Fighting against eviction: the case of Bolante

Bolante, Barangay Pinagbuhatan, Pasig, Metro Manila was the public market garbage dump until poor people began building their shanties there in 1975. They cleaned the area and filled the marsh with earth to build their houses. At present, 350 families live there. Their main source of livelihood is the market place where they work as carriers and vendors. The land is owned by the Gayamat family and measures about 11,000 square metres. There is a long history of legal moves to evict the people from the land. It is a tale of bribes and incompetence at all levels of government and in private lawyers' circles. In June 1992 a Pasig judge ordered the sheriff to evict the people. The sheriff gave the people five days to move out. On June 11 the sheriff personally led the demolition team and seven policemen to begin the eviction. The people put up a barricade and threw stones at the demolition crew. The policemen fired their guns and manhandled an onlooker. Seven houses were demolished. A city councilor, informed of the demolition, rushed to the place and convinced the sheriff to stop, asking for a few days to find a peaceful solution to the problem. The demolition was stopped, but the owner would not negotiate. He said all he would give was Pesos 500 (about US$ 20) to people who would move out.

In July the same judge issued another writ of demolition to the sheriff, who carried out the order a few days later on July 23. This demolition violated nearly all the guidelines of the Urban Development and Housing Act which requires an eviction notice of 30 days, public discussions, compensation and suitable relocation for the evictees. It also requires that police wear identity badges. Although the people had a memorandum letter from the mayor warning police that they were violating the law, the police ignored it. The people pleaded to delay the demolition because of the rainy season. These pleas were also ignored. People then set up barricades and pelted the police with stones. Thirteen houses were demolished. In the ensuing violence, the police shot a boy in the stomach. The demolition was to continue on July 27.

The Urban Poor Associates (UPA), a Manila-based NGO, which earlier had some contact with the community, informed the Institute on Church and Social Issues which was looking for demolition incidents to test the new law in court. UPA community organizers helped to organize the poor and liaised with the lawyers fielded by the Institute. The Institute also informed Cardinal Jaime Sin, the Archbishop of Manila, about the incident. The Cardinal had been instrumental in promoting the passage of the Urban Development and Housing Act through parliament and wrote a strong letter to President Ramos who replied that negotiations at Bolante should be carried out.

The lawyers working on behalf of the community have filed for an injunction against eviction. UPA organized the community to actively participate in the court case and to bear the costs of court fees. They and the lawyers also filed claims of damages against the owner and the police, a criminal case against the police for shooting the boy and for a miscarriage suffered by a pregnant woman during the demolitions, a criminal case involving violations of the housing law and administrative charges against the judge for partiality against the people and gross ignorance of the law. As a result of these moves the threat of eviction has been lifted.

Source: Murphy, Denis, "A decent place to live--urban poor in Asia", Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, Bangkok, 1990.