Wednesday, September 12, 2007 Lawmaker hits eviction of squatters in esteros
A MANILA congressman has denounced government authorities for evicting squatters along the esteros without providing them relocation areas.
Manila Representative Amado Bagatsing said Republic Act (RA) 7279 otherwise known as the Urban Development and Housing Act clearly stipulates that people living in danger areas have to be relocated properly by the authorities upon eviction from their dwellings.
Bagatsing said the Constitution also mandates that “urban or rural dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwellings demolished, except in accordance with law and in a just and humane manner.”
“It seems that nowadays, practically all informal settlers in the esteros are being driven out of their habitats. I am not against their removal within said esteros because the law does not allow them to stay therein. However, the law is clear that they should be relocated,” he said.
He said “it pains me that when they interpret the law, they interpret it the way they want to.”
The legislator criticized the manner by which authorities are evicting squatters even as he cited the demolition last April of almost 300 families in his district.
Bagatsing said soon after the eviction, the authorities left them on the sidewalks of main thoroughfares and secondary streets.
“They were washing, cooking and sleeping in a once-clean place. The area became so unsanitary,” he said.
According to Bagatsing, he is not against the eviction of squatters in esteros but on “the manner of removal and non-compliance with existing laws.” (Sunnex)
