‘We have nowhere to go’

Some 100 families evicted from a private property in Letre, Malabon City have nowhere to go and have asked the intervention of the city government to save them from their miserable plight.

Although Malabon City Mayor Canuto "Tito" Oreta has given them a reprieve by allowing them to temporarily occupy one side of Letre Road and set up their one-room shanties until Monday next week, they still feel uncertain about their future.

"Wala pa kaming paglalagyan. Meron na raw lugar na inihahanda para sa amin pero hindi pa sigurado," said Yolanda Lupao, spokesperson for the Samahan ng mga Gabriela ng Barangay Tugatog Inc. (SGBTI).

She was referring to an idle fishpond in Tanza, Navotas sold to the city government initially during the administration of former Malabon Mayor Amado Vicencio.

The project, however, has reportedly been scrapped because the property was not fit for immediate occupancy, the property being water-filled, allegedly having an average depth of some three meters.

Leon Bergancia, Lupao’s counterpart at the Samahan ng mga Maralita ng Letre Inc. (Samlet), said they need more time despite being given several opportunities to voluntarily demolish their shanties and leave.

Both admitted they have nothing against the eviction as they said it was covered by a legitimate court order.

They said that the problem was that they were not sure for how long they will be staying in their makeshift quarters by the roadside after the deadline on Monday.

People woke up the other day seeing the shanties sprouting like mushrooms after they were allegedly thrown out of an eight-hectare property along P. Aquino Avenue from Lascano street owned by Benjie Chua.

Pastro Madrigal, offcer-in-charge of the property security force, said this problem had gone on for more or less 15 years.

"Their stay had been extended and re-extended. Mr. Chua had allowed them to live here, but when the time comes, they have to leave," Madrigal said.

At around 11 a.m. last Monday, Lupao and Bergancia went to the mayor’s office to plead their cause. They were represented by an officer from the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) in a meeting with the mayor.

What they knew about the meeting was they could stay where they are now along Letre Road until Monday.

"Paano na pagkatapos ng Lunes?" they asked.