Echiverri wants in-city relocation for 18,000 squatters

Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri sought yesterday the assistance of the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HDUCC) to provide for in-city relocation for some 3,000 families affected by the Southrail project.

Echiverri also appealed to Vice President Noli de Castro, the concurrent HUDCC chairman, and to NHA general manager Federico Laxa, to defer the demolition of shantytowns in areas that would be hit by the Philippine National Railways (PNR) South rail project until a “suitable relocation site” could be established.

He said basic utilities such as water and electricity must also be made available at the relocation site before the families are evicted.

An estimated 3,000 squatter families, composed of around 18,000 individuals, living along the PNR tracks in Caloocan City’s 21 barangays would be affected by the ongoing railway improvement project by the national government.

“If our residents could be relocated within the city or possibly near their workplaces and schools, their means of income would not be significantly affected, and their children could continue with their studies unhampered,” Echiverri said.

He added that the Urban Poor Affairs Office (UPAO) and the City Urban Poor Sectoral Council (CUPSC) are the two lead local government agencies working for potential in-city relocation in Bagumbong in the northern part of Caloocan.

Echiverri said that Bagumbong, which has a vast land area still waiting to be developed, could be an ideal resettlement site for the affected families as compared to adjacent provinces.

He noted that distant relocation sites are the main cause of the problem between the government and the informal settlers.

Several resettled squatter families often returned to where they were removed, complaining about the absence of basic services and the availability of jobs within or near the resettlement areas. — Pete Laude