MPD Ermita, Sta. Ana stations face eviction

MANILA, Philippines - The police stations in Ermita and Sta. Ana in Manila have been given notice to vacate the land they are occupying, officials said yesterday.

The Manila Police District Station 5 in Ermita has been given final notice by the National Bureau of Investigation to vacate its 2,400-square meter property along United Nations Avenue to give more space for the bureau’s clearance processing center. The NBI has been asking the MPD to vacate the property since October last year.

MPD director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rongavilla ordered the Station 5 personnel to their new police station at Arquiza Street, where an outpost of the same name is situated.

Another police station, Station 6 in Sta. Ana, is also considered an “informal settler” in the 800-square meter lot it has occupied for 70 years. Rongavilla said the MPD has informed the Manila city government and higher headquarters of the demand by the Sta. Ana Church for MPD Station 6 to vacate the lot along Hugo street. The Catholic Church owns the lot.