CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 18 June) – Hundreds of policemen in full riot gear accompanied demolition workers in dismantling the communities of retired soldiers inside Camp Evangelista, headquarters of the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division, on Tuesday, 18 June.
Military officers said the demolition of at least 400 houses inside Camp Evangelista is in compliance with a Supreme Court final decision on November 20, 2013, which granted the Philippine Army ownership of 103 hectares around what used to be an old military reservation called the 4th Military Area at the outskirts of this city.
The demolition went on peacefully on Tuesday, except in one house where a small cache of unexploded grenades was found.
Major Joseph Say, chief of the Philippine Army Real Estate Office, said they have finished the demolition of structures within 42 hectares today and will continue the dismantling in the remaining land in the following days.
Say said the land recovered will be used for the improvement and barracks of the 4th Infantry Division.
“We know that the families of the soldiers will be hurt by our decision to demolish their houses, but the Philippine Army also needs this land to improve our services,” Say Said.
Scores of former soldiers’ families stood on the sidelines as workers and electricians cut off water and electricity lines of the affected houses in Sector 1 in Camp Evangelista
Felisa Perez, wife of retired Army Master Sergeant Carlos Perez, watched with a heavy heart as the demolition team tore down the roof of their house.
“Sakit kayo (It is painful). I raised my two children in that house 20 years ago,” Perez told reporters.
Perez said most of the residents knew that eventually the Army will take back their land when they settled there 20 or 30 years ago.
She said they were hoping the government would be compassionate and grant them land titles.
Others like Ronnie Fernandez, 28, said their family was able to get a title for the land where their sari-sari store once stood.
Fernandez said their possession of a land title is the reason why they would be filing a case against the Philippine Army.
“They demolished our houses without giving us financial assistance. There is not even a relocation site for us,” he lamented.
Capt. Gregor Alfonsin Pondoyo, Judge Advocate General Services assistant legal officer, said the 2013 Supreme Court decision “had quashed all petitions from claimants, including their right of ownership.”
Pondoyo said the Supreme Court treated the land titles like what Fernandez had as “derivatives titles” and were ordered cancelled.
Lt. Col. Francisco Garello Jr., 4ID public affairs officer, said the demolition would continue until June 24. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
