Mayor confident of complete demolition of IBT squatters

Mayor Dan Lim yesterday expressed confidence that the demolition of squatters near the Integrated Bus Terminal will be completed very soon. “We just want it to be as orderly and as humanely as possible,” Lim said in an exclusive interview yesterday.

The mayor noted that of the total 54 illegal shanties near the area, only nine have remained in the area. He said he does not foresee any serious problems because the occupants have come to accept the decision of the city government to evict them. “We have the imprimatur of no less than Malacañang's urban poor division to effect the smooth and orderly eviction of all illegal structures in the area,” Lim added.

The mayor said he appreciates the decision of the squatters to cooperate with the city government after seeing the futility of their actions. When questioned whether it is true that the squatters tried to exhaust all possibilities of holding on, the mayor said “yes”. “They tried to approach politicians who unfortunately tried to give them false hopes and delayed the process,” the mayor added. Eventually however, Lim said they realized that the city government is firm about the eviction.

“There is nothing personal. We are only protecting the interest in the city,” he added. The mayor said people should also be taught to obey the law and respect the rights of others. “No one can doubt our concern for the poor with the programs that we are implementing. But this does not include encouraging squatting which is not only a violation of the anti-squatting law but the deliberate violation of other people's rights,” Lim added. According to city planning officer Eduardo Macalandag, the affected area is about two hectares. Of this total area, the city government owns more or less 2,000 square meters while about 5,000 more belongs to private owners. Macalandag said the Government Services Insurance System and the Social Security System also owns properties in the area. He said that the demolition included those squatting on private land because they did not have the consent of the land owners.

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