Informal settlers assured: ‘No demolitions without relocation’

Informal settlers need not worry about being left homeless as the government unveiled its plan for big-ticket infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration.

Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) chairman Terry Ridon on Thursday reaffirmed President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise that agencies should ensure the relocation of affected informal settlers before tearing down their houses.

“Under the leadership of the President, he has made it clear that there will be no demolitions without relocation,” Ridon told reporters in a Palace briefing.

READ: Duterte: No demolition without relocation during my term

On Tuesday, Duterte’s economic managers said a total of P8.4 trillion would be spent for infrastructure during the six-year Duterte administration.

READ: Dutertenomics: ‘Golden age of infrastructure’

Among the flagship infrastructure projects include the 2,000-kilometer Mindanao Railway, the Metro Manila subway, PNR North Railway and the South Railway.

Ridon said the agencies involved in the infrastructure projects would need the clearance of PCUP before they start demolitions.

“I think we have to remember that PCUP is the final clearance for all the demolitions particularly for infrastructure projects,” he said.

Ridon said part of the budget for the big-ticket infrastructure projects would be allotted for relocating informal settlers.

“I think part of the spending will most definitely be made towards relocation of many of the affected informal settler families,” he said. IDL/rga