Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Antalan: Relocation By Roger P. Antalan Dateline IGaCoS
RELOCATION of houses and shanties of the informal settlers is a long, tedious and painful process. When the relocation process requires eviction and demolition there is always the possibility of violence erupting.
Fortunately, there were no serious untoward incidents during the relocation of 246 households off the shoreline of zone1 and zone 2, Barangay Villarica, Babak District, IGaCoS. This happened last April 15-18 and April 21-25, 2008. During the long negotiations, however, there moments of drama and tension, threats to the lives of the government workers and a lot of verbal abuse.
There are many reasons why the informal settlers do not want to be relocated. They have been living in the area for a long, long time and have made substantial improvements. They claimed they have no other means to look for another place. Their places of work and the schools for their children are just nearby.
Many simply refused to transfer, vehemently objecting to be relocated. They pay no rents, no land taxes, no building permits. The shoreline belongs to the state and they are citizens of the state. "Why single us out?" they cry out loud.
The IGaCoS government, however, had wanted to clear the shorelines of illegal structures since it became a component city last 1998. As a tourism destination, the LGU really wanted to clean up its shorelines and keep the water clear and clean.
The situation is worsening. As of the present count, there are 754 households in Babak District, 529 households in Samal District, and 917 households in Kaputian District, a total of 2,200 households all illegally constructed on the shorelines of IGaCoS.
Something had to be done soon. The Villarica settlers were singled out because a lot of interventions have been done. In 2004, the Villarica Garcia Homeowners Association Inc (VGHOAI) formally launched the Community Mortgage Program. Mr. Amado Garcia, owner of the land fronting the shoreline, provided a three-hectare lot for the informal settlers to transfer to.
The relocation site was only a kilometer away from the shoreline. The prices of the lots were affordable and the interest rates very low. The City even extended help through bridge financing for those who did not have money at hand. But the majority refused the offer because they insisted that the relocations site should be free and still believing that the city will not proceed with the relocation.
The city proceeded anyway after carefully following all the pre-relocation process and prepared well for the relocation and post-relocation phases. Two other relocation sites were selected for those who had nowhere else to go.
Last February 26, 2008, President Arroyo, in an Executive Order 708, devolved the function of clearinghouse from the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor to the LGU authorities. And so, the City Mayor, Honorable Aniano P. Antalan gave the go-ahead signal, with the concurrence of the IGaCoS Housing Board.
When all the dismantling was done, out of the 246 families affected, 35 went to the GK project in nearby Barangay Cogon, 60 accepted lots in another relocation site also in Cogon, and only 45 went to the VGHOA site, the originally intended site. 105 families decided to go on their own, to their own properties, to live with relatives, and to places for rent. This shows that 40 percent could have stayed in legally owned or rented places and in safe areas.
Strictly speaking, there was no demolition. Many decided to voluntarily dismantle their own structures. For the majority, it was a wait-and-see situation. They were waiting to see if the houses of two hard line families will really be dismantled. One of them, even had a lawyer present. But he had nothing to show, not even a foreshore lease. There was a big sigh of relief when the head of that family finally accepted the clearing of his concreted house. After that every body cooperated, and there was no harm done to life and limbs, no damage to the dismantled properties.
In a way, it was an expensive endeavor. Each relocated family was given Php 1,500. Representatives of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor were there; the PNP and the Fire Department were present in full force. There were around 70 LGU employees from the City Engineers Office, the General Services Office, the Cenro and the City Housing Office.
The city hired 67 Job Order contractuals from the other shoreline informal settlers' areas for them to see how people are relocated. Ten persons were assigned per house to handle the careful dismantling. Every item, including the plants, was carefully inventoried before they were hauled by dump trucks to the proper relocation destination.
Most of the informal settlers now know that they cannot own and stay on the shorelines. With the help of an NGO, the Mindanao Land Foundation, most of the informal settlers have organized themselves and are just waiting for available and affordable areas for relocation.
After the Barangay Villarica experience, it is music to the ears of the embattled Relocation Task Force to hear settlers say: "When will you relocate us."
