Demolition in Sampaloc before start of ‘hard lockdown’

(Photo of Maisan community in 2017 from MATÁ Awareness Campaign)

Human rights alliance Karapatan condemned the demolition of the makeshift shelters of more than 78 families in Maisan, Brgy. 432, Sampaloc, Manila.

The group said in a statement on April 23 that the Philippine National Police (PNP) that implemented the eviction did not show compassion, especially to those most at risk to the dangers posed by the present pandemic.

Before 3 pm on April 22, at least four uniformed and armed men from the Manila Police District (MPD) Precinct 4 started the demolition of makeshift shelters of at least 78 families.

The displaced residents reported being threatened of arrest if they will not leave their shelters. The homes of these residents were destroyed last year following the Department of Interior and Local Government’s strict clearing operations order to local government units in the country. Aside from their homes, these residents who suffered from what Karapatan considered ‘illegal demolition’ also lost their livelihood at the sidewalks of Manila.

According to Karapatan, the residents said that the barangay chairperson and the local government of Manila were not aware of the said demolition that was conducted to allegedly pave a space for a Rapid Testing Facility and a quarantine facility as what the police said.

The Manila local government unit has chosen Gen. Licerio Geronimo Elementary School to be its rapid testing center for the ‘localized targeted mass testing’ that they will conduct during the 48-hour lockdown in the Sampaloc district.

“The demolition of the makeshift shelters of the residents of Maisan in Sampaloc, Manila at a time when anyone is at risk of getting infected of the fast-spreading and lethal coronavirus disease is truly outrageous. This reveals to us that the government remains deaf to the people’s legitimate demands for genuine and mass-oriented solutions to this pandemic,” Karapatan deputy secretary-general Roneo Clamor said.

MPD Chief Brig. Gen. Rolando Miranda said to Inquirer that they only rescued the street dwellers and relocated them. Karapatan relayed the displaced residents are now staying inside a bodega facility without ventilation. Because it cannot accommodate all of them, some of the residents were forced to seek shelter in the streets.

“We find it really ironic that the government, in a bid to contain the spread of the virus, wants to see everyone staying inside their homes, but at the same time, allows uniformed men to wrack the makeshift shelters of poor Filipinos who have been rendered homeless and who suffered a lot since the implementation of a militarist enhanced community quarantine,” he added.

Manila Public Information Office Chief Julius Leonen said that the local government did not order and carry out any demolition operations in the area.

The Sampaloc area of Manila has been ordered placed under ‘hard lockdown’ by the city government from April 23 at 8:00pm, Thursday until April 25, Saturday due to the numerous cases of COVID-19 in the district.

Karapatan supported the call of the now and once again homeless residents of Maisan to temporarily open the Moises Salvador Elementary School as an evacuation center. The group also called on the public to extend any kind of help to the residents of Maisan.