Troops in Metro: For Demolition or Rebel Hunting?

Regular soldiers are sent to Metro Manila to help secure military facilities and Malacanang in times of red alert. For the first time since martial law, however, at least 40 soldiers are now holed up in Pandacan and villagers are puzzled what they are there for.

BY DABET CASTAŃEDA
Bulatlat

PANDACAN, Manila – Chief Inspector Linsley Pillejera of the Western Police District (WPD) Station 10 is certain. “There is no insurgency here,” he told Bulatlat in an interview.

Still, Pillejera runs out of reasons why soldiers, in full battle gear, now roam the streets of at least five barangays (villages) in Pandacan (Barangays 835, 865, 868, 870, and 872), all of which are under the jurisdiction of the WPD’s Police Station 10.

Pandacan has also been declared a danger zone by the Manila city government due to the presence of a huge oil depot. An accident or attack on the depot could trigger a conflagration that would hit even Malacanang grounds, where the presidential office is located.

Around 40 soldiers have been deployed in these barangays since Nov. 7, Pillejera said. They came from the Fort Bonifacio, the Philippine Army (PA) headquarters in Makati “under orders from above,” Pillejera added.

Barangay Resolution No. FCM-0017-06, a copy of which was obtained by Bulatlat from barangay secretary Ma. Remedios Diaz, states the team is headed by Capt. Jose O. Aycardo Jr. (CE), PA. The soldiers are here to “render community work mission,” it further said.

In a community dialogue between soldiers and residents of this barangay on Nov. 21, Diaz said the soldiers told them that other soldiers will be deployed in two other barangays (836 and 838) soon.

Both Pillejera and Diaz said the soldiers’ deployment here is indefinite. “Basta nag-courtesy call lang sila dito sa amin, sinabi lang nila na dito muna sila pero hindi naman binanggit kung kelan sila aalis” (They just paid a courtesy call on us and said they’re deployed here but didn’t reveal until when), Pillejera said.

The deployment of troops in Pandacan follows similar incidences in the urban centers of Pampanga and Bulacan in June this year.

Wary

However, Diaz said Pandacan residents cannot help but be wary of the soldiers’ presence in their barangay.

“Dahil napipinto ang krisis ng demolisyon, hindi maiwasan na isipin ng tao sa mga komunidad na tutulong ang mga sundalo sa demolisyon” (Demolition is about to take place and people cannot help but speculate the soldiers will help in the demolition), she said.

On Oct. 18, Eduardo Millares was killed allegedly by soldiers belonging to the 59th Infantry Battalion and the 2nd division of the Philippine Army's Jungle Fighters. Millares was a community leader along the railways of San Pablo, Laguna, south of Manila.

Along Pandacan, six villages will be evicted to make way for the modernization of the Philippine National Railways’ (PNR) southbound lane. The first phase of the northbound lane (NorthRail) has been cleared of informal settlers as early as the first quarter of 2006.

Pillejera said the demolition of homes along the railways in Pandacan actually began in August. Two barangays were cleared of informal settlers, the police investigator added. Demolition operations stopped when lots in relocation centers in Calamba, Laguna (52 kms south of Manila) were all filled up.

Now, with other relocation centers opened for occupancy in Trece Marteres, Cavite, also south of Manila, demolition operations will resume on November 28, Pillejera said.

Demolition crew?

For Diaz, there is no doubt that the soldiers will be used to “tame the villagers” once clearing operations resume.

In the Nov. 21 community dialogue, the soldiers reportedly told the villagers they have been deployed in these areas to help bridge the gap between the government and the residents affected by the demolition.

“Sila (the soldiers) daw ang maga-address ng problema” (The soldiers will reportedly address the problem), Diaz said.

But Diaz said there is no need for the soldiers’ help because representatives of government agencies involved in the demolition of houses and relocation of residents like the National Housing Authority (NHA), Urban Poor Settlement Office (UPSO) and Presidential Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP) have been coordinating with the villagers.

Winning the hearts and minds

Pillejera said the soldiers have been conducting community meetings to “to win the hearts and minds of the people, just like in the countryside.”

Representatives from the NHA, the local government and other government agencies involved in the demolition and relocation operations have attended the community dialogues undertaken by the soldiers in the five villages where they have been deployed, Pillejera said.

“There might be groups or individuals who will try to exploit the demolition issue,” Pillejera said, adding that the police force is happy that the soldiers are here to help them fight these. Pillejera said the soldiers told the villagers, “huwag magkikinig at huwag magpapauto” (Don’t listen and don’t be duped) to the people who might try to exploit the situation.

Although Pillejera said they are happy to note that the number of reported petty crimes has decreased since the soldiers’ deployment, he said the police remain the lead agency to handle peace and order in the barangays.

Relocation

Initially, Diaz said the government planned to bring the affected families in Towerville, a relocation site in the municipality of San Jose del Monte, province of Bulacan.

However, the families affected by the demolition declined the offer because they did not find Towerville livable. “Meron ng mga na-relocate doon pero nakatira lang sila sa tent, walang kuryente, walang tubig” (People have been resettled there but they live in tents, there’s no electricity or water), she said.

The Pinagkaisang Tinig ng Mamamayang Taga-Riles (united voice of railway people), an organization of affected families from seven barangays in Pandacan, found a relocation site in Barangay Aguado, also in Trece Marteres. It has recently been opened for occupancy by the NHA in coordination with other government agencies and the city, Diaz added.

Also, Diaz said the affected families were offered P50,000 in housing assistance but they opted for newly-built houses and lots which they will pay for P250 every month for 30 years.

Before the planned modernization of PNR, Diaz said they were given an option to buy the lot where their house was built. These lots are part of the PNR’s excess lots that were no longer in use, Diaz said.

“Mas maganda sana kung ganun na lang. Ang problema namin ngayon na-dislocate na kami, magkakaron pa kami ng utang sa NHA” (Better if that were the case. But now that we’ve been evicted, we still owe NHA some money), she said.

Apart from the dislocation and the enforced loan, Diaz and her family are facing more practical problems in the long term – they will be forced to live away from their places of work and their children’s schools, a problem shared by most affected families of the railway demolition.

For the meantime, Diaz said her family will be looking for a small place in Pandacan where they can rent until the end of the school year or until her husband finds another job near their new home in Cavite. Bulatlat

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