DSWD revives plan to sell mental hospital property in Mandaluyong

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has revived the plan to sell a huge portion of the Welfareville property in Mandaluyong City, where the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) and the Correction Institute for Women sit.

DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral said the agency is bidding off the property in compliance with Republic Act 5260, which was approved in 1968 during the Marcos administration.

Cabral said the sale is intended to raise funds for the protection of the rights of the children in fulfillment of the Philippine government’s agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization.

The property is under the name of the Insular Government of Manila, but the Social Welfare Administration, now the DSWD, became the executor of the sale.

Under the law, the proceeds of the sale will go to the DSWD, which will implement pro-children programs nationwide.

"When I came in (in the DSWD), negotiations were ongoing. The last decision was that 28 hectares of the 98 hectares would be set aside as housing for the informal settlers in the entire property," Cabral told The STAR.

The DSWD will then sell the remaining 70 hectares in a bidding. Last month, the agency had tried to hold a bidding for the property, but no bidders came forward.

But because of the latest development, NCMH employees are once again restless for fear of their displacement and that of the patients.

Recently, workers staged a picket at the NCMH compound and in front of the Department of Health (DOH) office in Tayuman, Manila to protest the plan.

"We condemn this plan. The government should give priority to the welfare of the workers and patients before anything else," claimed Rose Fermin, vice president of the NCMH Employees Association.

In an interview, Fermin complained that negotiations for the sale have been revived without consulting them.

The DSWD attempted to sell the properly in 2003, but this was shelved because of the strong resistance of NCMH employees and squatters living in Welfareville.

Former Mandaluyong mayor and now Rep. Benhur Abalos also moved for the postponement of the sale until a socialized housing program for the squatters is assured.

But Cabral noted that the DOH and Department of Justice were given ample time to look for a relocation site for the NCMH and the Correction Institute for Women, respectively.

"All the occupants in Welfareville were given notices. From 2006, they had three years to effect the transfer, and I think they already have a place in Tanay Rizal," she added.

DOH Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Alex Padilla expressed doubt that the sale would push through.

"It will not make the government look good. It may appear like they are trading of health for compensatory gains," Padilla said.