North Triangle dwellers eye class suit vs NHA over demolition

Residents being evicted from the North Triangle area in Quezon City on Saturday threatened to file a class suit against the National Housing Authority (NHA) for the violent demolition that left at least 14 people, including seven residents, wounded. This was according to Edwin Nakpil, convenor of the North Triangle Coalition, which is composed of several residents’ associations in Sitio San Roque II, Barangay Bagong Pag-asa. NHA personnel on Thursday started a large-scale demolition of houses in the community, as part of its P22-billion joint venture with Ayala Land to develop 29.1 hectares of the North Triangle into a so-called Central Business District that would supposedly to rival Makati City's business center. Nakpil was quoted in a radio report as saying they will seek a dialogue with President Benigno Aquino III upon his return next week from an official US visit. The convenor said the North Triangle residents plan to ask Aquino to form an independent body to investigate alleged abuses committed by authorities during the demolition. While conceding that the NHA is the listed owner of the property, including Sitio San Roque, residents opposed the demolition, ultimately setting up barricades and physically resisting demolition teams on Thursday. Hurt in the seven-hour long clash between the residents and authorities were not only residents but also firefighters and policemen, who were deployed in the area to maintain peace and order. As a result of Thursday's violent clash, the President, through Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. ordered the NHA to suspend the dismantling of houses until the agency is able to provide a comprehensive plan for an orderly implementation of their relocation. Prior to the President's order, acting presiding Judge Luisa Quijano-Padilla issued a temporary restraining order against demolition activities that expired 8 a.m. last Friday. On-site development Meanwhile, at a press conference also on Saturday, the protesting residents of North Triangle urged the government to set up an "on-site development" center or "in-city development" area inside the planned business district where they could re-settle, instead of relocating them outside the city or driving them back to the provinces. The residents said they would only agree to leave North Triangle if the government assures them of relocation within Quezon City, and not to peripheral areas like the proposed relocation site in Southville-8B, barangay San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal. The residents do not want to move to the Rodriguez site, citing studies supposedly showing that the relocation area was prone to soil erosion, Nakpil added. The residents' threats came on the heels of Vice President Jejomar Binay's visit to the relocation site, which is being prepared to accommodate about 3,600 families.—JV, GMANews.TV