Gov't urged to impose moratorium on demolition

MANILA, Philippines - Urban poor groups on Monday called on the national government to impose a moratorium on the demolition of their homes, including of those in areas devastated by supertyphoon Yolanda in Eastern Visayas.

Marching to the main office of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), members of the Aksyon Kontra Demolisyon (AKD) also urged the government to discontinue its "No Build Zone" policy.

"For more than three years in office, we have only witnessed our urban poor brothers being pulled out of our communities by brute force and transferred to far-flung relocation sites where livelihood and employment opportunities are inaccessible," AKD spokesperson Estrelieta Bagasbas said.

From less than 5,000 urban poor families in October 2011, the number of demolition victims has soared to nearly 90,000 families nationwide, according to AKD.

The figure includes those with constant threat of eviction due to different development projects under the Public-Private Partnership program. The figure does not include families residing along waterways and other danger areas in Metro Manila--around 104,219 families, the group said.

Meanwhile, around 10.8 million people are affected by a post-Yolanda policy that prohbits the construction within dwellings along the coastal areas in Visayan islands that were affected by the monster howler.