Thursday, April 17, 2008 Group asks SC to stop eviction of railway residents
AN URBAN poor group on Wednesday petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) to stop government from evicting them from their residence to pave the way for the construction of the Northrail-Southrail Linkage Project (NSLP).
In a petition, the Urban Poor Associates (UPA), consisting of about 50,000 informal settlers along the stretch of railroad tracks of various Metro Manila areas, asked the high court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO), enjoining respondent government agencies from demolishing their homes and conducting road clearing operations.
Named respondents were Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and its chairman Bayani Fernando, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-National Capital Region (NCR), the National Housing Authority and the Philippine National Railway, which were conducting clearing operations along the stretch of southbound and northbound and along Road 10, North Bay Boulevard in Navotas City.
According to petitioners, they will be summarily displaced and rendered homeless with the government's failure to observe the statutory requirement before eviction and demolition may be carried out, in violation of their rights under Republic Act (RA) 7279, known as the Urban Development and Housing Act.
The demolitions, which were scheduled for this year, were the continuation of the massive demolitions and evictions since 2006 and last year for a nationwide infrastructure development project.
These, petitioners said, were being done without the basic provision for consultation and relocation facilities.
"(Petitioners) cannot be simply dragged and forced from their makeshifts in the guise of development and promotion of general welfare. Development projects and promotion of the general welfare cannot at any time be at loggerheads with the preservation of the rule of law," the group said through lawyers from the St. Thomas Moore Legal Center.
The group cited a report of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP), which admittedly observed several flaws in the conduct of demolitions and evictions in urban poor communities.
Such violations were: a mere five days verbal notice; the failure of respondent agencies to conduct consultation with residents; insufficient funds as compensation to residents; lack of proper relocation sites; and available economic opportunities and adequate basic services. (ECV/Sunnex)
