1,300 Navy men to dislodge ‘overstaying’ officers at Fort Boni

The Philippine Navy has assembled a 1,300-strong team to forcibly remove, if necessary, the "overstaying" retired officers still occupying a disputed property at the Navy headquarters at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

In a show of force, the Navy top brass paraded its troops at the Marine grandstand yesterday, within hearing distance of the quarters occupied by the so-called overstaying retired officers and their families.

Eleven military trucks, a payloader and a bulldozer were positioned behind the marching troops headed by Marine Lt. Col. Gioksan Dammang.

As this developed, retired Rear Admiral Octavio Dauz, one of the 56 retired officers who has continued to occupy the quarters even after leaving military service, was given his eviction notice by the Navy volunteered to vacate the premises.

Dauz joined two former Navy chiefs, Vice Admirals Victorino Hingco and Ernesto De Leon, in heeding the call of Navy brass to vacate their quarters peacefully.

Dubbed "Task Force Balik Bahay," joint Navy and Marine troops, led by 100 officers, were under orders to "help" overstaying officers move out of their quarters.

A police standby force was called to assist the troops in enforcing the Navy eviction order against its former officers.

Another group of junior officers and enlisted personnel who are not part of Task Force Balik Bahay have volunteered to augment the eviction teams.

Anticipating a possible emergency situation that could arise during the actual eviction, the Navy has also created a crisis management team to respond to the situation.

Dammang said they have been ordered to evict the retired officers on Saturday, the deadline given by the Navy for them to vacate the 20-hectare housing units.

Dammang, however, warned his troops not to use excessive force in evicting their former superiors.

Navy spokesman Captain Geronimo Malabanan said the task force has been equipped with 40 M35 trucks, forklifts and payloaders.

A total of 56 retired officers were given marching orders to vacate their premises and allow active officers to occupy the Navy housing units.

Barring court intervention, Malabanan stressed the eviction operation will proceed as scheduled.

"We will not extend the deadline unless they secure a TRO (temporary restraining order)," he said.

Among the 56 overstaying officers, retired Rear Admiral Pio Garido Jr., declared yesterday he would not be leaving.

Invoking an order from the late former President Diosdado Macapagal, Garido claimed they were given the right to stay indefinitely at the Navy’s housing facility.

Retired Brig. Gen. Brigido Paredes, one of the 17 overstaying officers whose group separately managed to secure a court injunction to authorize their occupancy, expressed his support for Garido.

Navy records showed 73 retired officers have been staying in single-detached quarters while 25 other officers are staying in duplex-style quarters.

In addition, the Navy said the retired officers have so far accumulated over P7 million in unpaid electricity and water bills.

Even after the government appealed the ruling before the Supreme Court which sustained the Court of Appeal’s injunction order in 2004, the dispute over the land is still pending before the Makati City regional trial court.