DOUBT shrouds the integrity of the government’s multi-billion socialized housing program as Tondo residents claimed that they were not even considered under the much-publicized Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino flagship program even after the court evicted them from a parcel along North Bay Boulevard where they lived for the last 33 years.
According to North Bay Neighborhood Association (NCNA) president Anthony Yuson, the court gave them until February 25 to leave a parcel supposedly owned by the Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation (formerly Sulpicio Lines Incorporated) along North Bay Avenue in Tondo, Manila.
Citing Republic Act 7279 (Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992), the residents in a protest rally held at the Manila City Hall appealed to Mayor Honey Lacuna to provide a relocation place for the affected families even before the demolition took place.
In response to NCNA, the Manila Urban Settlement Office said that informal settlers squatting on private lands are not qualified to receive financial assistance – much less considered for relocation.
The primary objective of RA 7279 is to assist residents of blighted or depressed areas to own the lots they occupy, or where they choose to relocate to and eventually improve their neighborhood and homes to the extent of their affordability. The law however qualifies only the poor who have settled in parcels under dispute before the enactment of the law.
In the case of the North Bay residents, they claimed that their residency in an area supposedly owned by Sulpicio Lines based on a court decision dates back to 1991.
“Nakakalunos na malaman namin mula sa isinagawang Pre-Demolition Conference noong Pebrero 5, 2024 nang inihayag ng kinatawan ng Manila Urban Settlement Office na walang pondo ang lokal na pamahalaan para sa tulong pinansyal at hindi sakop daw ng relokasyon ang tulad naming maralita na naninirahan sa pribadong lupain,” an extremely disappointed Yuson told OpinYon.
After being turned down by the city government, the residents appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to step in – and perhaps consider their inclusion in the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino program undertaken by the Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development (DHSUD).
“Nais naming manatiling naninirahan sa Lungsod ng Maynila kung saan ay malapit sa aming pinagtatrabahuhan at para hindi na rin maabala ang pag-aaral ng aming mga anak,” Yuson added.
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