Malabon residents hit mayor over demolition

Some 500 Malabon residents picketed the municipal building yesterday and accused Mayor Amado Vicencio of allowing the demolition of their houses last week.

The protesters, representing some 3,000 affected families in Barangay Tonsuya, blamed Vicencio after the owner of the private property where their houses stood, ordered the demolition of their shanties.

The residents claimed lawyer Jesus Lagman, owner of the property, reneged on their agreement to allow them until April 5 to relocate, in exchange for P15,000.

However, the squatters claimed they were given only P12,000 despite having vacated the property two weeks earlier.

Vicencio, for his part, said he was only mediating between the squatters and the property owner who claimed he had to order the demolition after some families refused to vacate his property.

Lagman, however, agreed yesterday to give the previously agreed amount if the affected families would fully vacate the land.

Malabon information officer Abbi Balatbat said the incident was beyond Vicencio’s control since there was a court order for the squatters to vacate the land.

Balatbat said Vicencio could only ask Lagman to give the squatters enough time and money to move out.

Balatbat claimed the rally was politically motivated, saying he had doubts if the squatters could afford to hire "Ati-atihan" drummers to accompany them to the municipal hall. – Jerry Botial, Nikko Dizon