President Benigno Aquino III on Friday took time off from his official visit in the United States to order the suspension of the demolition of houses and forced relocation of thousands of families living in a squatters' colony near a main road in Quezon City. In a statement, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said Aquino was “saddened” by the violence that erupted when government demolition teams tried to raze the squatters' shanties upon order from the government's National Housing Authority (NHA). The clash injured at least 12 people and tied up traffic for hours along the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) as the squatters blocked the 54-kilometer highway. Ochoa said the President instructed him to order the NHA “to suspend the relocation of families living in the NHA property in Sitio San Roque II in North Triangle that oppose their transfer to the NHA's proposed relocation site in Rodriguez, Rizal.” “The relocation is suspended until the NHA provides a comprehensive plan that will ensure orderliness in the implementation of relocation activities,” Ochoa said. The president has instructed authorities to “exercise maximum tolerance” in their operations, the executive secretary said. Aquino left for the United States Monday evening for a week-long working visit. He is set to return Tuesday next week. Ochoa said “while the president respects the families' right to oppose their relocation to Rizal, he nonetheless calls on them to exercise their right to protest in a peaceful manner.” NHA General Manager Chito Cruz acknowledged that he has received the president's order to stop the demolition of shanties and forced resettlement. “The president ordered me to stop all demolition and involuntary resettlement until he has reviewed all the facts about this case and our compliance with legal requirements. So we are stopping demolition operations now,” Cruz said in Filipino in a radio interview. Cruz noted, however, that there are residents who want to be relocated but are being prevented from doing so by the more militant members of their community. “Those who want to relocate voluntarily should be allowed to leave. We appeal to the other residents not to block their path,” he said. Cruz earlier said at least 3,400 of the estimated 9,000 families on Sition San Roque have already transferred to relocation sites in Montalban and Rodriguez, Rizal. He said he is hopeful that the remaining 5,000 families will also opt for relocation. He said the NHA is spending more than $4,500 P(200,000) per family for the relocation. Each family can pay for their new homes for only $7 (P300) a month for the next 30 years. Cruz rejected a proposal for the government to just give the land to the squatters as they have been developing the property for many years now. “Not in all instances you can own the land you squat on. These are titled properties owned by the government,” he said.
