DEC.

16, 2014

NR # 3682B

Pre-demolition conference, a must before any eviction of informal settlers

Expressing grave concern over the violence that sometimes result to loss of lives, a
lawmaker has initiated a move to make sure that demolition of dwellings or eviction
activities affecting poor families are done in a just and humane manner.
Rep. Jose Christopher Y. Belmonte (6th District, Quezon City) is urging the passage
of HB 5266 which prescribes a mandatory procedure in the conduct of dismantling or
eviction activities affecting the underprivileged and homeless families.
Belmonte noted that Section 10, Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution provides that
Urban and rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwellings demolished, except
in accordance with law and in a just and humane manner.
Republic Act 7279 known as the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) of
1992 stresses that eviction or demolition as a practice shall be discouraged and that
certain requirement must first be complied with prior to said activities, he noted.
Under existing laws, Belmonte said that eviction or demolition may only be allowed
(a) when persons or entities occupy danger zones, (b) when government infrastructure
projects with available funding are about to be implemented, or (c) when there is a court
order for eviction and demolition.
Despite the provisions in the Constitution and the UDHA, violence still erupts
during the conduct of evictions and demolitions of informal settler families, leading to
instances of severe injuries and sometimes, loss of lives, not only among the ranks of
policemen and demolition teams, but especially among the poor and vulnerable dwellers,
Belmonte said.
Moreover, he added, these instances of violence put the country in bad repute in the
eyes of the international community as a signatory to various human rights covenants and
agreements.
HB 5266, the authors stressed, seeks to institutionalize the conduct of a predemolition conference (PDC) or a consultation among all stakeholders and to strengthen
the safeguards already provided under Section 28 of the UDHA.
This measure aims to institutionalize one of the late Secretary Jesse Robredos
legacies, Belmonte stressed.
Belmonte recalled that on May 2, 2012, the late DILG Secretary issued a letter to
the PNP directing then Chief PNP Nicanor Bartolome that in order to prevent violence

from erupting during evictions and demolitions, a protocol must be strictly observed,
including the conduct of a pre-demolition conference (PDC) among stakeholders and
affected families.
He added that Sec. Robredo, on that same day, wrote Philippine Commission on
Urban Poor (PCUP) Chairman Hernani Panganiban, requesting assistance with regard to
his directives and indicated the role of PCUP in the implementation of the same.
Under HB 5266, pre-demolition conference must be conducted under the following
conditions: 1) The local PNP designated as a full-time staff or personnel in charge of
dismantling or eviction activities must be actively participate in the consultation process
and their role clearly defined;
2) The following agencies must be represented during the PDC the DILG, the
DSWD, DPWH, NHA, PCUP, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the LGUs
authorized to dismantle or evict, and various agencies;
3) The PDC shall be presided by the PCUP, which may call on the assistance of
other agencies whenever necessary under the circumstances;
4) The details of the conference must be documented or recorded, summarizing the
points of the agreements and disagreements arrived at, and copies of these must be
provided to all stakeholders present; and
5) the PDC must be conducted not later that seventy-two (72) hours prior to the
intended date or dismantling or eviction and in no case shall the conference be held within
the same prescriptive period.
The measure also provides for the imposition of appropriate penalties under existing
laws or the Revised Penal Code. (30) dpt