THE government will remove 780,000 illegal settlers on Metro Manila’s waterways despite objections from housing rights advocates, the Metro Metro Manila Development Authority said yesterday.
The agency will announce its demolition of illegal structures along rivers, canals and creeks in the newspapers so the squatters would have no reason to complain, said Robert Esquivel, head of the Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group.
“We will not only send individual notices, but also publish a 20-day notice to vacate the waterways in the major daily newspapers,” he said.
“MMDA is running against time to demolish shanties and remove slum dwellers to prevent another flood tragedy.”
The Urban Poor Associates helping the squatters said the group was against the demolition because the MMDA would not be providing relocation sites for them.
But Esquivel said the National Housing Authority had already provided two low-cost housing projects in San Pedro and Biñan in Laguna to the squatters.
“We are here to remove them from danger zones and save lives and property,” he said.
“We cannot just wait for the construction of in-city housing units, and that’s why the government is offering affordable houses in Laguna.
“We want to have a complete list of those along the waterways, particularly in Manila, Quezon City, Parañaque and Pasay so we can make our eviction notice public.” Rio N. Araja
