8 August 2009 Her Excellency, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo President of the Republic of the Philippines New Executive Building Malacanang Palace J.P. Laurel Street, San Miguel Manila NCR 1005 Philippines Reference: Threatened violation of housing rights of 370 families at Baclaran Grand Mosque reclamation site, Pasay City, Philippines Dear Madam President, The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) is an international human rights nongovernmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with offices throughout the world. COHRE works to promote and protect the right to adequate housing, including preventing and remedying forced evictions. COHRE is deeply concerned about reported plans to demolish the Grand Mosque and housing of the community living around the Mosque at the reclamation site in Baclaran, Pasay City. Approximately 370 families are living on the reclaimed land in Manila Bay, near Baclaran Church. The community has been living on the land since 1992; the mosque was built in 1994. The reclaimed land is reportedly earmarked for the development of infrastructure, commercial space, luxury housing and a casino. The eviction of the community has most recently been ordered in a Memorandum from your Excellency’s Executive Secretary dated 26 May 2009, which orders the transfer of the land to the Philippine Reclamation Authority for the development of the Southwest Public Transport Intermodal Center (METROTRANS). According to the Memorandum, your Excellency instructed that the entire Mosque structure be relocated to “the proposed relocation site”. The community has been subject to numerous forced eviction attempts by authorities since 1999, and many community members have already seen their homes destroyed. COHRE has raised concerns about these past eviction drives with your Excellency in a letter in October 2007. Promises to find an adequate relocation site for the community have reportedly never materialised, and residents have conflicting information what – if any – relocation will be provided on the basis of the above mentioned Memorandum. Residents of the Baclaran Mosque community have had to endure ever worsening living conditions over the years due to successive attempts to force the community off the land. At the time of writing of this letter, the community is negotiating with the relevant authorities for a halt to the eviction until an adequate alternative solution can be found. COHRE urges the Government of the Philippines to continue these negotiations in good faith, and reminds the Government that, in the absence of adequate compensation and relocation arrangements, the eviction of the community would violate Philippine legislation as well as international human rights law.
COHRE notes that Article XIII of the Constitution explicitly provides that “urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwellings demolished, except in accordance with law and in a just and humane manner”. Furthermore, section 28 of the Urban Development and Housing Act (1992) states that “eviction or demolition as a practice shall be discouraged” and may only be allowed under certain requirements, including “adequate consultations […] with the duly designated representatives of the families to be resettled”; and “adequate relocation”. Indeed, the Sangguniang Panglungsod (City Council) of Pasay City in February 2009 has passed, through an ordinance, a moratorium on all evictions and demolitions in the city in order to protect the right to adequate housing. Further, as a State Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Government of the Philippines is legally obligated to respect the right to adequate housing, including the prohibition on forced evictions, as guaranteed under Article 11(1). This obligation to respect includes the duty to not cause deterioration in the level of housing that a person enjoys. According to General Comments Nos. 4 and 7 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is mandated to monitor compliance with the Covenant, forced evictions can only be justified in highly exceptional circumstances and all feasible alternatives to eviction must be explored in meaningful consultation with the persons affected. Such exceptional circumstances generally only exist where evictions are necessary in the public interest. Even in those rare cases where eviction is considered justified, it must be carried out in strict compliance with international human rights law and in accordance with general principles of reasonableness and proportionality. These include, inter alia: •
Genuine consultation with those affected;
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Adequate and reasonable notice for all affected persons prior to the scheduled date of eviction;
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Information on the proposed evictions, and where applicable, on the alternative purpose for which the land or housing is to be used, to be made available in reasonable time to all those affected;
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Especially where groups of people are involved, government officials or their representatives to be present during an eviction;
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All persons carrying out the eviction to be properly identified;
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Evictions not to take place in particularly bad weather or at night unless the affected persons consent otherwise;
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Provision of legal remedies; and
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Provision, where possible, of legal aid to persons who need it to seek redress from the courts.
Under no circumstances should forced eviction render individuals homeless or vulnerable to the violation of other human rights. Indeed, the Government of the Philippines is obligated to ensure that adequate alternative housing and compensation for all losses is made available to affected persons.
In light of the above, COHRE urges the Government to: 1. 2.
Halt all plans to evict the Baclaran Grand Mosque community; Continue negotiations with the community and conduct meaningful consultations with the residents to formulate a plan, prioritising on site upgrading over relocation. In case on site upgrading is not possible, devise a plan with community participation that will provide adequate relocation for the community.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration. Yours sincerely,
Salih Booker Executive Director Please send your response to the address given above, or to hannah@cohre.org CC Hon. Andrea D. Domingo Philippine Reclamation Authority Mayor Pewee Trinidad Pasay City Mr. John N. Nadua Urban Poor Affairs Office, Pasay City Congressman Leandro Q. Montemayor Committee on Housing and Urban Development Mr. Eduardo R. Ermita Executive Secretary, Malacanang Palace Honourable Noli L. De Castro Vice President, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council Chairman Bayani F. Fernando Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Mr. Ali B. Sangki Executive Director, Office of Muslim Affairs Hon. Leila M. De Lima Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines Ms. Raquel Rolnik United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing