Mary Ann Florenda, president of Samahan ng Magkakapitbahay ng Road 10, said residents were given only seven days to leave their homes, as the notice of demolition was only issued on Apr. 14, 2014.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — Some 100 homes in an urban poor community in Road 10, Tondo, Manila were demolished to give way to a reported road widening program.
“The demolition of our homes is illegal because they did not show us any papers that would prove that we have to be evicted,” Rocel Berdan, vice president of Samahang Magkakapitbahay sa Road 10, adding, “They have no right to deprive us of our rights to housing and livelihood here in our community.”
In a previous Bulatlat.com report, Road 10 residents pointed to the privatization of the Manila North Harbor as the culprit behind the demolition of their homes. The port privatization is among the 50 public private partnership programs that the Aquino administration is pushing for.
Anakpawis Partylist earlier said many urban poor communities have been demolished or are threatened to be demolished to give way to public-private partnership projects (PPP).
Mary Ann Florenda, president of Samahan ng Magkakapitbahay ng Road 10, said residents were given only seven days to leave their homes, as the notice of demolition was only issued on Apr. 14, 2014.
On Apr. 23, 2014, a 300-crew demolition team, accompanied by some 100 policemen, arrived in Road 10 to demolish the homes.
Some 500 families would be relocated to a site in Cavite, a report read.
“The 100-million road widening project will add two more lanes to a two-kilometer section of Road 10, currently a four-lane thoroughfare covering Manila’s North Harbor area,” the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.
“For the urban poor, Aquino’s PPP is nothing but a brutal instrument to justify massive dislocation of poor residents. The so-called development project is nothing but a shameless and anti-poor campaign of the Aquino administration in the service of its big business sponsors” Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap said.
Relocation
Families were offered to be relocated to Batya, a government relocation site in the province of Bocaue, Bulacan. But residents said the stories of neighbors who agreed to be relocated are not very promising.
Butch Arcon, 43, a Road 10 resident who agreed to be relocated, told Bulatlat.com that the relocation site is right in the middle of rice fields; there was no electricity and water when they first arrived, and that they had to buy mineral water for drinking, which, he added, is an added burden to the already meager family income.
“The urban boor has long been demanding that we stay here where we have a livelihood. Most of the residents are workers in the port or in Divisoria. If they will relocate us to far places, it would mean death for our family,” Berdan said.
Hicap appealed to Manila mayor Joseph Estrada to intervene in the demolition.
“If Manila Mayor Estrada was able to go to Hong Kong to make amends with the families of the victims of the Manila hostage incident, he can make time to arrange a negotiation or dialogue with his immediate constituents regarding their issue,” Hicap said.
Berdan vowed that residents would continue to seek justice for the negligence of the government and for the demolition that has led to the destruction of their future. 
