The Presidential Commission on Urban Poor and Department of the Interior and Local Government have teamed up to strengthen efforts to resolve the looming demolition of structures in Pangarap Village in Caloocan City that would affect former Malacañang employees and groups of informal settlers.
PCUP chairman and chief executive officer Alvin Feliciano said he recently met with DILG Undersecretary for Operations Epimaco Densing III to strategize concrete steps to address the problem through clear communication with the Araneta-owned Carmel Development Inc.
He said as per the directive Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, PCUP and DILG will determine the exact land area and number of beneficiaries of the Malacañang Homeowners Association occupying the place.
Feliciano said he would send a letter to Medialdea to invite the CDI for a meeting within 30 days.
The government shall discuss with the Araneta Group the possibility of giving the affected families a portion of land in Pangarap Village, selling and expropriating a portion of land in favor of the Caloocan City government or national government, and/or constructing medium-rise buildings to be sold at a much lower cost.
Densing has pushed for a series of inter-agency talks to discuss a possible negotiation with the developers to at least enter into a compromise, Feliciano said.
Medialdea, according to the PCUP head, wanted a serious dialog with the Araneta Group and the two major homeowners’ associations in Pangarap Village to exercise the “moral suasion” of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Feliciano earlier asked the Philippine National Police to step into the peace and order situation affecting over 40,000 families in Pangarap Village who were complaining of threats and coercion from CDI personnel.
