Residents of Barangays 181 and 182 in Pangarap Village, Caloocan City denounced the “latest harassment” of the Araneta-owned firm Carmel Development Inc. (CDI), alleging that the latter covered a creek inside the disputed property, resulting into rising flood waters in the community at the slightest downpour.
Barangay 182 Chairman Rowelle Brin said around 40,000 residents, including children, are experiencing “double suffering” this time of pandemic due to “another act of intimidation” being done by CDI.
CDI officials could not be contacted for comment at presstime.
Meanwhile, Mayor Oscar Malapitan denounced the actions taken by CDI as he reiterated “the proper resolution of land disputes thru the various legal and humane processes instituted by law in order to preserve peace and order.”
He noted that even if the river is located in a private land, said waterway still belongs to the State.
“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw people of CDI covering the creek with layers of soil using heavy machine which resulted to flooding and damage to houses,” Brin explained.
“They are doing it without court order because they want us to leave Pangarap Village. They are not contented with cutting our power supply, this is what they’re doing now. It’s their way of forcing the residents out of the property. We are not squatters. We have our land titles,” Brin emphasized.
“I already instructed the City Legal Office and the City Environmental Management Office to expeditiously undertake all legal actions to prevent further damage of floodwaters in the community. I also asked the Philippine National Police and Department of Environment and Natural Resources to help the City properly enforce the laws,” Mayor Malapitan said.
It can be recall that on Sept. 10, 2018, Caloocan City Regional Trial Court Branch 232 Judge Rosalia Hipolito-Bunagan issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing Carmel Development Inc. (CDI) from barring Meralco in entering Pangarap Village.
After nearly a month without electricity or water, the parent-teacher associations of the two schools in Pangarap Village filed a petition to restrain CDI from preventing Meralco from restoring inside the two barangays.
But according to Brin, they are currently experiencing water shortage and absence of power supply again, saying that only barangay halls and schools in the area have power and water supply.
Residents of Pangarap Village are in a land dispute with CDI for many years after Pangarap Village became a resettlement area by virtue of a presidential decree issued by late President Ferdinand Marcos.