MANILA, Philippines -- More than 50 railroad squatters picketed the South Korean Embassy Friday morning to protest their eviction to pave the way for the Korea government-funded Northrail-Southrail Linkage Project.

The demonstrators gathered outside the Pacific Star Building at the corner of Makati and Gil Puyat Avenues in Makati City, where the embassy is located, to seek an audience with Ambassador Hong Jong-ki.

Some of the protesters wore house-shaped boxes -- in red, blue and yellow, the colors of the Philippine flag -- on their heads, symbolizing what they said is their basic human right to shelter.

But they left disappointed after the two-hour rally when it became apparent nobody from the embassy was coming out to meet them and receive their letter of protest.

The group, led by the Urban Poor Associates, was joined by five young
South Koreans, but the embassy also refused to receive them, said Ted Añana, deputy coordinator of the Urban Poor Associates.

"We were told to leave the letter with the security guards. We did not because we thought they might just put it in the trash," he said.

He said their next recourse is to bring the matter directly to Lee Myung-bak, president-elect of the Republic of Korea, through a letter signed by members of Koalisyon ng mga Samahan sa Riles Katimugan [Kosarika or Coalition of Southrail Associations].

"Your embassy officials here refuse to dialogue with us. It is as if we were not of value," they said in the letter to Lee.

"We write this letter to seek your help, since the relocation provided for us is woefully inadequate. We also want the Korean government to make another survey to be done by a university here in a very transparent manner with the results revealed publicly," the letter read.

The railway project, a joint undertaking between the Philippine and Korean governments, will interconnect the north terminal of the Northrail Project in Caloocan City and the north end of the Soutrail Project in Calamba, Laguna.

As a consequence, 50,000 families who live along the railroad tracks will be evicted by housing authorities. About 30,000 families still remain beside the tracks, according to the UPA.

Añana said the Korean government has judged the relocation of the families to be adequate based on two surveys conducted purportedly by someone connected to the Asian Development Bank, (ADB).

But he said no copy of the survey results were ever presented to them.

"The surveys, which play such a key role [in the evictions], have never been made available to us though we have asked to see them several times. Now the Korean Embassy refuses to talk to us. What are they hiding, we want to know," he said.

Añana said the Korean government through its Finance and Economy Ministry earlier expressed concern over the relocation of railway families in a letter sent to Kosarika dated May 11, 2007.

"Our government is well aware of the importance of the issue of relocating local residents in that project, and we emphasize once more that we plan to continually watch to see whether it is being implemented according to international standards," Añana quoted the letter as saying.

He said the protesters were not opposed to the railway project per se. "Our only concern is the observance of the rights of the affected families as enunciated by domestic and international laws," he said.