The Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) called on the Quezon City local government and police to immediately release the seven urban poor residents of NIA Road in Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City who were arrested on April 9. Police violently arrested them amid the protest and anti-demolition defense of their homes.
The local government carried out the demolition of the remaining houses and structures it claimed hazardous after a series of fires, the most recent of which happened on March 6. Masquerading as “clearing operations,” the houses were demolished to make way for the construction of the local government’s public “vertical housing.”
“This violent action happened despite the fact that the area was recently struck by a massive fire,” Kadamay said. The group added that residents have yet to fully recover from the disaster.
Residents said the local government did not give them clear notice or explanation regarding the demolition. They condemned the lack of a comprehensive program for relocation and support for the poor families and their livelihoods.
Many of those affected by the fire remain without decent shelter and are forced to set up in makeshift tents along the roadside. According to Kadamay, the residents have received no immediate aid—instead, a meager rent subsidy of only ₱36,000 will be distributed on April 18.
The group said the local government’s failure to fulfill its promise to build a proper staging area for residents worsened the situation. At the same time, there were reports of forced evictions of fire victims from evacuation centers even when they had nowhere else to go.
“Amid these violations, the Quezon City Local Government, the National Housing Authority and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, must be held accountable for their role in the illegal demolition, violent clearing operation, and arbitrary arrest of residents,” Kadamay declared.
Kadamay urged Filipinos and other groups to support the residents of NIA Road in their struggle for the right to housing. “The planned total demolition of structures in the community must stop, and residents must not be evicted until there is a clear, decent, and humane relocation,” it said.
“The barricade of NIA Road residents is justified. It is a legitimate form of defending their rights,” Kadamay stated.
Illegal arrest
Police charged those arrested with direct assault, resistance and disobedience, and obstruction of justice. Members of the Public Interest Law Center (PILC)-Philippines serve as lawyers for the seven. The arrested were brought to inquest proceedings on April 11.
According to PILC, the mere presence of the seven at the protest site cannot stand as a sufficient basis for arrest or for the charges filed against them. “Aside from the police officers’ bare and self-serving testimonies, which consist of verbatim, copy-pasted affidavits containing only general allegations, there is no evidence that they committed any of the acts charged,” PILC said.
The group added that even the submitted photographs used as case evidence failed to identify the arrested residents. “They depict a crowd of people merely standing, many of whom are facing away from the camera,” PILC noted. The cases filed are purely speculative, the group said.
PILC added that the arrests and violence happened amid the country’s deepening economic crisis. “These communities are instead subjected to further hardship through unjust demolitions and the continued failure to ensure humane and adequate housing,” the group stated.
