Two days after they were ordered by the university to tear down their own houses, residents of Area 17 in Barangay UP Campus built a barricade, and successfully put off the supposed demolition operations, June 16.
The university’s “blue guards” visited the community on Monday and flagged more than 30 houses in the area as “illegal structures.” The security forces said the residents were informal settlers, following a university policy that does not recognize structures built after the 2011 census, and thus must self-demolish their houses before authorities do.
On Wednesday morning, residents, students, artists, and volunteers comprising the Defend Area 17 Network led a protest against the demolition operations. Members of Sama-samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo, Sining na Naglilingkod sa Bayan sa Komunidad ng Area 17, and Anakpawis Partylist also joined the protest. They called on the UP administration to provide the residents with safe, free, and humane housing structures.
“Sa gitna ng pandemya, samu't saring demolisyon ang isinagawa sa mga komunidad ng UP habang walang ibinibigay na maayos na relokasyon at pang-ekonomikong suporta sa lahat ng naapektuhan,” the Defend Area 17 Network said in a statement, Tuesday.
During the protest, the UP Diliman Office of Community Relations (OCR) Director Gerry Lanuza faced the members of the community, as well as the leaders of Pook Malinis and Pook Libis, who were also facing similar threats of demolition.
Lanuza assured the residents that no demolitions will happen while the pandemic continues, though he told them not to be complacent, as the university task force can still greenlight operations without notifying the OCR. The office also offered to assist residents in processing permits to construct their houses.
As different demolition operations occur inside the campus, the Defend Area 17 Network, in another statement on Tuesday, criticized the “inhumane” policies of the university administration against the urban poor.
“Hindi makatarungan at makatao ang ginagawa ng [UP] na pag-demolish at pagpapalayas na ito upang itayo ang proyekto na hindi naman mapapakinabangan ng komunidad na kanilang pinagkaitan ng paninirahan,” the group said. ●
