Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

332 SESSION V
can exemplify the reasons but I will raise only 2.
1. The violent demolition still happens. In Barangay
Santa Cruz, a riverbank community in Quezon City,
on January 21, 2005, the Metro Manila Development
Authority (MMDA) demolition crews demolished
houses of poor families without prior notice and
consultation. Even more they burned the properties of
the people. The MMDA justifies their action by citing
the area as danger zone so they can demolish without
having to follow UDHA. The people understand that
UDHA does not support demolition except in danger
area but the government must give prior notice,
consultation and relocation. The MMDA intends to
violate the law that protects the people.
2. The implementation about the land for socialized
housing. The law mandates the local government to
identify land for socialized housing but most of the local
government units do not comply. Of the 25 researched
cities of the Urban Poor Associates only 3 cities made
land inventory and only 5 in 25 cities have identified
land for socialized housing (The UDHA Challenge :
Monitoring LGU Compliance, Issues and Development in
Local Housing).
The housing problem will not be solved solely by the
presence of a good law like UDHA, if the government
will not follow the law. In this situation, strong
community organizations are very important to protect
the community and offer alternative solutions.
The next section is a presentation of the many approaches
to solve the land security problem.
Land security for the urban poor
Stopping demolition is only the first step to solve
the housing problem. The next step is rather more
difficult: to give the land security for the people. In
second step we have two main approaches, one is onsite
improvement and another one is relocation. Most
of the people wants the on-site development because
the cost of the project is cheaper than relocation site
and near the sources of their jobs. The people who have
occupied the land already need only to adjust the house
to improve the infrastructure and give the land security
to them. However, the problem is that the land owner
usually wants to use the land for other purposes where
she or he can earn bigger profits than the socialized
housing offers.
In some cases, the people can not live for good in the
danger areas that leaves them to opt for one of the viable
strategies for them: settle for a good relocation sites
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows
particularly in-city. In this section I will talk about
that.
The problem of relocation project
While the people want to live in their original place,
the situation they are in does not give them the
reasons to do so especially if they are affected by the
urban development project such as flood control, river
rehabilitation and transportation projects. In this case,
the people must move to the relocation project.
Some examples of the relocation sites are: the
Kasiglahan Villages 1 to 5 located in Cavite, Rizal, and
Taguig where the affected families of the Pasig River
Rehabilitation Project moved in; the Tower Ville and
North Hill Village in Bulacan where the people affected
by the flood control projects of DPWH. The people
raised two serious problems: one is the facility problem,
when they moved to relocation area the facility was not
prepared, no electricity and water supply etc. Another
problem is the relocation site is so far from Manila and
far from their sources of livelihood and jobs. Some of
them sell their land and come to Manila; most of them
can not pay the amortization.
Mode of acquisition of land for the on-site improvements
For the people, on-site improvement is the best solution
for them but the problem is the acquisition of the land.
It is very difficult because they cannot afford the price of
the land. However, in the Philippines, there are many
modes of land acquisition that make the land security
possible. The acquisition of land depends on the kinds
of land, so I will explain them separately:
Public Land
In the Philippines, if the community is on a public
land, the President can proclaim the land for socialized
housing or Presidential Proclamation. There are cases
that the people have acquired their land by this process
such as Sama-Sama and Baseco. During the term of
President Arroyo I (2000-2004), she proclaimed 25,600
hectares of public land for socialized housing.
According to the process, the President’s proclamation
will follow the formation of a committee from various
concerned government agencies and community
organizations to do the planning for the improvement
of infrastructure and subdivision. Eventually, the
people will pay the government the amount that they
can afford. The problem is again the implementation.
There is usually lack of budget and direct point person