Resident complains vs. house built in middle of street in Rizal 

A house built in the middle of the street has been blocking a public road for the past few years in Rosal Street in PFCI, Cainta, Rizal, prompting a resident to file a complaint before the National Housing Authority (NHA).

According to a "24 Oras" report by Emil Sumangil, residents in the area were all NHA awardees, which raised issues as to how “Celia” was able to build a house on the road.

“Idinulog ko na ito sa NHA, ngunit ang NHA wala po silang aksyon. Mag-5 years na po, 2019 ko pa idinulog yun… Nagfofollow-up ako every month. Lagi lang pangako na aalisin talaga nila yan,” said resident Felomino Dy.

(I have already taken this up with the NHA, but the NHA did not act on it. It’s almost been 5 years since I took this up in 2019… I follow up every month. They always promise that they would really remove her.)

Verification reports by the NHA revealed that Celia’s house was illegal as it blocked the right of way between Rosal Street and Road Block 5 of the Manggahan Socialized Housing Project.

In 2019, the NHA issued an eviction letter to Celia and said that they also had the authority to remove her from residence under Section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 1472.

Meanwhile, Celia insisted that her house had already been present in the area since 1989, years before the NHA housing project, and that she would not leave until she was provided adequate housing.

When she was offered housing at Baras, Rizal in 2023, she refused and requested in-city relocation.

Attorney Jorolenlou Evangelista said that there were two possible solutions to the issue: providing an in-city relocation for Celia or evicting her and directing her to the housing in Baras, Rizal.

“Wala silang karapatan na magtayo ng bahay [doon]… Wala silang karapatan na tumira dito, lalo na wala silang titulo. Hindi naman sila nagbabayad ng buwis. Kalsada ito, public property,” said Evangelista.

(They have no right to build a house [there]… They have no right to live here, especially since they have no title. They don’t pay taxes. This is a road, public property.)

The NHA also said it has created an inter-agency committee to resolve the matter. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/LDF, GMA Integrated News