Residents of Marala St. in Brgy. 128, Tondo were given until the last week of November to evacuate their community. But they were promised relocation last August, only then a barangay officials informed them that no relocation would be provided.
To make matters worse, a fire broke out in their community this November which displaced around 100 families.
Fire, forced evictions, and broken promises
There were six alleys, or clusters as residents would call it, in the stretch of Marala St. About 460 families built their shanties within the community which used to be a garbage dumping area overgrown with tall grass in the Smokey Mountain.
“We started in 2010. We were the first to start here. The junkshop that was established here only had six houses, until others started building their houses,” said Nerissa Garcia, not her real name.
Last August, several officials from their barangay, National Housing Authority, and guards from R-II Builders visited the community in Marala St. to inform that their occupied land is owned by R-II Builders.
R-II Builders Inc. is owned by business tycoon Reghis Romero, who also owns Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. and Port and Development Inc. This company involved in the forced displacement of over 370 workers during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Romero-owned construction firm is also behind the demolition operations in various communities across Metro Manila, including Maysapang in Brgy. Ususan, Taguig City.
Despite this, the residents did not object with the information they received. They were also given four options prior to vacating their community, either they accept financial support or the relocation in Rizal.
Nerissa thought the relocation was a good offer so she had her house marked along with other residents who were offered the same.
A month later, the barangay invited Nerissa and other cluster leaders for a dialogue where they were informed that there would be no relocation and that they should accept the financial assistance amounting to P60,000. However, the money would only be given to those who were listed in the 2019 census masterlist.
“They told us that the P60,000 would be given to those who have been living here for a long time and are listed in the masterlist. If your name is not on the list, you will only receive P10,000,” Nerissa shared.
The residents also found the dialogue suspicious as there were no representatives from the NHA present.
“Of course, how can we believe that? Only five councilors showed up, and they even said that if we report it to the authorities, it will just speed up our eviction,” Nerissa lamented.
This caused tension within the community, prompting them to start gathering their belongings. They also heard rumors that they were being labeled as “matitigas ang ulo” or stubborn and that there were talks about setting their community on fire.
Until such rumors became real. On November 7, a fire broke out in cluster 4 which displaced about 100 families. 91 families are currently evacuating in the barangay covered court. One of them is Hans Garcia, not his real name.
Soon as the affected residents evacuate to the court, they were offered the financial assistance and urged to find alternative housing.
“What we can’t accept is that after receiving just a small amount of financial aid, we’re being told to leave the tent. The chairman himself is the one forcing us to leave, and they’re only giving us until the end of the month because, supposedly, there will be events at the court. So, those who have already been paid are being told to find another place to stay,” Hans lamented.
Hans said his income as real estate agent would not really suffice to cover the cost of rental in neighboring areas. Much like other residents who were relying only to scavenging, garlic peeling, and putting up small sari-sari store or selling goods to cover their finances.
Hans also decried that he has only received P10,000 as he was supposed to receive P60,000 from being a claimant for his deceased father who was listed in the masterlist.
“My money is only P20,000, and of course, it’s already being used for daily food. I should be the claimant for my father because I’m the beneficiary. The problem is, they told me they can’t give it to me because I’m not listed in the census. But they haven’t shown us any list, except for the markings they made on our houses last August. Back then, they were still offering us relocation,” Hans explained.
Hans also shared that wake for his deceased father last August was held at his relative’s house in Aroma. A few weeks later, a fire also broke out in Aroma.
Many urban poor rights advocates surmise that fire is used as a primary tactic to push demolitions in the urban poor communities.
It was around 11:00 PM when the fire toppled the shanties in Marala. According to Hans, they were informed of indicators that caused the fire. To Hans, these reasons were not convincing narratives—but it would do given the demolition threat they are facing.
One of the explanations suggested that a couple had been fighting which Hans denied as untrue. Another claim stated that a lesbian was seen setting fire on the side of her house which Hans also refuted––saying these reasons would do again only to convince them to take the blame for what caused the fire.
“What they actually mentioned was that someone threw a kerosene lamp onto the roof which then caught fire,” Hans explained.
In November 2022, a fire also broke out in Marala which claimed the lives of an elderly woman and a dog. About 35 families were affected by the fire.
“I hope we can get help because it seems that the relocation they’re promising is unlikely,” Hans cried.
“Anywhere they put us, as long as we have a home, we will accept. Some of us are still scared because of the constant threat of fires,” Nerissa added.
Exclusion and high costs among housing projects
In 2017, the Manila local government alongside NHA informed residents in Tondo particularly those living in Aroma, Vitas, Happyland, and Temporary Housing among others that their communities were set to be demolished.
NHA said that only industrial or port-related infrastructures are allowed in the area as per Executive Order 1086 signed by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
In a dialogue conducted by NHA with residents of Temporary Housing in 2023, the agency explained that while they acknowledged the residents’ call for in-city relocation, they realized that providing such options led to a significant increase in government expenses.
Meanwhile, NHA is grappling with a significant housing backlog in the country with an estimated 6.15 million units.
In 2022, the Marcos Jr. administration introduced a flagship housing program called the 4PH or Pilipino Housing Program to address the country’s severe housing backlog by building one million houses per year.
However, this initiative was called a “failure” by ACT Teachers Party List Representative France Castro after falling short of its target to construct one million housing units per year in the first two years of the Marcos Jr. administration.
“Marcos Jr. only boasts about the “one million homes” without acknowledging that the accompanying high amortization fees are unaffordable for the poor. Moreover, the payments for these amortizations end up as profits for large developers rather than benefitting the intended residents” said urban poor group Kadamay.
Marcos Jr. himself affirmed in a Facebook post that they cut its housing target to four million from six million units until 2028 due to delayed private financing and construction issues. This means that the Marcos Jr. administration will require approximately P4 trillion to achieve its target of 3.2 million housing units by 2028, including the delivery of over 12,000 units by the end of this year, 168,000 in 2025, 595,000 in 2026, 1.35 million in 2027, and 1.1 million in 2028.
In Manila, there are already seven housing projects initiated by former mayor Isko Moreno funded through a P10 billion loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). These are the Tondominium, San Sebastian, San Lazaro Residences, Pedro Gil Residences and the Basecommunity.
On March 25, the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) and the Manila LGU convened to “strategize the acceleration of construction of designated 4PH housing projects located within the city.”
It is said that three 4PH projects are currently under construction in Manila including the San Miguel de Manila Residences located in the old San Miguel District near Malacañang, the Marina Port Town Project in North Harbor, Tondo and Sta. Mesa Altura in Sta. Mesa District.
Meanwhile, several urban poor residents in Tondo note that they cannot afford the monthly rent and amenities in these residential buildings. Other residents like those living in Tondominium also criticized they Manila City Ordinance 8730 as they were not even prioritized as low-income households when securing a slot in such housing projects.
“They said that R-II Builders will now occupy our community. After the fire incident, we were forced to move and are now living in tents. The money we have is not enough for us to find a place to move to, not even in these housing projects,” said Hans.
