Government evicts 4,400 families from waterways

THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has evicted some 4,400 families (22,000 persons) from major waterways in Metro Manila.

DILG Secretary Mar Roxas said this is part of the government's Integrated Flood Plan, which he presented during the Flood Summit held last month at the House of Representatives.

About 100,000 families live in danger zones, including some 60,000 along waterways.

Roxas said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will evict some 19,440 families (97,200 persons) in order to clean up eight major waterways.

The government's budget for the relocation is P50 billion. A financial assistance worth P18,000 will be distributed (P1,500 a month rental assistance) to each family who agrees to be evicted even if the relocation is not yet provided.

To keep the informal settlers (squatters) from leaving their distant relocation sites, the DILG has constructed few near-site or on-site medium rise buildings in Manila.

President Benigno Aquino III has instructed that the relocation efforts should not displace families from their sources of livelihood and schools.

Source: http://www.rappler.com/news/57635-dilg-moves-families-danger-zones

Related story by UPA: 59 families in Estero de San Miguel-Legarda move to Muzon, Bulacan

Slum dwellers face forced eviction; Road widening project to leave 1,600 homeless

Slum dwellers in five villages of Tondo district in Manila were evicted last Tuesday (April 22) to make way for a road-widening project by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The P100 million Road 10 (R-10) project will add two more lanes to its 2-kilometer section adjacent to Manila's North Harbor area. It is expected to improve traffic flow in Metro Manila but it will also render some 1,600 people homeless.

Homelessness may yet again be the fate of 27-year-old Mary Jane Paco, who lives with her husband and one-year-old child.

Paco’s family used to lived on the sidewalk outside the Santo Niño de Tondo Parish Church. The shanty on Road 10 has provided them shelter for the last three years.

"We may yet again live on the streets, and maybe go back to our old refuge on the sidewalk outside the Tondo church after authorities flatten our home," she said.

Yolanda Gamido, 53, finds herself in the same predicament. She is a renter and is not qualified for relocation. The mother of two now lives alone, barely getting by on her pension.

Ammie Serafin, a former overseas worker said she has heavily invested in Road 10. She bought a land property, renting out the 15 rooms in her three-storey house. She also bought other properties in the area.

Judith Javar, a 35-year-old mother of four, was born and raised in the slums along Road 10. Last year her family was relocated to Bocaue, Bulacan, about 30 kilometers northeast of Manila. She said she returned to Tondo because there is no livelihood in the relocation site.

Javar prays for a better life now that she will be forced to return to the relocation site; otherwise she becomes homeless.

Sixty-one-year-old Merly Barredo, a long-time resident of R-10, will be relocated to Bocaue. The National Housing Authority (NHA) gave her a US$22 allowance and provided a truck to transport her personal belongings. Barredo works as a candy vendor in Tondo, earning $7-11 a day.

She came to Manila 30 years ago to seek a better life. She said the life she had on Road 10 was actually better than the rural life in her hometown in Aklan province.

"Being relocated to Bocaue is like returning to my life in the mountains," she said.

The demolition is expected to finish by the end of the month.

Some urban poor groups say it was illegal and they blame the privatization of Manila's port as the reason behind the demolition.

Source: http://www.ucanews.com/news/slum-dwellers-prepare-for-demolition-in-manila/70786

Dispersal of urban poor protesters in Navotas City becomes violent

TRO sought against MMDA, DPWH, PNR, NHA to stop forced eviction

** NEWS RELEASE *** NEWS RELEASE *** NEWS RELEASE **

TRO sought against MMDA, DPWH, PNR, NHA to stop forced eviction

16 April 2008. To prevent their eviction and the demolition of their houses, settlers along the railway and Radial Road 10 (R-10) are seeking a temporary restraining order against the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Philippine National Railways (PNR) and National Housing Authority (NHA).

Petitioners filed their petition for a TRO and preliminary injunction April 16 at the Supreme Court. The settlers who live along the railroad tracks in Sta. Cruz, Tondo and Sampaloc, Manila are being threatened with demolitions and evictions due to the Northrail Southrail Linkage Project (NSLP). While the residents along R-10, North Bay Boulevard in Navotas City are affected by the road-widening project.

The government agencies should be prohibited from evicting the informal settlers and demolishing houses since the evictions are being carried out in utter violation of the constitutional guarantees and safeguards regarding forced evictions vis-à-vis Republic Act 7279, otherwise known as the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA), according to the Urban Poor Associates (UPA), a non-government organization who provided the assistance through its legal unit, the St. Thomas More Law Center.

“The respondent government agencies brazenly laid down its plan of actions for the year 2008 which involve the demolition of houses and evictions of thousands of urban informal settlers in the guise of carrying out its development and/or clearing operation along the whole stretch of railroad tracks and Road 10, Navotas City,” the counsel for the petitioners, lawyer Bienvenido Salinas Jr. and Ritche Esponilla, said in a statement.”

Other NGOs such as the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN) and Community Organizers of the Philippine Enterprise (COPE) Foundation co-sponsored the filing of the case.

The group cited the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) who admittedly observed several flaws in the conduct of demolitions and evictions in urban poor communities. Such violations are: a mere 5 five days verbal notice; No consultation; Insufficient fund; No relocation; Proponent (like MMDA) do not apply for the Certificate of Compliance with PCUP as required by E.O. 152; Affected families are forced to receive financial assistance instead of relocation; Relocation sites have few if any available economic opportunities; and Relocation sites have no adequate basic services.

“These looming threats of eviction and demolition despite non-compliance with what are required by no less the Constitution and UDHA – e.g. prior notice/s, adequate relocation and consultation which continuously being undertaken by the respondent government agencies inflict gross injustice on the urban poor community. The effect and impact of massive displacements of affected families, including women and children, cannot be denied.”

Petitioners are aware of the basic principle on the observance of hierarchy of courts. With due deference, however, petitioners find it proper to file this suit directly before the Supreme Court under the exception that “when the issue at hand transcends national interest and with a sense of urgency, petition of this nature may be filed directly with the High Court.”

“Undeniably, the issue at hand which will create, as in fact it has created in last year’s demolitions and evictions, massive displacement of affected families within the railroad tracks transcends national interest. This concerns human beings who are also accorded basic rights by no less the Constitution itself to life and shelter. They cannot simply be dragged and forced from their makeshifts in the guise of development and promotion of general welfare.”

Some 50,000 families living on the railroad tracks will be evicted because of the railway project. About 30,000 families still remain on the tracks. While some 16,000 families along R-10 will be evicted due to the road-widening project. -30-

Urban poor group seeks SC's help vs demolitions

Urban poor asks Supreme Court to stop demolitions

Manila, Navotas residents seek TRO vs MMDA demolition

Group asks SC to stop eviction of railway residents

Group says railway project to displace 50,000 families

Stop to demolition