More than 1,000 residents of Purok Road 10, Barangay NBBN, Navotas City are in danger of losing their homes on Monday, June 8.
The demolition order, issued by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), plans to extend the highway 27 meters from the gutter of the said community.
According to a 2010 census, 933 families will be affected by the demolition. Community officials say that around 1,500 families currently populate the area.
Several residents staged a noise barrage yesterday as the demolition team has started tearing down houses owned by residents who voluntarily surrendered their homes to the DPWH.
In an interview with Elgar Comista, president of Purok R10 NBBN Neighborhood Association, only 45 households agreed to be transferred to a government housing project in Pandi, Bulacan. They also allegedly received P1,000, three kilos of rice, and meager supplies of noodles and sardines.
According to Comista, the relocation site provided by the DPWH to the qualified residents is problematic. The primary reason is that most of the residents’ livelihood are anchored on the fishport. The population of the community is composed of fishermen, ‘batilyo’ or those who haul large buckets of fish at the port, ‘baradero’ or boat cleaners, padyak drivers giving rides to and from the port, and other odd-job workers like fish deboners and mussel cleaners. Should they be relocated to Bulacan, the transportation expenses would amount to P180 everyday.
The residents of Purok R10 are set to have a solidarity night on June 6, in preparation for the next arrival of the demolition team on Monday.
