How did Filipino residents of a little street in Manila defend their homes from being demolished?

Photo credit: Manila Bulletin

The residents of Mayhaligue Street in Tondo, Manila City successfully defended their community against an attempted demolition of their homes on May 26. Because of the residents barricading all entry points to their community, they were able to thwart the deployed demolition team, police, and firefighters from forcibly evicting them from their homes.

On the same day, after hours of guarding their barricades and a series of violent dispersals, the Manila Regional Trial Court also issued a Temporary Restraining Order to stop the demolition for 20 days.

Teacher Lina (Angelina Consulta) was one of those fighting to prevent the attempted demolition in Mayhaligue Street.

(WATCH: Mga residente ng Mayhaligue, patuloy ang laban sa tangkang demolisyon | ALAB Alternatibong Balita)

History

Angelina Consulta has been a resident of Mayhaligue Street since 1957, the year she was born.

“Our house, as you can see, has been standing since 1936,” Teacher Lina says as she points to a wood carving on an arch inside her house. “This is one of the oldest houses built here,” she continued.

“This is where all our livelihoods are. The children go to school here, and because this has been our home for a long time, we are more accustomed to living here. And we know that we cannot just be removed from here easily because we have something to fight for based on history,” Teacher Lina said.

The ancestors of the residents of Mayhaligue Street had been living there for as far back as 100 years, as Teacher Lina proclaims. She told the story of how the owner of the land they’re living in, a certain “Dona Victoria” had given permission to their forebears to live in Mayhaligue, if the residents paid a justifiable fee, which they did.

“Our house has a title document proving it belongs to our father. The document shows Doña Victoria gave permission to build this house. Because of that history, we have the right to fight for our rights,” Angelina added.

Questionable demolition order

On the morning of May 26, the residents were already set to defend their community. The day before, a rumor broke out among the residents that they were about to be evicted from their homes.

“A kind-hearted person who knew about the planned demolition of our homes told us what was about to happen on the morning of the 26th,” said Angelina. With this news, they were able to set up the barricades around their street, effectively preventing anyone from coming inside Mayhaligue.

Sure enough, on May 26, police officers, firefighters, and a demolition team that numbered in the hundreds all together marched towards their barricaded gate. 

A certain 2288 Ethan Realty Corporation (ERC) was responsible for the demolition being ordered as the said real estate company claims they have bought the plot of land where the residents live. As of writing, there have been no known plans to what ERC will do with the land if the residents of Mayhaligue would be evicted. Some residents suspect that expensive high-rise condo units would replace their decades-old homes, as the areas surrounding Mayhaligue Street also have newly developed condos.

Teacher Lina faced off with the court sheriff who claimed that he had documents proving the legality of the demolition order.

“We asked him for documents, for any documents he could present. He did not show us any. We were asking where the demolition order from the RTC (Regional Trial Court) was. But they couldn’t present anything,” Teacher Lina exclaimed.

Some of the Mayhaligue residents including Teacher Lina also said that even before the attempted demolition, agents from Ethan Realty have been visiting Mayhaligue trying to convince the residents to leave willfully, even offering monetary compensation to the tune of only a couple thousand pesos.

For Teacher Lina, no amount of money will be enough for them to abandon their community

Housing Rights in the Philippines

The urban poor group KADAMAY describes the state of housing rights in the Philippines as marked by widespread neglect, systemic disqualification, and failure of government agencies to provide adequate shelter for the poor. 

They condemn the National Housing Authority (NHA) for leaving tens of thousands of socialized housing units unoccupied despite the urgent need among homeless urban poor families.

Eufemia “Ka Mimi” Doringo, Secretary General of KADAMAY, visited Mayhaligue Street right after the failed demolition of the community to show her solidarity with the residents. For Ka Mimi, the residents of Mayhaligue’s defense of their homes was not only necessary but justified, as well.

“This unity of the residents shows that they want to fight not only for their homes that will be destroyed but also for the livelihood and security of the entire family and the residents there,” Doringo said.

“Our government shows no love or care. We do not feel that kind of concern from our government. We can only rely on the collective action of every resident in any community facing the threat of demolition,” Ka Mimi added.

How Can We Support the Fight of Urban Poor Filipinos?

The threat of demolition against the hundreds of families living in Mayhaligue Street remains. With the 20-day Temporary Restraining Order already lapsed, the local government of Manila City could return any day to forcibly remove the residents and destroy their homes.

As far as we are from Manila, we can still help them by:

1. Educating ourselves and others – know more about the history and struggles of our urban poor kababayans, not only in Mayhaligue Street, but across the Philippines.

2. Donate – Like any other organization, the urban poor campaign center KADAMAY needs funds to maximize their efforts in helping the various urban poor communities in the country who are facing demolition, and also to craft projects to help marginalized families get back on their feet.

3. Don’t be silent. Make noise – The urban poor crisis is a global issue. The more people talk about it, the better chances we can give others to be noticed by governments and civic groups.