MANILA, Philippines—A week after a prime piece of property located on Edsa was hit by a fire, which razed 900 houses and left around 2,500 families homeless, the Makati City government has declared the Laperal Compound in Guadalupe Viejo a danger zone.
In a statement issued on Monday, Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay called on residents to consider moving to relocation areas as he said the city government had classified the 2,000-hectare property a danger zone because it did not have proper sanitation facilities as well as a reliable source of water and electricity.
He added that billboards surrounding the compound which were destroyed in the April 19 fire also posed a danger to residents.
To encourage them to transfer to relocation sites, Binay said the city government had started distributing cash assistance ranging from P3,000 to P5,000 to the fire victims.
Based on a survey conducted by the city social welfare office of residents within the compound, nine out of 10 were just renting a room at a monthly rate of P1,000 to P3,000.
Binay said that of the families who were displaced by the fire, only 400 were considered actual residents as reported by the city welfare office.
He reiterated his plea for residents to consider any of the following options—return to their provinces under the city government’s “Balik Probinsya” program, avail themselves of houses from the National Housing Authority or transfer to government relocation centers in Calauan, Laguna, or San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.
At the same time, Binay assured them that even if they leave Makati, they would continue to receive the benefits due them as residents of the city like health insurance, free education, free movies and annual birthday cakes for senior citizens, among other perks.
On Monday, the owner of the property sought Binay’s help in reclaiming his land which, according to him, had been occupied by illegal settlers for decades.
Oliverio Laperal, 90, told the mayor that his company, LTC Real Estate which owns the compound, had been paying real property taxes diligently although it was not benefiting from the use of the lot.