A labor NGO raised concerns about human rights violations that occurred in the demolition of an urban poor community along NIA Road in Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City last April 9, and demanded that the city government address these violations.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) said that the residents’ resistance to the demolition, which resulted in the arrest of seven, and their statements show that the Quezon City government, under Mayor Joy Belmonte, as well as the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the National Housing Authority (NHA) have been remiss in ensuring adequate preparations for the residents’ transfer.

“It is ironic that government housing buildings will supposedly be built in the ruins of an urban poor community that has just suffered a devastating fire and a violent demolition. If there is real compassion for the urban poor, this will not happen. The DHSUD and the NHA especially should know that this is not the way to deal with the poor Filipinos,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director.

CTUHR is responding to the Quezon City government’s claim that seven government housing buildings will be built in the area, which has just suffered a fire that destroyed 5,000 houses and affected 4,000 families, and that residents will be given temporary shelter and rental assistance amounting to P30,000 starting on April 18.
  
The labor NGO cited reports where residents claim that they were not fully consulted by the local government about plans for the area, that no staging area was created for them, and that they were negotiating when the demolition team, backed by police in riot gear, started pushing them and demolishing their homes.

“The violent demolition, the residents’ resistance, and the arrests should not have happened if the concerned government bodies really talked to the residents and made sufficient preparations. The demolition is also deeply insensitive to the families whose kids just attended school graduations, marked the Holy Week, and did not have time to prepare,” Deligente added.

CTUHR called on the Quezon City local government, the DHSUD and the NHA to correct the handling of the evicted residents by releasing the seven arrested residents, holding consultations with the community, providing various kinds of timely assistance, and ensuring the relocation of those who will be displaced.

“We believe that the Quezon City government is perfectly capable of leading the other government agencies in upholding residents’ right to decent housing and to due process as regards their resettlement. The city is one of the most developed cities in the country and has shown openness to the voice of the poor and the marginalized,” Deligente said.