2,000 families live in Valenzuela danger zone

Manila, Philippines -  At least 2,000 families in Valenzuela City are living dangerously, their shanties standing in an area declared by the government as a danger zone, an official said yesterday.

Ahna Mejia, Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian’s public information officer, said these individuals are illegal settlers occupying an old quarry in Barangay Gen. T. de Leon, where two persons died Tuesday when a slab from a bridge collapsed on their shanties.

“These people have been here for the last two generations already and the city government could not just evict them from the area, which is considered as a danger zone, without giving them relocation,” Mejia said.

She clarified that the land declared a danger zone – marked by 6.5 kilometers of transmission lines – is owned by the National Power Corp. and supervised by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), which operates the National Transmission Corp. (Transco).

The illegal settlers are not only living in a former quarry, where the land is unstable, they are also living under transmission lines and beside power pylons, Mejia said.

The NGCP warned that it is dangerous to live near power transmission facilities.

Relocation problems

Mejia admitted that the city government could not yet provide relocation sites for these temporary settlers but said they were coordinating with the NGCP, which denied it was responsible for the relocation of the settlers.

She said the victims of typhoon “Ondoy” in 2009 are still the priority of the local government’s housing project.

City legal services chief Ditas Capacillo, however, said the NGCP may have violated its franchise and is liable for securing its property from illegal settlers. She said while the city government has some responsibility in relocating the settlers, the land where the power transmission lines stand belongs to the NGCP-Transco and is considered private property.

Gatchalian insisted that the NGCP should initiate the relocation of settlers in its private property, adding that the city government is willing to give its full support.

NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza said the city government should take the initiative in the relocation because it is what the law says. She said the NGCP will support whatever the local government will do to address the problem.

Collapse

During a heavy downpour Tuesday morning, the wall of a bridge that connects Barangays Gen. T. de Leon and Ugong collapsed on three houses and killed driver Rodel Pugoy Sr., 27, and nine-year-old Christian Serrano. Pugoy’s two children, three-year-old Rodel Jr., and Rhiver, two, were wounded.

The following day, the city government evicted 30 families living within 20 meters from the bridge and gave them temporary shelter within the area and P5,000 financial assistance.

Miguel Gallora, 49, one of those evicted, said yesterday that the owner of their shelter gave them only until today to vacate the place but they have nowhere to go.

“I was living under that bridge for the last 14 years and now I have no where to go with my wife and two children. The money provided by the city government is almost depleted for everyday we are trying to look for a place we could stay, but could not find one that we can afford,” Gallora, a construction worker, told The STAR.

A 44-year-old woman, who requested anonymity, said city hall personnel warned her family that their house, standing at the edge of a cliff 40 feet high, is in danger of collapsing and told them to vacate the area.

“If only they (government) could provide us with a decent relocation site we are willing to leave, but were shall we go? This property is legally owned by our family way back from our grandparents,” she said.