Urban poor body appeals to UP on demolition plans

The Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) asked University of the Philippines officials yesterday to defer the eviction of 35 families living in a nearby community while the government finds a suitable relocation site.

As this developed, UP president Francisco Nemenzo Jr. said the controversy is a matter now beyond his authority, explaining that the issue has been delegated to Dr. Emerlinda Roman, chancellor for the flagship campus of the state university.

But Roman is out of the country on an official week-long trip. In the meantime, the UP president asked UP parish priest, Fr. Robert Reyes and PCUP head Percival Chavez to help the university and the affected families address the eviction case at the negotiating table.

"UP admittedly has the legal title to the property, said Chavez, "but we are talking here of the social justice aspect of relocating affected families."

Reyes said UP cannot tarry for long on the problem.

A composite team of the UP police and Central Police District men began dismantling the shanties of the families in a portion of Barangay San Vicente near University Avenue Monday.

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. offered to transfer the families to the Kasiglahan Village in Montalban, a government relocation site for squatters but only 16 of the families have qualified as beneficiaries.

Moreover, the families said they do not want to transfer to the site, which, they said, is not only far from their sources of income but also lacking in basic social services.

In a dialogue with community leaders at the UP Administration Hall, Nemenzo said his hands are tied because his functions are only limited to academic issues confronting the university.

"I respect the integrity of the office of the UP Diliman Chancellor," he told leaders of the affected families, who with the help of the University Student Council, have put up a barricade around their community to prevent the demolition team from completing the clearing-up operations.

During the dialogue, the UP president agreed to allow the residents whose houses have been demolished to put up temporary shelters in the area until their case is finally resolved. "For so long as no new structures are erected, (I agree to your request)," he told the residents.

The UP administration has denied charges that the residents have not been consulted about the demolition. UP Diliman Vice-Chancellor for Community Affairs Gil Gotiangco said that a long process took place just to ensure that the settlers were aware of the development plans of the university.

"The university initially did not have demolition in mind but a peaceful resolution through renovation which they consistently refused," he said.

Last May 3, an inter-agency committee composed of the UP Diliman administration, UPAO, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), the Presidential Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the PNP-CPD, and representatives from the squatters community finalized plans to implement the relocation of affected families from May 6 to 10, officials said.

Gotiangco said that UP plans to establish a park in the cleared area. Records show that Barangay San Vicente was declared an area for priority development (APF) on May 14, 1980 or 44 years after Congress passed the UP Charter.