Manila, Philippines - Back in September last year, Deo Dela Vega fondly called Ka Deo was among the many informal settlers in Sitio San Roque, Barangay Bagong Pag-asa in North Triangle, Quezon City who decided to leave his so-called home for a brighter future.
The National Housing Authority (NHA) had just implemented a relocation program back then, aimed at offering close to 10,000 informal settler families living in North Triangle a greater chance of improving their lives. Thus, Ka Deo and his nephew saw this as an opportunity to start a new life in Montalban, Rizal.
Ka Deo, who was recently elected president of the homeowner’s association in one of the village associations in Kasiglahan Village in Montalban, where close to 5,000 relocated families from North Triangle now reside, is slowly building up a future for himself. “Napakahirap ng buhay doon sa North Triangle (Life was very harsh back there in North Triangle)” says Ka Deo. “Kung anu-ano masisinghot mo doon eh, kaya maya’t maya may sakit ang mga bata. Ang nangyayari tuloy, kailangan mo pang gumastos para bumili ng gamot sa halip na ipangkain na lang (Back there, we had to endure all sorts of foul smells, that’s why children were constantly getting sick. Thus, we had to shell out money to buy medicines instead of food).”
‘A place I can now call my own’
Owning his own home was a far-fetched dream when he was still at North Triangle. Ka Deo says, “Our place there in San Roque wasn’t really ours, and I recognized that. Being relocated to Montalban opened up several opportunities for people like us to realize our dream of having homes we can call our own.”
Ka Deo shares that what influenced most of the peoples’ decision to move to Montalban is to escape the threat of disasters waiting to happen. “We’ve had a series of fire outbreaks there, which were caused by faulty electrical connections. Frequent flooding was also a constant scare. Here in Montalban, we don’t have to be worried about those anymore because we now have an organized system,” he added.
He further shares that the community in Kasiglahan Village is a great place for people to socialize in a more appropriate and acceptable manner and for children to enjoy growing up. “At North Triangle, three to four families share a single house with almost nothing to separate them with. When parents quarrel, children can hear them instantly, and they begin to learn using the foul words. Now in Montalban, children play peacefully and mingle with others of their age.”
Ka Deo also delights in the fact that children in his community now have a more convenient access to schools. “We have an elementary school just outside of our village and a high school probably just 300 meters away from there. We are still asking our local government if they can build schools for pre-school and nursery students here in our community.”
A brighter future ahead
Since transferring to Montalban, people have started seeing life in a different light—something that pushed them to strive harder and live more stable and meaningful lives. “In the short time that we’ve been here, I have already seen how people’s lives have changed,” Deo shares. “Most of us now live convenient lives because we now live in a much healthier environment and children need not endure the difficulty of living within a cramped space. They have the freedom to play in this safe environment.”
Ka Deo took advantage of the livelihood training program offered by the NHA and is now actively involved in one of the livelihood projects for the relocatees in Montalban. He is currently the consultant and adviser of K-Power Detergents—a detergent soap making business that employs 15 of his neighbors in Montalban who were also former residents of North Triangle.
“We started production with a single detergent kit that NHA provided us with. From it, we were able to buy two more kits from the money we gained after we sold the first batch of detergents.” said Ka Deo. “Right now, we have just registered K-Power Detergents with the DTI and we’re hoping that we can eventually grow this source of livelihood for more relocatees.”
Ka Deo, together with his community is also very thankful to the University of Santo Tomas (UST), for pledging their support in further developing the community. “Last September, we had a tree-planting activity which was followed by a disaster preparedness program. They also visit us once in a while to teach catechism and basic school lessons to children.”
Recognizing his sincere efforts to help the community, Ka Deo received an invitation from UST to participate in a Community Leadership Training Program. He proudly shared that on behalf of the Kasiglahan Village Association, he signed a Memorandum of Agreement with UST to formalize the five-year development plan for their community. “UST intends to address our immediate needs primarily covering health and education initiatives, such as educational scholarship programs, a forest park project, and lobbying for PhilHealth benefits to name a few.”
The move from North Triangle to Montalban is a continuous journey that Ka Deo and the rest of his community are going through. Each day brings new challenges that they face with their heads up. No one said it was easy, but it is this path that will allow them to have dignity for themselves and be more self-reliant. As they make this journey, they are optimistic that there’s a brighter future that awaits them and this is the legacy they can leave for their children and their children’s children.