VP Noli writes re `riles’

Very welcome is the letter to this column from Vice President Noli de Castro in response to our concern about the poor families living along the railroad tracks. Tens of thousands of these families will have to go when construction of the modern railway system (the North Rail) starts in a couple of months. The railway project is part of the Strong Republic Transit System, a flagship project of the Arroyo administration.

VP de Castro’s letter is welcome because it would be a gauge for those in the ``Bantay Riles’’ (non-government and people’s organizations) in monitoring how the government handles the human side of this project that will change the landscape and they way people live and travel.

Sure, we all need new ways of doing things and the long awaited modern transit system is welcome but we also need to preserve the dignity of human beings, the poor most especially, who live dangerously along the tracks.

As to the big illegal structures built along the way by the non-poor who wanted to free-load, bulldoze them tomorrow.

Note that VP de Castro does not use the word squatters. He uses the word settlers.
``Thank you very much for your concern over the plight of `riles’ settlers who will be affected by the railway rehabilitation project, which you wrote about in your Sept. 9 column, `Bantay Riles.’



``As Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) I would like to give you seom background information and updates on the resettlement of the `riles’ settlers.

``While actual work for the North Rail project is yet to begin, the difficult task of relocating the `tens of thousands of families along the railroad tracks’ as you put it, has already commenced as early as last year according to the resettlement plan which HUDCC helped to prepare.

``In fact we have completed the clearing of the Right of Way (ROW) along the Kalookan alignment of North Rail which involved the relocation of 626 informal settler families who either opted to resettle at the Towerville housing project in San Jose, Del Monte or availed of the `Balik-Probinsya’ program, with an assistance package worth P15,000 for transportation, as well as food vouchers.

``From 2002 to March 2004, seven consultations have been held in Kalookan alone which were convened by HUDCC, NHA, an attached agency of HUDCC, and participated in by the concerned agencies including Philippine National Railways (PNR), North Luzon Railway Corporation-Bases Conversion Development Authority (NLRC-BCDA), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Philippine Commission on the Urban Poor (PCUP), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), and the Department of Health (DOH), as well as NGOs such as the Urban Poor Associates.

``In all these consultations, the concerned families and communities were fully informed of their relocation options. We also made it clear that the resettlement program will be beneficiary-led and in-city, to the extent allowed by the budget. This is to minimize the adverse effects of dislocation among the affected families.

The resettlement program likewise provides for an assistance package amounting to P201,970.00 per family. This amount covers serviced home lots, housing materials loan, livelihood assistance, water/power connections as well as food allowance. As indicated earlier, we are also offering the Balik Probinsya program to families who will opt to go back to their provinces.

``We are now prioritizing the clearing of the ROW for the Malabon alignment which will connect to the Kalookan segment. This will affect 3,399 families, of which 400 have already expressed their desire to vacate the area voluntarily.

``While the HUDCC-NHA has already held previous consultations with communities who will be affected by future clearing and relocation operations in the Malabon area, local inter-agency committee (LIAC) meetings are continuously being convened every two weeks by the local government of Malabon. These meetings are participated in by various agencies such as the PCUP, DOTC, NAPC, HUDCC-NHA, and representatives of various people’s organizations.

``Meanwhile, parallel consultations are also being undertaken weekly by the HUDCC-NHA and PCUP with the affected residents. We would like to invite you to attend these consultations to observe how they are conducted and to give you a better idea of the issues and concerns of the various sectors involved.

``AS to the funding aspect, the resettlement program for both North and South Rail settlers will require an estimated P8 billion. HUDCC is now in the final stage of contracting a loan from the National Development Company (NDC) amounting to P3.5 billion. This will be sourced from a planned flotation of NDC bonds.

``The Department of Budget and Management, on the other hand, committed to immediately release P100 million to NHA, and another P150 million within the month for the project. This will be used to start the relocation along the Malabon alignment by the end of this month.

``Much of the work still lies ahead of us, and we remain firm in our commitment to protect the welfare of the families to be relocated.

``As the new HUDCC chairman, I bring to this position my long-time personal and professional experience in dealing with and serving the Filipino masses. Thus, I can personally guarantee you that I will exert every effort to make sure that the families living along the railways will not have to ``go through a worst phase’’ in the course of giving them a better life away from the dangers and the poor living conditions which they have had to bear with for a long time.

``Thank you very much.

``Sincerely yours,
Vice President Noli de Castro.’’