Deferment of demolition in UP sought

Five Quezon City councilors appealed yesterday for the deferment of the demolition of several houses of urban poor families surrounding the University of the Philippines in Diliman on May 13.

Councilors Ariel Inton, Restituto Malañgen, Ricky del Rosario, Janey Malaya, and Jorge Banal, said they intended to find a relocation site for the affected inhabitants in Barangay San Vicente, and to forge an agreement to resolve the issue harmoniously and with finality.

"Records show that Barangay San Vicente was declared an Area for Priority Development (APD) on May 14, 1980 or 44 years after the UP Charter was passed by Congress," Inton said.

‘The subsequent APD Law could have superceded salient provision of the UP Charter and thus, prevent the eviction of the affected families," he added.

Under the APD Law, Inton explained, no structure could be demolished since the area is targeted for on site development by the government. "If and when UP will object to the said appeal, the affected residents will have no other option but to file the necessary court action," Inton asserted.

Aside from this, Barangay San Vicente was also declared a Zonal Improvement Program area in line with the government’s effort to uplift the living conditions of people in depressed areas.

Under Presidential Decree No. 2016 signed by then President Ferdinand Marcos, eviction or disposition of the occupants within the land covered, included or integrated for the "Area for Priority Development (APD)" or "Zonal Improvement Program (ZIP)" or "Slum Improvement and Resettlement (SIR)" of the Urban Land Reform is prohibited.

Last Monday, Mayor Feliciano Belmonte told the City Council and the Urban Poor to find a way to delay the demolition, the same day hundreds of residents from communities in UP protested in front of the Quezon City Hall. – Katherine Adraneda and Matthew Estabillo