Folk in high-risk Metro areas to be relocated

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo yesterday ordered the permanent relocation of thousands of families living near riverbanks in Marikina City and other so-called high-risk areas in Metro Manila.

Mrs. Arroyo issued the order following a meeting with rescue and disaster officials of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in Cainta, Rizal on Friday.

Mrs. Arroyo noted that thousands of families have been forced out of their homes because of the flooding brought by tropical storm “Ondoy” since last week.

It was during the NDCC meeting where the issue of permanent relocation was discussed to prevent another disaster from occurring any time a storm like Ondoy would strike the metropolis.

Officials pointed out that some three million residents in Metro Manila and nearby provinces had been affected by Ondoy. Among the hardest hit by the flooding are the cities of Marikina and Pasig, as well as the nearby province of Rizal.

Although Metro Manila was spared by the onslaught of typhoon “Pepeng” yesterday, Mrs. Arroyo appealed to the thousands of families still staying at the various evacuation centers scattered in Metro Manila to remain for “one more night” until the weather improves.

“After these (Ondoy and Pepeng), we will not allow the return of those living in riverbanks,” Mrs. Arroyo told a pooled interview in her office at the NDCC in Camp Aguinaldo yesterday.

She said the evacuation centers are now very congested that many families that could not be accommodated were brought to Malacañang.

Local officials said that of the more than three million people affected, over 400,000 remain in evacuation centers, most of them with poor sanitation facilities.

Officials noted that most of the affected families are living near riverbanks, waterways, and esteros in the inundated areas of Marikina, Pasig and the coastal towns surrounding Laguna de Bay in Rizal province.

Laguna Lake rose by more than one meter as Ondoy passed last week and was in danger of spilling over into several towns in Metro Manila, affecting some 100,000 people, according to Ed Manda, general manager of the Laguna Lake Development Authority.

Mrs. Arroyo said the plan to permanently relocate the affected families would be sustained by Vice President Noli de Castro, the government’s housing czar, who pointed out available lands in different stages of development in provinces near Metro Manila.

“So we will segue to permanent relocation sites... it will be a whole new community,” Mrs. Arroyo said.

The President said among the relocation sites available are located in San Mateo and Rodriguez towns in Rizal, Calauan in Laguna, and San Miguel in Bulacan.

Local officials, however, expressed their opposition to the proposed permanent relocation of residents living in the critical areas.

Even Cabinet officials like Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando expressed opposition to the relocation of evacuees from Marikina City, whose mayor is his wife, Marides.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said relocating residents could only mean loss of voters, particularly with the onset of local elections in 2010.

“But I think that (loss of voters) is the least of our concerns... and this is, of course, a very good opportunity to clean up our esteros and waterways,” Remonde told reporters on Friday.

“Actually, the presence of our countrymen in these areas are not only endangering themselves but affecting the flow of esteros,” he said.

Remonde stressed the recurring problem of evacuating the people living near waterways and esteros every monsoon season.

Mrs. Arroyo placed the entire country under a state of calamity on Friday to expedite relief efforts for people affected by Ondoy. - With AP