Decent facilities sought for displaced rail dwellers

Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri yesterday sought kind treatment of displaced rail dwellers in the city affected by the ongoing rehabilitation of the railway system by the North Luzon Railway Corp. (NLRC) by way of providing them the basic facilities for a decent life in resettlement sites.

This developed as some 626 of 2,000 families living along the railroad tracks in Caloocan City have either opted to resettle at the Towerville housing project in San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan or availed of the Balik-Probinsya program.

The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) also announced they have started the task of relocating informal settlers along the railway tracks and have completed the clearing of the right of way in Caloocan.

Related to this, Echiverri directed the local Urban Poor Affairs Office (UPAO) to make sure that the rights of city residents affected by the demolition, in line with the multimillion dollar project are not violated.

He said that it is imperative for the government to ensure that the relocation site is habitable. More importantly, the site must be accessible to schools, hospitals, markets and sources of livelihood, among others, a condition that will enable the relocatees to live decently in their new place of residence.

"One reason why the government’s housing program is not working to its full potential is because of the absence of the barest necessities like potable water and electricity. Put these all together and you see them abandoning the relocation sites and going back to their former abodes," he noted.