Noli to prioritize Southrail clearing

Clearing operations and relocation of informal settlers along the Southrail line in Manila, Taguig and Muntinlupa will be among the top priorities of housing czar Vice President Noli de Castro starting this year.

De Castro said this will be the next step following the successful clearing operations on the Southrail segment along the South Superhighway, which was recently cited by President Arroyo in her State of the Nation Address.

"I hear that many people are surprised that they can actually see the railway now. This is only the beginning," De Castro said.

A total of 7,404 families from the Manila, Makati as well as Cabuyao, Laguna segments of the Southrail line have been relocated to the resettlement site in Cabuyao.

Last year, the Vice President completed the relocation of some 21,023 families living along the railway line from Caloocan to Malolos, Bulacan. This has resulted in the complete clearing of the 32-kilometer right-of-way of the Metro Manila and Bulacan segments of the Northrail project, paving the way for the infrastructure development works for the railway system.

"Given the short time frame given to us, we prioritized and focused on clearing these areas, with the support of the respective local governments," he said.

According to De Castro, the Northrail resettlement project adopted a multi-sectoral, beneficiary-led approach to ensure that families were given the necessary assistance.

"We institutionalized Local Inter-Agency Committees, composed of the concerned local chief executives, people’s organizations, NGOs and community associations to formulate the implementing rules and regulations for the relocation activities, as well as prepare the development plans," he said.

"We also provided basic facilities such as schools, potable water and electricity, as well as livelihood opportunities for the resettled families," he added.

The Vice President said he hopes to replicate this success in Southrail, especially in the priority areas of Manila, Taguig and Muntinlupa.

"We have been coordinating closely with these local government units, and we hope that with their support and cooperation, we will be able to do what has been an impossible dream until now — to clear the way for a modern commuter train service within Metro Manila and to the South, and to put the "riles" dwellers in better homes that they can actually own," he said.