LAST Sept. 8, demolishers of Ayala Steel Manufacturing Co. Inc. arrived to uproot the lives of the homeless taking refuge in the Immaculate Concepcion Compound (ICC) in Barangay Cupang, Muntinlupa City. Chaos erupts as the demolition began, and after residents protest against the demolition, tension ran high as the demolishers quickly turn violent. Despite pressure from the media and questions of rights violation, the demolition continued on the ICC Compound.

Ayala Steel Co. Inc. is the land owner of the area the ICC was built on, and residents were encroaching on their property illegally, thus leading to the demolition. The demolition project started on Aug. 12 without notice to the residents, going against the originally given date of Aug. 16, causing panic and unease among the residents as they tried to stand their ground in their refuge to protest. 

Alerted by this and the residents claiming the demolishers turned violent against them, Muntinlupa City Mayor Ruffy Biazon appealed to the Pasay court, citing issues with the demolishers and infringement of the homeless’s rights, halting progress on Aug. 29.

However, the appeal did not hold, as the demolition resumed on Sept. 8, with the Muntinlupa City Government Official Facebook group sharing that the appeal was rejected on Sept. 3. The court order deemed Mayor Biazon’s concerns irrelevant and that the motion be struck from the records, as the Muntinlupa City Government was not a party in the case. 

It was ultimately ruled that the demolition will continue, any other form of interference will not be tolerated, and the hearing planned for the following day was cancelled. Despite this, residents filed a Motion for Reconsideration on Sept. 5 but have seemingly been ignored.

The demolishers continued with lack of care for the residents, as even with police present on the side of the demolishers, reports of violence ran rampant on social media. One video that went viral on Facebook and Tiktok shows an unidentified police officer aiming their firearm at protesting citizens throwing bottles at shielded police officers; this police officer was later clarified to be a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) member. 

The police claim they were stationed there because of reports of residents having improvised firearms, however this remains alleged. Karapatan National Region shared a video where demolishers are throwing rocks back against the protesting residents. 

Reportedly, all the videos showed no signs of the police attempting to stop the demolishers and evacuate the residents before the demolition, neither they nor the demolition team accounted for the safety of residents as they filmed the destruction of their house mere meters away.

The matter is in direct violation of the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, Section 28 which discusses mandatory actions concerning the eviction and demolition in regard to the homeless. Particularly, the act demands adequate relocation, whether temporary or permanent, from the local government unit and the National Housing Authority within 45 days, and if the time period provided was not adequate, financial assistance shall be provided by the local government unit concerned.

It should be noted that this has not been upheld by Ayala Steel Manufacturing Co. Inc., as residents continue to voice out to media and news outlets that they have received no financial assistance or talks of relocation. Instead, they faced threats of violence for exercising their right to protest, and their words have been ignored by the court.

Residents did not attempt a peaceful protest, the police only agitated them more, and the demolishers continued to ignore them. The residents remain steadfast that their rights were continuously infringed on and that their anger is justified. ABS-CBN reports a total of 32 injured during the demolition process.

Residents pleaded to the Muntinlupa City Government for relocation and financial assistance, and Mayor Biazon responded that they have provided the families affected with P10,000, accounting for over 300 families helped. Biazon clarified that it is not the responsibility of their government, but rather the landowner’s, to provide a relocation site or financial aid.

On Sept. 9, the situation had seemingly calmed, according to the police, as the residents left the demolition site voluntarily. The police reported three arrests for physical injuries, direct assault, and resistance and disobedience to a person in authority. The demolition is stabilizing; however, relocation for residents has not been provided as of press time, and these residents are still left without homes.