UP Village Residents Rally over Demolition

BY JHONG DELA CRUZ
Posted 2:24 p.m., June 29, 2006

Some 1,000 residents of six villages located in the University of the Philippines (UP) held a rally Thursday morning to denounce the administration’s move to rid of informal settlers.

Residents of Old Capitol Site, San Vicente, Pook Malinis, Daang Tubo, Villages A, B and C, all part of the university lot, are protesting impending demolitions that they say would adversely dislocate some 20,000 residents.

At least 35 families were displaced last May when the U.P. administration proceeded in demolishing houses in Bgy. San Vicente. The protesters placed the number at 66, of which, 57 were being relocated in the Old Capital Site.

On July 9 this year, homes of at least 26 in families in Old Capital Site (OCS) are set to be demolished, residents said. By 2008, over 7,000 residents in this village shall have been relocated.

A member of Bgy. OCS Neighborhood Association who requested anonymity said they were resisting the entry of those displaced earlier in San Vicente, tagging this as a tactic by the U.P. administration which is looking at quashing all informal settlers at the same time.

Ma. Isabel Artajo, councilor of the U.P. Student Council said the university is proving to be more of a “land grabber than protector of the oppressed.”

“There are many vacant lots found in the university, why should not the administration make use of these while pursuing on-site developments for the sake of the informal settlers?” she said.

The Alyansa ng mga Mamamayan Laban sa Demolisyon sa U.P. believes that there are alternatives in implementing development projects inside the university. The group is seeking a Temporary Restraining Order from the court against the impending demolitions and adequate lands for the urban poor settlers in the university.

In 2004, UP has entered into an agreement with the Quezon City local government, which pushed for onsite development and obligated the U.P administration to provide relocation. For its part, the U.P administration has invoked the exemption from the Lina law, saying it has the right to convert its lands for development projects such as science and technology parks.

The university administration said it is eyeing a site in Montalban town in Rizal province for the relocation, in a tie-up with the National Housing Administration. Bulatlat