Over 100 families evicted, 3 minors held in Navotas demolition

Around 110 policemen escort demolition crews who are sent to clear a 1,000-sqm property in Barangay North Bay Boulevard North in Navotas City on Thursday. —KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING

Around 100 families in Barangay North Bay Boulevard North in Navotas City were left homeless on Thursday after authorities enforced a demolition order issued by a court.

Residents of the 1,000-square-meter property condemned the “brutal and surprise” demolition which also led to three minors being temporarily detained by the police following a standoff.

According to Supt. Ferdinand Balgoa of the Navotas City police, the demolition team arrived in the area around 9 a.m. as residents stood guard in front of their houses.

But eventually, they proved no match for around 110 policemen from the Navotas police station and Northern Police District who were sent to secure the area.

Based on documents shown to the Inquirer, two private individuals claiming ownership of the 1,000-sqm property filed a case against the residents.

Daylinda Carabio, president of Buklod Urban Poor, said they filed a motion to quash the writ of demolition in June which was why yesterday’s demolition took them by surprise.

Maria Ana Martinez, a resident in the area for the past 34 years, said they were not given notice of the demolition.

“If only we were [relocated] and given … financial help, we would have been OK. But this is brutal,” she told the Inquirer.

Representatives from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor later arrived to request the implementing sheriff, Amado Batac Jr., to stop the demolition. They said the lot owners’ should have fully complied with the 1992 Urban Development and Housing Authority Law which mandates that evictees must first be provided financial assistance and relocated before being displaced.

Batac, however, said they should have taken up the matter in court.

Reached for comment, Navotas Mayor Rey Tiangco said he had been in talks with residents for three years to help them prepare for the worst.

He added that he asked the DILG in May to include the affected families in its housing program in case they were evicted.