ADB okays $1M for squatter relocation

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a $1-million grant to support the relocation project of two poor communities which live along the railway tracks in Manila.

The project will be financed under ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, which was established last May to provide grants for poverty reduction activities.

The integrated urban development project will pilot-test a community-based, self-help approach to resettle 567 out of an estimated 12,000 families who live in hazardous conditions by the tracks of the Philippine National Railways.

It will provide various physical, social and economic interventions to reduce poverty for the communities of Buli and Cupang in Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila.

This project, the ADB said, will also pave the way for a proposed Manila-Calabarzon railway rehabilitation project.

ADB said the project, to be implemented by the Muntinlupa Development Foundation in partnership with Ayala Foundation Inc. and Philippine Business for Social Progress, will provide bridge financing for off-site land purchase under a community mortgage program for the affected families. This program will also finance basic services such as water supply, sanitation and roads.

In addition, the project includes revolving funds for housing construction, livelihood and micro-enterprise development. The project is intended to establish a model for the relocation of informal settlers.

"The massive influx of squatters along the railroad is a major impediment to implementing a critical government infrastructure project. At the same time, these settlers have little choice but to live in such dangerous areas, as they need to be close to their places of work," ADB senior urban development specialist Matthew Westfall said.

Westfall said this pilot project aims to develop a participatory NGO-led approach to resettlement for the urban poor that redefines the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.

The total cost of the Muntinlupa project is estimated at $1.2 million, with the Muntinlupa City local government providing $200,000 for land purchase, site development and housing construction.

The executing agency will be the Office of the President, through the Presidential Committee on Flagship Programs and Projects. The project is scheduled for completion in 2002.

The Muntinlupa Development Foundation is an NGO working on behalf of the urban poor in Muntinlupa. Ayala Foundation Inc. and the Philippine Business for Social Progress are leading NGOs that focus on social and economic development of the urban poor in the Philippines.