Within the month of October, Samahang Magkakapit-bahay ng Estero de la Reina, has stopped two eviction threats by mobilizing to the City Mayor of Manila and to the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor.

On November 12, 2009, a Metro Manila Development Authority demolition team arrived in the community. The people didn’t expect that men armed with crowbars and sledgehammer would be out to forcibly dismantle the homes of 144 families.

But even with the unannounced coming of MMDA’s demolition team led by Engineer Esquivel, the people were still able to do a human barricade. Support groups from Delpan and Estero de Magdalena came in a moment’s notice. While hand in hand. Engr. Esquivel delivered his terrorizing lines: “ Handcuff anybody

obstructing the demolition”, he said to his team. The MMDA men didn’t handcuff the urban poor men protesting but got pieces of wood and tried to hit angry men.

Because the men knew how to dodge an attack, most men stayed unharmed. But a number of men  were not only terrorized but also harmed.

With all the terrorizing by the MMDA men, the human barricade was broken and the houses were quickly dismantled while the people were told by Esquivel that there will be a relocation site in Norsagaray, Bulacan. Hesitant and still protesting, the people were ordered to put their belongings into three waiting trucks that was to be Norsagaray-bound. And this was already evening. When the truckloads of people

arrived in Norsagaray, they had to return to Manila after being told by the Barangay Captain that there was no transaction regarding a relocation from Estero de la Reina to Norsagaray. The people had no choice but to return to Manila but as they reached the MMDA office in R-10 Navotas, the MMDA men told them not to return to Estero de la Reina on orders of MMDA.

The day after, November 13, the leaders of SMER (Samahang Magkakapit-bahay ng Estero de la Reina) mobilized to City Hall and informed the Office of the Mayor about what happened. Because of the obvious violation of UDHA, no MMDA returned to the area on November 13.

In the afternoon of November 13, there was a dialogue between the Manggahan Floodway Organization and MMDA Chairperson Bayani Fernando. The people of Estero de la Reina saw this dialogue an an opportunity for them to air their issue.

Congressman Montemayor, a pro-urban poor congressman was to be at the dialogue. The dialogue ended on a number of positive points for the Floodway people and the Estero people. The story on the fight for land continues.