Philippines among Top Housing Evictees
By: CocoAppleStore
The Philippines under the Arroyo government continues to commit numerous human rights violations like forced evictions of squatters and the destruction of their houses. This was the statement released by the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions based in Geneva, Switzerland and is an independent human rights organization that advocates equal housing rights for the poor and the prevention of forced evictions, whether sanctioned by the government or private groups.
COHRE, together with the Urban Poor Associates and a group of international housing experts from Cambodia, Indonesia, Australia and South Africa paid a visit to residents at the Southville relocation site in Cabuyao, Laguna last Holy Week as well as the families along the canals and railroad tracks in Manila. But the government quickly rebuffed the statement but COHRE remains unfazed and is standing by its findings that reveal that more than 29,000 families have already been forced out from their homes in Metro Manila and the province of Bulacan since 2005 due to the North Rail-South Rail Linkage Project. Another 914 families living under the waterways have also been forced out by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) since February with an additional 500 families facing eviction in the next round.