THE Palace on Tuesday remained mum on how it would act on President Rodrigo Duterte’s orders to evict families authorities said illegally occupied idle government housing units in Bulacan.
“Let us leave it to proper authorities,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said, when pressed for the government’s plan against the occupants.
Duterte earlier said the protest dubbed as the “Occupy Pabahay” would not be tolerated, and warned that force might be used to settle the dispute, but his official mouthpiece thought otherwise.
“The NHA [National Housing Authority] has exercised patience. Let us hope the Kadamay will be faithful to their contract. Let us not use force,” Abella told reporters.
This, even after the NHA has agreed to backtrack on its eviction notice and must now look for ways to accommodate the nearly 6,000 who occupied various relocation sites.
Gloria Arellano of the urban poor group Kadamay said: “This initial victory has come from the bravery and strength of the urban poor Filipinos who have been holding their ground for nearly a month. Collective action amid the worsening crisis of poverty and housing is more just than ever.
“The poor are powerful and our demands will not be denied. Eviction is one thing, we will continue to push for free and mass housing for all urban poor Filipinos as a matter of right.”
With regard to the housing sites for uniformed personnel and informal settlers, the NHA is now obliged to seriously look into the number and reasons for low occupancy rates, the group said.
They have agreed to hold consultations with uniformed personnel as well as craft inventories of the other resettlement sites to make way for the occupants and those who the agency says have yet to be relocated.
NHA spokesperson Elsie Trinidad said the agency would conduct first a profiling of occupants to determine their eligibility.
The NHA said occupants should be homeless and not professional squatters.
At least 5,000 families affiliated with Kadamay occupied six housing projects in Pandi, Bulacan since March 8.
These units were supposedly built for personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police and for informal settlers in Metro Manila.