By Jose Rodel
Clapano (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 21, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA,
Philippines - The government has allocated P3.2 billion for the construction of
housing units for squatter families living in danger zones in Metro Manila,
Vice President Jejomar Binay said yesterday.
Binay,
chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC),
said the National Housing Authority (NHA) has 10 projects underway to construct
a total of 6,426 housing units worth P3.2 billion to house informal settler
families living in esteros and other danger zones in the metropolis.
Binay said
the 10 projects include the Smokey Mountain Development Project; the Tala 2
Medium Rise Building and Camarin housing projects in Caloocan City; Pleasant
Hills in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan; Gulayan and Tanglaw in Navotas; the
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) depot in Pasig City; the
National Government Center housing project in Quezon City; Disiplina Village 2
in Valenzuela City, and the Navotas Housing Project.
Binay said
the housing units would be part of the housing relocation program for some
18,000 squatter families living in six priority waterways in Metro Manila
identified by the NHA that will be cleared this year.
Binay said
over half of the informal settlers identified by NHA are in Quezon City and
Manila.
“Based on the
data gathered by the NHA from local government units in 2011, 31,275 (informal
settlers) comprising 30 percent of families are living in danger zones in
Quezon City, while 26,029 families or 25 percent are in Manila,” he said.
The NHA
previously identified the Pasig River, stretching from Manila, Mandaluyong,
Makati and Pasig; the San Juan River, covering Manila, Mandaluyong, San Juan,
and Quezon City; Tullahan river spanning Quezon City, Caloocan, Malabon, and
Valenzuela; the Manggahan Floodway in Pasig; Maricaban Creek in Pasay, Makati,
and Taguig, and the Tripa de Gallina in Makati and Pasay.
“The rest of
the affected informal settler families will be relocated in Balagtas, Bocaue
and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan and Trece Martires, Cavite,” he added.
The NHA will
also relocate around 1,500 families living along Estero de Sunog Apog and
Estero de Maypajo in Manila.
He said the
project is part of the P50 billion allocated by President Aquino to relocate
some 100,000 squatter families living in danger areas.
Political
interests
Binay
lamented some local officials allow squatter families to occupy danger zones,
and return even after they have been relocated.
“(The
squatters) would not return if there is no negligence in the part of local
officials, especially the barangay (officials)… they return one at a time.
Sometimes they arrive using pushcarts,” he added.
President
Aquino said there are efforts to discourage squatting. He said the Department
of Justice (DOJ) has been filing cases against squatter families that have been
occupying waterways that causes flooding and traffic problems in Metro Manila.
“The DOJ’s
filing of cases is ongoing. You cannot alienate, reside in or claim waterways,”
he said.
Aquino said
the MMDA has already identified and photographed the illegal structures built
along waterways though a court process must be followed before they could be
evicted or relocated.
Public Works
and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson and Presidential Communications
Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang said the
cases against local officials would come after the informal settlers are
relocated.
Aquino,
however, denied knowledge of some local officials’ requests to delay the
relocation of informal settlers because of the May elections.
“I was not
informed about that portion. I will ask Secretary Singson and the DILG (Department
of the Interior and Local Government) also for a more thorough report on this,”
Aquino said.
The President
said he could not just file cases against local officials without basis.
Aquino said
there are laws tasking local government units to conduct an inventory of all of
the informal settlers and prevent new ones from coming in.
The President
added many of the 20,000 squatter families living along esteros that were
identified as priorities to be cleared within the year had agreed to be
relocated.
“We did not
force them or twisted arms. We coursed it through appeals and we fixed their
relocation. There are groups whose relocation site is ready. For other groups,
their relocation sites are still being built so we will give the money to pay
rent for a (temporary) dwelling while the place where they will be permanently
transferred is still being constructed,” Aquino said.
He admitted
the filing of charges or imposing sanctions would not be the only way to
convince people to leave esteros and other dangerous areas but also moral
persuasion.
Manila Mayor
Alfredo Lim, for his part, said he is willing to discuss the problem with MMDA
Chairman Francis Tolentino.
“If the talks
will be held this week maybe it is still okay. Maybe I could still do something
about it. But if not, then I think it will not be proper because my term is up
to the end of the month only,” Lim said.
The Quezon
City local government, on the other hand, is set to hold a briefing today to
discuss efforts to relocate informal settlers living in waterways and other
hazard zones in the city.
Tadeo Palma,
secretary to Mayor Herbert Bautista and chief of the special task force on
socialized housing, said the briefing would focus on the local government’s
plans to relocate informal settlers in the city.
President
Aquino explained they were not after proving to the public they had done
something to ease the flooding and traffic woes, but the clearing of waterways
of garbage and other blockages, the plan for informal settlers and at least 80
projects to be undertaken by the DPWH and other agencies will be implemented.
While there
were measures that could immediately provide relief to the public, Aquino
pointed out some measures would take at least 20 years to be felt.
Aquino said
they have other plans to manage the flow of water if the passages were not big
enough and would overflow during heavy rains.
He stressed
the solutions would not be piecemeal and every municipality, city and province
would be studied as a whole to find long-term and permanent solutions.
Aquino said
the public might also notice that floodwaters would subside faster now, which
would prove the effectiveness of some of the flood-control projects done by the
DPWH.
Aquino said
the MMDA reported that they would work harder as there were even instances when
drainages were deliberately covered with iron sheets or even plastic materials
and rocks.
“I’ve tasked
the DILG, specifically the PNP (Philippine National Police) under them, to
investigate whether this was deliberate or only washed away by water,” Aquino
said.
Determined
Interior and
Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II said the government is determined to
clear the eight major waterways leading to Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay to
address the problem on flooding, which affected 12 million people in Metro
Manila.
Roxas
stressed floods affect everyone, even those living in high-rise buildings
because they could not go home due to floods and monstrous traffic.
Roxas
disclosed the design of the DPWH and MMDA that waterways should be cleared
three meters on both sides to allow free flow of water.
At present,
eight major waterways from Sierra Madre, to Caloocan, Quezon City to Pasig to
Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay are clogged, causing floods.
Roxas said
the government would use the three remaining years of the Aquino administration
to clear the waterways and relocate squatters.
Roxas added
the government has sufficient budget to fund the relocation project and would
not need any foreign finding.
Roxas said
various government agencies, including the DILG, DPWH, MMDA and the NHA have
been working for about six months now to address the problem on relocation.
Binay added
he is willing to help Roxas in the President’s P50-billion five-year campaign
to relocate all the informal settlers from danger zones in Metro Manila,
stressing he and Roxas have only one boss.
Use road tax
Opposition
lawmaker Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez suggested that the government use the Motor
Vehicle Users’ Charge (MVUC) to finance flood management projects.
He said the
MVUC can also be slightly increased and the proceeds used to pay for loans that
would be procured from the World Bank or other international financial
institutions for major flood control projects.
Sen.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., however, expressed doubts if the government can
substantially address the problem of illegal settlers and flooding in six
months.
Marcos said
it would take a combination of political will and of actual planning for the
government to be able to address the issue of illegal settlers. – Aurea Calica,
Cecille Suerte Felipe, Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero, Rey Galupo, Janvic Mateo
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