ADB president inspects Munti Japan-aided depressed areas

Asian Development Bank (ADB) president Tadao Chino recently visited two poor urban communities situated next to a danger zone in Muntinlupa and the Philippine National Railway (PNR) tracks, which are being assisted under a $1 million grant project financed by ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi welcomed Chino upon visiting the homes of residents participating in the pilot project, which involves relocating the community to a safe, serviced parcel of land through a community-led partnership. The project will pilot-test a community-based, self-help approach to resettle 567 of an estimated 12,000 families who live along the right-of way of the PNR. The communities of Buli and Cupang will receive various physical, social and economic assistance to reduce poverty for the families living in the barangays.

The project is to pave the way for a proposed Manila-Calabarzon railway rehabilitation .

Entitled "Off-site and off-city relocation project for vulnerable slum communities of the city of Muntinlupa," the project beneficiaries have selected a resettlement site in barangay United Bayanihan, San Pedro, Laguna, approximately eight kilometers from their present settlement, with a land area of two hectares. Relocation will begin after the initial site development, while vacated areas will be protected by the city government through the establishment of greenbelts, community gardens and others.

Chino said that "it is our hope that the success of the project will become a model for other communities of squatters in Metro Manila and in other cities in Asia. We hope to learn from this project and replicate the community-led approaches that are promoting participation, consensus and real solutions that work."