MANILA – Detained senator Leila de Lima wanted the Senate inquiry to look into two infrastructure projects that she said will displace some 180,000 families in Metro Manila.
An appropriate committee should investigate the construction of the P23-billion North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway Connector Road Project and the P171-billion North-South Commuter Railway Project, de Lima said.
Mega-infrastructure projects like these “rarely, if at all, mention the social costs … particularly the physical and economic displacement of thousands of people,” she said in Senate Resolution 927.
“Some residents of Sampaloc, Manila have long been apprehensive of their forcible eviction and relocation to give way for the construction of these projects,” de Lima said.
“They have repeatedly stressed that the concerned agencies have failed to adequately consult with them concerning the right-of-way negotiations,” she added.
The government was set to roll out these projects this year as part of the “Build, Build, Build” program.
According to the senator, the projects “will result in the massive demolition of houses in at least 38 barangays in Manila composed mainly of homes and small businesses.”
“The wrong displacement and relocation of these affected residents would further exacerbate economic and social problems,” she said.
Relocating affected residents to unfamiliar locales would result in zero to low occupancy rates of housing projects due to, among others, lack of access to livelihood opportunities, power, water, and community facilities, and poor estate management, said de Lima.
“There is a need to closely scrutinize the plan of our government agencies with respect to urban development regarding these projects and give due consideration and proper recognition to the individuals and families who stand to be uprooted,” she said.
“The government should ensure that the rights and interests of the people, first and foremost, are safeguarded and protected, and as such, should exercise due diligence and exhaust all possible alternatives prior to the development of any infrastructure project that involves the acquisition of private lands and the relocation of its inhabitants,” she added./PN
