Executive Order No. 108

DECLARING A PORTION OF THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM (GSIS) PROPERTY LOCATED IN PAROLA, TONDO AND BINONDO, MANILA AS SOCIAL HOUSING SITE AND PROVIDING FOR THE DISPOSITION THEREOF TO QUALIFIED OCCUPANTS AND BENEFICIARIES. Issued in 2001 (?)

Executive Order No. 106

Creation of the North Triangle Development Committee, issued 27 May 2001.

Republic Act No. 7279

Urban Development and Housing Act of 1991r, also known as the “Lina Law.”

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR A COMPREHENSIVE AND CONTINUING URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING PROGRAM, ESTABLISH THE MECHANISM FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

North Triangle residents ask Noli to include socialized housing in the planned Quezon City Central Business District

PRESS RELEASE
March 11, 2008

Residents of North Triangle are appealing to Vice President Noli de Castro to support their demand that the planned Central Business District of Quezon City, a commercial zoning development project covering the so-called North Triangle and East Triangle Area along North Avenue, include socialized housing for them. The residents are pushing for a mixed-use plan for the development of the area as alternative to relocating them in another place.

“Instead of moving 16,000 families to relocation sites far from their jobs and their source of livelihoods, the plan for the Central Business District should allocate space for medium rise buildings as affordable socialized housing for the residents,” said Edwin Nacpil, President of the San Roque Community Council – North Triangle Alliance or SRCC-NTA).

“According to a World Bank study of the Central Business District Project, it will be much more expensive for the government to relocate the families living in North Triangle than to provide socialized housing through medium-rise buildings under a mixed-use plan,” added Nacpil.

“We appeal to Vice-President Noli De Castro to support us by pushing for a mixed-use development plan. The development of North and East Triangle areas should be inclusive, rather than exclusive. It should be based on a mix of commercial and residential housing development, and on high-end and low-end development.”

De Castro, Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), is in charge of the Urban Triangle Development Commission, which covers 250-hectare North and East Triangle areas.

The Central Business District property is owned by the National Housing Authority (NHA). The Trinoma Mall, owned by the Ayalas, is one of the first malls to locate in the area.

The World Bank has dubbed the CBD project as “the center of gravity of commercial developments in Metro Manila in the coming years.” The site offers the most ideal locations in terms of metropolitan access. It will be linked to at least three metro rail transit stations, and has one of the most expansive EDSA frontages, compared to other central business districts. World Bank contracted the Japanese firm, Almec, to complete the framework plan. The estimated P3 billion project will transform a largely institutional and partly blighted area into one of the most profitable and productive in Quezon City.

According to the Quezon City website, the plan is to organize the CBD into five distinct commercial/residential/ recreational Districts:

• Triangle Exchange is envisioned to have the highest densities of the Triangle Park. It will have commercial and residential establishments fully integrated with the transit facilities, providing the best regional links and commuter access.
• Residences at Veterans will be a mixed-use community with a residential focus. It will have a mix of housing, from high-rise condominiums to medium and lower density dwellings. Residents will have the advantage of having expansive parks nearby.
• Downtown Hub will have institutional locators (medical, training, science, etc.) integrated with commercial and residential developments.
• Emporium will focus on information and technology activities.
• Commons will consist of a park with cultural, recreational, entertainment and amenity focus.

Initial Brief on Damayang Lagi

Some 1,200 families/structure owners and approximately 4,800 individuals in Damayang Lagi, along E. Rodriguez Avenue in Quezon City are currently threatened with dislocation from their homes if the government’s mixed use plan for the area will be implemented. Some of the residents there had built their homes on that land in 1960’s and 1970’s.

In the name of development, profit maximization, additional revenues for the city, and for aesthetic reason, the Quezon City government under Mayor Sonny Belmonte plans to transform the 21,000 square meter-Damayang Lagi into a commercial and residential site. A mixture of permanent and semi-permanent structures of urban poor or informal settlers are currently erected in that site.

Commercial building will be constructed in the area along E. Rodriguez Avenue while the medium rise buildings (MRBs) for residential units will be built behind the commercial buildings or in the inner areas.

Damayang Lagi as a prime commercial and residential site

Damayang Lagi land is owned by the Department of Finance (DoF) through its Privatization and Management Office (PMO). It used to be the Magdalena Estate that was used as loan collateral (?) to the Development Bank of the Philippines in the 70’s. But it was foreclosed by the bank in 1977. There were several attempts to redeem the land, but all these failed. The DoF’s valuation of the land when this was bid out in December 1997 was PhP 23,000/sq.m.

The area was declared by the DoF as Area for Priority Development (APD) consistent with Ferdinand Marcos’ Presidential Decree 2060 which identified Damayang Lagi as one of the priority areas for development in Quezon City. In fact, it was the 10th priority area then during the time of Marcos. The land was later classified under the Asset Privatization Trust (APT) during the Aquino administration, which targets various lands for disposal to generate additional revenue for the government.

There may be some irregularities/questions with regard to the land classification of Damayang Lagi which may affect the QC government’s plan for the area. From 1970’s until 2001, Damayang Lagi had been classified as a residential land. However, in 2001, under Mayor Belmonte, it was classified as a commercial land under zoning ordinance or land use plan of Quezon City.

The community and the Barangay Council oppose the commercial land classification of Damayang Lagi. In effect, the whole community of Damayang Lagi is vehemently opposed to the commercial classification of their land by the Quezon City government.

However, the communtiy believes that their will was overpowered by the influential Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Association (CREBA). In pursuing its opposition to the reclassification of Damayang Lagi from residential to commercial, the Barangay Council of Damayang Lagi passed a resolution in 2005 seeking the classification of the land to be reverted to its original classification as residential land. Councilor Intong sponsored this resolution at the City Council, but the Committee where the resolution was referred to has still not acted on the resolution.

Intensifying Community Protest

After three years, the affected community revived its opposition to the impending demolition of their houses due to the zoning ordinance of Quezon City which reclassified their land as commercial. In fact, several groups have emerged to pursue the protest against the plan to implment the mixed use of the land as commercial and residential sites. These groups are asserting their right to be there, where they grew up and have families of their own, and most especially their right to a dignified life which include a decent housing for them.

These groups include the National Urban Poor Coalition (NUPCO) members in the area – Umalab Ka, Pagkakaisa ng mga Naninirahan sa Tabing Ilog (PANATA), Damayang Lagi Muslim Community, Nagbubuklod sa Damayang Lagi (NAGBUBUKLOD), and Nagkakaisang Samahan sa Damayang Lagi (NASADALA).

Task Force ON-SITE (Development)

In April 2008, a new alliance called Task Force On-Site (TF ON-SITE) was formed to pursue the on-site development position. Its members include PANATA, DL Muslim Community, NAGBUBUKLOD, NASADALA, and the Barangay Council. The Barangay Development Council and the Chair of the Committee on Urban Poor of the Barangay Council who is also the president of PANATA act as co-coordinators. NUPCO sub-area coordinator Noel Cano of Umalab Ka is the adviser of PANATA and NASADALA.

TF ON-SITE opposes the mixed use plan of the city government. The group anticipates that the plan will result in costly, thus unaffordable housing for its members. Also under said plan, their houses, in which many have already invested a lot, will be demolished.

The alliance in stead demands an on-site, “as is, where is” development in Damayang Lagi. Moreover, TF ON-SITE members have expressed willingness to pay for the land just to have a security of tenure in the area. The medium rise buildings (MRB) option is not being entertained by the residents because this is believed to be used to ease them out because of the payment cost that many of them may not be able to afford. Besides, these residents assert that they have long been structure owners in the area, thus they have the right to stay there.

RECENT UPDATES
Meanwhile, Home Insurance Guarantee Corporation (HIGC) proposes to have an off-site relocation for the affected community in order to pursue the mixed use of land project in Damayang Lagi. The PMO (owner of the land) and the Quezon City government (as developer) have ongoing talks for the so-called development of Damayang Lagi. The Asian Development Bank supports this plan through its Metro Manila Urban Settlement Project (?). The city government had conducted a census on November 2007, in coordination with some people’s organizations (?) in the area, to determine the actual number of occupants and to have an economic survey there as well. PMO and ADB are expected to finalize the plan and present it to Mayor Belmonte in June this year. Belmonte targets to complete the project before his term of office ends in 2010.

Advocacies/Campaigns

Most common struggles of NUPCO members are on housing/land tenure, demolition, and on clearing operations due to development/infrastructure projects such as flood control, road widening, and beautification program. Provision of social services, especially water, is one of the major local struggles of some members of NUPCO.

NUPCO is an active advocate of the advancement of urban poor rights including the passage of Magna Carta for Urban Poor. The coalition, together with IPD, also pursues initiatives toward the empowerment of women as well as greater involvement of the youth in the communities.

The advocacies/ campaigns of NUPCO members can be categorized into four: 1) land tenure/housing, 2) development aggression, 3) contending laws, and 4) political/other advocacies.

Organizational Structure

Formed in 2006, NUPCO now has seven member urban poor organizations/formations with majority of membership coming from Metro Manila, while the rest are from other cities/provinces in Luzon, Visayas, and in Mindanao. These are Bangsa, Kalipunan ng Samahang Maralita sa Pilipinas (Kasama Pilipinas), Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralitang Lungsod (KPML), League of Urban Poor for Action (LUPA), Lakas Ugnayan ng Maralita Laban sa Kahirapan (LUMABAN KA), Pambansang Katipunan ng Maralitang Pilipino (PKMP), and Umalab Ka.

There are two levels in the organizational set-up of NUPCO – national and sub-area levels. At the national level, the National Council composed of one representative from each bloc/organization defines or sets the direction of the coalition.

At the local level, there are five sub-areas composed of local leaders of organizations present in the area. The sub-areas – Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela (CaMaNaVa), South (focus on Taguig), and East (focus on Marikina) – are determined based on the presence of NUPCO members in these areas. A coordinator is assigned in each sub-area.

Decisions are made through consensus reached either at the national or local level. A consensus to form committees to further enhance the coalition’s capability to implement programs/ blueprints was already reached this year.

NUPCO reaches out to independent urban poor organizations especially those located in areas where the coalition has active engagements for security of land/housing tenure.