IN DISGUISE: MAGDAONG, THE FACE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

|| Nikaela Jacinto and Venus Jacinto

“Be careful” are the words often associated when going to Magdaong Drive, stereotypically perceived as a dangerous place where rebels or activists hide, in contrast to being situated inside the well-known trademark of Muntinlupa City— the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). Over a decade and four years, residents of Magdaong Drive still face the recurring threats of demolition despite having several improvements in its communal area, the NBP Reservation.

Recently, former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gerald Bantag issued a 30-day notice of administrative demolition within the 50-meter-radius from the fence of security camps which includes the Magdaong residents, urging them to relocate immediately before the deadline expires. BuCor urged the residents to resettle temporarily to Biazon Road or Makabuhay Extension. Yet, some residents chose to stay upon discovering that the site is just a plain field of land without a proper sewage system or electrical line, let alone ready-to-live-in homes.

No Certificate of Compliance from the Local Housing Board and a Pre-Demolition Conference from the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) were presented prior to the notice despite the requirement as per adherence to Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.

The Buried History: A Reclamation of People’s Rights or Not?

In the 1970s, the vast grassland of NBP began to be populated by some Filipinos, mostly laborers from the provinces who migrated in search of better opportunities. Years later, some businesses were sold to various owners, and eventually, the location became a commissary.

In the 1990s, former president Corazon Aquino signed the Presidential Proclamation (PP) No. 792, s. 1991, which mandates that the portion of the prison site of the NBP shall be converted to government property and declared the same open to disposition as the site of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Housing Project, the Katarungan Village. Also, Republic Act No. 7279, or the “Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992,” was approved. In 1994, the Urban Development and Housing Authority conducted tagging in the NBP community.

However, a series of pocket demolitions followed this in Magdaong drive from 1998 to 2003. BuCor officials visited several residents to urge them to self-demolish their homes or leave as soon as possible. Then, they ordered prison inmates to demolish the houses. In 2003, BuCor set up barbed wire around the Makabuhay extension and constructed guard outposts in every subdivision or site. Consequently, residents filed a case against BuCor. The decision of the court established that the eviction could only take place if the national government mandated and provided that they receive the following conditions: (1) adequate time to voluntarily vacate, (2) sufficient disturbance compensation, and (3) resettlement houses.

Moreover, under the Arroyo administration, informal settler families living in dangerous areas faced challenges with developmental projects such as the Philippine National Railroad-Modernization and Rehabilitation Project (PNR-MRP). Fortunately, National Housing Authority (NHA) pursued housing projects to provide settlement houses for them. Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo mandated several proclamations to construct socialized housing units in favor of the residents.

However, following the Master Development Plan (MDP), the government issued many resolutions to pursue industrialization in the NBP area. Large corporations and foreign investors will use the 366.7 hectares of NBP land property, as specified in the MDP. The government planned to use hectares of land for government housing units, but not even half is for chosen and qualified residents inside the reservation.

In 2006, from October to December, the NHA carried out tagging as a census for the reservation. Each home displayed stickers as proof of inclusion on the master list of those eligible for its socialized housing. They prepared a motion asking for full support on the land development for socialized housing. NHA and the coalition gathered at Sitio Pinagpala in Poblacion, laying out the demolition plan in two sites. They offered staging areas for the residents, but as this is common knowledge, residents were aware that eviction would occur soon after.

The Trojan Horse

In hindsight, these urban-poor families and indigenous people are constantly overwhelmed with the reassuring facade of development as a means of living a good life. By utilizing the context of large-scale development projects on land, transnational and multinational corporations constrained the determination of progress in economic development. It could be regarded as good faith at first sight; however, it serves as the Trojan horse presented to these people to take advantage of them in the form of development aggression. Development aggression could translate as ‘Kaunlarang Panghihimasok’ in Tagalog. However, in this case, coupling ‘development’ with ‘aggression’ is the irony the community encounters.

On the implemented developmental projects, programs, policies, and laws enforced by foreign and local capitalists, entrepreneurs, and even the state itself, these enforcements are deemed as developmental aggression because it proceeds without enough and proper consultation and consent from the impacted local community. Doing so means that whoever implements it directly violates and neglects the rights, resources, and interests of many. Furthermore, this does not ensure a solution that will benefit the neighborhood, particularly the environment. The land and resources from the area originally intended for the welfare of the people will typically be entitled to big companies that funded development projects.

Take the HENED-1 Hydroelectric Power Plant in the Apayao-Abulug River, where the San Miguel Corporation is the primary financial backer with assistance from some foreign banks, as an example. In February 2016, the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCPI) persisted and approved the project despite the opposition from the impacted community since the start of the issue. It violates the right of the people to free prior informed consent. It exposes the people to chemical hazards and threatens their livelihood due to the damaged crops.

Does its goal benefit the people, or did it eventually want to sell it to a more wealthy company? Nonetheless, the project will influence the rights of the people, ancestral lands, and their means of livelihood. These suggest that this phenomenon is widespread, mainly driven by the globalization of other nations, and does not restrict itself to isolated regions.

Home is Life

Despite the difficult circumstances throughout the years such as a series of road closings that occurred during the pandemic, the Magdaong residents did not lose hope. It ignited their hearts and evoked their minds to protect and preserve their homes.

Everyone in the community deals with the threat of demolition. Andria Lisay, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa (PLMun) student, is also concerned about the potential effects of it. Although her family was not directly affected, they still had the luxury of living there without paying rent. Thus, the Magdaong drive is still crucial in their day-to-day life, particularly her education. She is concerned that the demolition may hinder the education of her fellow students at the university and its neighboring school, Muntinlupa National High School (MNHS).

Such a statement also amplified the same calls of the Magdaong residents, “Ang Bahay ay Buhay” (Home is Life), petitioning for granting land ownership to the marginalized. It is a pain in the will for Kalipunan ng Mamamayan na Pinagkaisa sa NBP (KAMPINA), and residents of the reservation to be stripped of their rights and even go through a series of red-tagging in return. Due to these acts, the KAMPINA is disappointed with the government’s response to their call. They reciprocated rampant intimidation and coercion despite the people expressing their need for decent residency and low-cost affordable settlement area.

The residents are not against development, but in achieving social ends, real advancements occur when people have the freedom they enjoy by turning the narrative to the ‘human subject’ as the focal point of development. Development ought to increase human freedom, capacities, and choices. Along with changes, the community must not be left behind.

Unlike what most people think, Magdaong Drive symbolizes a mother who not just houses life and nurtures a family in abundance. It is the root of their comfort and security, calming the cry of the poor while sheltering the people in its protective arms around the dangers brought by the environment. <w>