Community leaders and residents of Dona Tomasa and California Riverside Extension gathered on Jan 15, 2012 to watch a video of the recently conducted Relocation Summit at Quezon City Hall. The video featured official testimonies of people who were relocated outside Quezon City to Montalban, Bulacan and Bagong Silang.
In the video, the relocatees complained about the inaccessible locations of the resettlements, inferior housing structures and lack of basic services like water and electricity. They also noted that there were no provisions for their children’s education and their livelihood. Some of the people complained that they have been residents of the relocation sites for as much as 9 years and they still have none or little of the basic services.
These difficulties led some families to sell the houses and lots awarded them so they can move back to the city where they can make some money. Some bread-winners adapted by leaving their families behind and living in the city near their employments. Due to the prohibitive cost of transportation, they only see their families in the relocation sites once a month or so.
What was also apparent in the video was that the communities had to rely on their people’s organizations or neighborhood associations to demand from government agencies and the local government units basic amenities and services that should have been provided them by law.
This net result of this is that it led to a community resolution to strengthen the Neighborhood Associations in San Bartolome so that they can effectively compel the authorities to provide what is rightfully due them.
