Land Misuse - ERAP City

Land Misuse in the Philippines - Erap City

By Arch. Merant B. De Vera,uap

August 5, 2011

Former Housing chief Karina David said Antonio Evangelista, president and general manager of Kanlaon Construction Enterprises Co., Inc. lobbied with the President for the approval of the Erap City project which spans five barangays and stretches across 2,500 hectares

The Montalban housing project was first conceived during the President Fidel V. Ramos administration. A master plan prepared by Architect Jun Palafox Associates says that the first phase of the project will cover only 600 hectares: the 400-hectare Suburban area and the 200-hectare San Jose Plains, which includes the Kasiglahan I project, began during the presidency of Fidel Ramos. The property was bought on October 1, 1999 by St. Peter Holdings Corp., a shell corporation formed three months before by the de Borja law firm upon the request of Edward Serapio, Estrada's undersecretary for political affairs and a founding partner of the law firm.

Earlier investigations by the PCIJ revealed that the shares of the company that owns the property were endorsed to Jose 'Sel' Luis Yulo, who had been appointed by Estrada presidential adviser on socialized housing. Yulo was at loggerheads with David, who was initially put in charge of the government housing program. David resigned on October 15, 1999, wondering why Estrada could not let go of Yulo.

Kasiglahan Village I is a component of the 2,500-hectare Erap City project, according to the executive summary of the Home Insurance Guarantee Corporation. Touted as the “first ever well-planned socialized housing city undertaken in the country,” Erap City is developed by the New San Jose Builders, reportedly the developer of ousted President Joseph Estrada’s grand Boracay mansions. The Village sits on the San Jose Flood Plains. Its development already affected the villages of Puray, San Jose, San Isidro, and Macabud which are near the critical watershed areas of Angat-Ipo, La Mesa, and Marikina.

Estrada government wasted the huge amount of loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which is part of the over-all P7.9 billion budget for the river’s rehabilitation. “Where did the P2.116B loan intended for the families removed along the Pasig River go?” asked Ted Añana, UPA assistant coordinator. UPA’s current research-survey shows that of the 5,350 families relocated to PRRC’s distant camps, 54 percent have returned to Metro Manila because the commission failed to provide basic services. Government documents, such as the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), says the aim of relocation is to provide a better quality of life for evicted families through “good quality housing with security of tenure, better access to basic services, access to skills and livelihood development opportunities, and improvement in public health conditions for the people particularly women and children.” “Government does not conform with its RAP guidelines.  It has violated its major provisions on the health condition of the people, citing our records of 16 casualties as a proof,” Añana said. For its part, the ADB as the aid agency of PRRC, must review the performance of the government on resettlement, UPA said. The bank’s guidelines prohibit funding in projects that displace people. The ADB should stop extending funds if government does not do its homework to the people of KV1 and the rest of Pasig river families who have been relocated to other sites, UPA said. Its Handbook on Resettlement says “People unavoidably displaced should be compensated and assisted, so that their economic and social future would be generally as favorable as it would have been in the absence of the project…People affected should be informed fully and consulted on resettlement and compensation options…Ensure that relocation sites are completed with all amenities before any relocation takes place.”

Several NGOs say that the housing construction already caused the denudation of forests and leveling of mountains in the area. The Bunga, Gabi, Lilid and Palapad creeks have been choked and filled. There is also great possibility of soil erosion, siltation, contamination of rivers, and flash floods affecting not only Montalban Area, but also the cities of Marikina, Pasig and Rizal province in the future.Aside from flash floods, maps from the Philippine Volcanology and Seismology show that Barangays Macabud and San Jose are found in the upper block of the West Marikina Valley Fault lines. The area is prone to surface rupture in the event of earthquakes, which makes the lives of residents in greater danger.

The Environmental Management Bureau on February 24, 2000 issued a notice of violation, two days after development of the Suburban area began. The company paid a P50,000-fine, applied for an ECC, and got one by the first week of June. Officials of the New San Jose Builders said they thought that the previous ECC they obtained for Kasiglahan I covered the expanded area, too.

Posted in almost every house in the area is the image of Jesus Christ nailed to the cross bleeding and dying. It might as well stand as a gloomy reminder of how the ousted president popularized himself as the “poor man’s savior” and peddled the lie that his projects for the poor – such as Erap City – would make them happier for the rest of their lives. Nobody knows happiness in this city. Antonio Sagsag, one of the leader of the Kasiglahan Village I Action Group said that “People are dying here because of starvation, joblessness and the absence of a hospital or a lying-in clinic,” “There is no doctor. Only a midwife stays in a so-called health center which has no medicines or health services for the sick and the dying.” “We were evicted from the riverbank – a danger zone for slumdwellers like me. Now, we’re living in a death zone,” Pangilinan said.

According to Urban Poor Associates (UPA) records, a non-government organization (NGO) helping evicted Pasig River families, show that 16 people including nine children, already died since 2005 due to lack of medical care and other health facilities

But residents like Teresa dela Vega said that around 50 people have actually died. Most of them sick became with curable diseases – such as diarrhea, measles and pulmonary diseases - who should have been saved if enough medical attention was given. The wake of one victim lasted for a month because the family had to scrounge for money to spend for the funeral. Another family is holding wake for a seven-month old baby and they just couldn’t tell when the burial will finally be held. At Erap City, poverty leads people to bury their dead in strange ways. When Adelaida dela Cruz, 73, died of a respiratory illness, her family gave her a humble wake for a night in KV1. Too expensive for them, her casket was returned to the funeral service parlor (funeraria in the local dialect ) and had the old woman’s body wrapped in a blanket. Unable to pay the funeraria’s service vehicle, the family just carried her body to a jeepney, in the guise of a passenger. A few passengers noticed but just kept silent. She was to be buried in Napindan, several kilometers away from Montalban. For them, it was better to bring Aling Adelaida back to Napindan, her birthplace, where relatives and friends can shell out money for her simple burial. In another case, the bodies of two newly-born babies placed in ordinary coffins made by neighbors were brought by men across the Montalban river. The bereaved families, too, could not afford the services of a funeraria. Beyond the river, the Potter’s Field (or poor man’s grave) became their final resting place.

According to PCIJ article The housing units that has the lowest price at Erap City measure 20 square meters and cost P180,000. Those who wants to move into them must pay a monthly amortization of P1,437.54, a January 2000 brief prepared by the Home Guaranty Corporation says. In addition, according to the brief, a P3,000- reservation fee and a P16,500 miscellaneous fee will be required of residents. At a Senate Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement committee hearing on May 16, 2000, housing officials said only members of HDMF Pag-ibig, SSS, or the GSIS can avail themselves of Erap City houses. The same officials said they have yet to draw up a socialized housing fund that the urban poor can tap to buy houses with special lending terms. This prompted socialized housing advocates from the Institute of Church and Social Issues to point out during the Senate hearings that Erap City is "not for the poor" but for the "upper income group."