Filipino bishop urges government to stop evicting poor families

Published: 2007-03-27

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- A Filipino bishop has urged the local government to stop the "heartless" eviction of about 1,000 families living along a stretch of highway outside Manila. Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manila, chairman of the Philippine bishops' Housing Committee, called on the local government to respect the human rights of the poor dwelling in shanties under the bridges and near the canals. "Although they are poor, and they live in places unfit for dwelling, still they are humans," said the bishop during a March 23 press conference in Manila. UCA News, an Asian church news agency, reported on the news conference March 27. The Metro Manila Development Authority has been forcing settlers to leave their homes since late February, Bishop Pabillo said. The bishop said he met March 22 with Bayani Fernando, authority chairman, to discuss the issue but that Fernando insisted on forcibly evicting people despite the lack of relocation sites. "It is the responsibility of the government to give our poor people suitable houses," the bishop said.

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