes.
Why the homeowners had to leave
The affected properties are located along the route of the overhead transmission line that will pass through parts of Mandaue City, including Barangay Tabok.
Mandaue City Housing and Urban Development Office executive assistant Ramelito Inopiquez said the city requested the disturbance payments under the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, or Republic Act 7279.
Section 28 of the law allows eviction or demolition in certain circumstances, including when a government infrastructure project with available funding is about to be implemented. It also provides safeguards involving notice, consultation, local government participation and relocation or financial assistance in covered cases.
The compensation for the affected portions of the houses was reportedly based on the current prices of construction materials, rather than the age of the structures.
The dispute lasted for years
The payments came after a long-running disagreement between affected residents and NGCP.
Residents initially objected to the project in 2021, leading NGCP to file an expropriation case. The dispute was eventually resolved through an amicable settlement, with the homeowners agreeing to accept financial assistance for the portions of their homes affected by the transmission line.
After receiving the assistance, the homeowners were responsible for dismantling their houses. They were given a limited period to remove the structures, while NGCP would undertake dismantling and cleanup if necessary. Usable materials were to be set aside so families could retrieve or reuse them.
For some residents, however, the decision was about more than money.
Kim Tabanas, a Tabok resident whose family had lived in the area for decades, said residents were initially reluctant to leave because of their long history in the community. They eventually accepted the settlement after the court proceedings and after learning more about the project’s potential role in addressing Mactan’s electricity reliability concerns.
Why the Cebu-Lapu-Lapu project matters
The Cebu-Lapu-Lapu Interconnection Project is intended to provide Mactan Island with another major transmission connection, reducing its dependence on its existing underground power link.
The project includes a 230-kV transmission line, a submarine cable connecting Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu City, and overhead transmission facilities across portions of Mandaue. NGCP has said the additional connection would provide an alternative source of electricity if the existing underground cable encounters a problem.
The project is part of a wider push to strengthen Cebu’s power infrastructure as electricity demand continues to grow.
The Freeman reported in July that NGCP is implementing the ₱2.8-billion Cebu-Lapu-Lapu 230-kV Transmission Line Project alongside the ₱8.3-billion Lapu-Lapu 230-kV Substation Project. The investments are intended to address increasing electricity requirements in Metro Cebu, Mandaue and Mactan Island, where existing transmission facilities are facing rising demand.
Earlier project updates also indicated that the transmission line and Lapu-Lapu substation were targeted for completion and operation by December 2026.
But another group of homeowners is still waiting
The Tabok settlement does not mean all affected residents have reached an agreement.
About 40 houses in Barangay Paknaan are also expected to be affected by the project. According to the latest local report, those homeowners have declined financial assistance for now and are seeking relocation within Mandaue City instead.
Mandaue officials said they are working on a possible relocation site that could be ready as early as September, recognizing that many of the affected families depend on livelihoods based in the city.
That means the next phase of the project could once again test the balance between building critical power infrastructure and protecting the interests of families whose homes stand in its path.
For the 19 Tabok homeowners, the settlement has allowed construction to proceed. For the families in Paknaan, however, the relocation question remains unresolved.
And as NGCP pushes toward completion of the Cebu-Lapu-Lapu interconnection, the bigger question may now be whether the project can deliver a more reliable power supply to Mactan without leaving affected communities behind.
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