The Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor has stepped into the supposed harassment by armed guards and some civilians in the eviction of residents of Don Antonio Street in Villa Beatriz, Old Balara, Quezon City last Dec. 14 at around 3 a.m.
The agency immediately sent Dennis Protacio and Kreeger Bonagua of the Field Operations Division for the National Capital Region and went to the area to conduct monitoring and validation activity and to stop the commotion between residents and several security guards.
It maintained that the landowner of the disputed property must first file a case before the implementation of any eviction activities. It invoked that there were also legal and proper processes to comply with.
Chairperson and chief executive officer Alvin Feliciano held a consultation and dialogue with the affected families and the agency`s legal team to provide.
In a statement sent to the media, the affected residents, in their 20 years of residence in the area, said they have now experienced that a claimant surfaced identifying herself as the owner of the land forcibly evicting them by placing the presence of guards in the area.
They claimed they were allegedly offered money to leave their homes, but they refused because they knew it would only lead to the permanent loss of their homes.
Moreover, their livelihoods have also been affected due to fear brought about by the presence of the armed personnel of the self-proclaimed landowner.
“Currently, the PCUP continues to investigate this problem because the harassment was unjust and against the law, especially since the personnel were not authorized and did not have a permit from the barangay or any government agencies to initiate such eviction,“ Feliciano said.