Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT DILG-NAPOLCOM Center, EDSA comer Quezon Avenue, West Triangle, Quezon City hit: ww. dilg.com.ph FEB 13 2028 DILG OPINION NO. 2 §. 202 MR. JAYSON EDWARD SAN JUAN Jayson.sanjuan@gmail.com Dear Mr. San Juan: This has reference to your letter dated 17 December 2019, requesting the Department's interpretation of Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2019-121, specifically, if the said MC, by itself, can justify the demolition of informal settlements that are not necessarily obstructing public roads, notwithstanding the existing procedures laid down by Republic Act (RA) No. 7279! and RA No. 107522, and their respective implementing rules and regulations. As stated in your letter, the informal settlements are not necessarily obstructing public roads, however, local officials, assisted by the Philippine National Police have been using Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2019-121 to enforce the demolition of the said informal settlements. Primarily, MC No. 2019-121 enjoins the local officials to exercise their power to reclaim public roads which are being used for private ends. Hence, if those informal settlements are not obstruction to the public roads, then MC No. 2019- 121 cannot be used to demolish them. Nevertheless, pursuant to Section 28 of RA No. 7279, Eviction and Demolition may be allowed, viz: “Sec. 28. Eviction and Demolition. — Eviction or demolition as @ practice shall be discouraged. Eviction or demolition, however, may be allowed under the following situations: (a) When persons or entities occupy danger areas such as esteros, railroad tracks, garbage dumps, riverbanks, shorelines, waterways, and other public places such as sidewalks, roads, parks, and playgrounds; (b) When government infrastructure projects with available funding are about to be implemented; or (c) When there is a court order for eviction and demolition. Otherwise known as “Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992” ? Otherwise known as “The Right-of-Way Act”In the execution of eviction or demolition orders involving underprivileged and homeless citizens, the following shall be mandatory: (1) Notice upon the effected persons or entities at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of eviction or demolition; (2) Adequate consultations on the matter of settlement with the duly designated representatives of the families to be resettled and the affected communities in the areas where they are to be relocated; (3) Presence of local government officials. or their representatives during eviction or demolition; (4) Proper identification of all persons taking part in the demolition; (5) Execution of eviction or demolition only during regular office hours from Mondays to Fridays and during good weather, unless the affected families consent otherwise; (6) No use of heavy equipment for demolition except for structures that are permanent and of concrete materials; (7) Proper uniforms for members of the Philippine National Police who shaill occupy the first line of law enforcement and observe proper disturbance control procedures; and (8) Adequate relocation, whether temporary or permanent: Provided, however, That in cases of eviction and demolition pursuant to a court order involving underprivileged and homeless citizens, relocation shall be undertaken by the local government unit concerned and the National Housing Authority with the assistance of other government agencies within forty-five (45) days from service of notice of final judgment by the court, after which period the said order shall be executed: Provided, further, That should relocation not be possible within the said period, financial assistance in the amount equivalent to the prevailing minimum daily wage multiplied by sixty (60) days shall be extended to the affected families by the local government unit concerned.” We would like to emphasize also that, the afore-quoted provision of RA No. 7279 applies if the dwellings/structures were constructed prior to the effectivity of RA No. 7279. On the other hand, if the dwellings/structures were constructed after the effectivity of RA No. 7279, Section 2(1.0) of its Implementing Rules and Regulations states that new squatter families whose structures were built after the effectivity of RA No. 7279 shall be subject for summary eviction®. The * SECTION 1. Definition of Terms,- For the purpose of this Implementing Rules and Regulations, the terms or words and phrases used herein shall mean as follows:Procedures and guidelines for summary eviction is governed by Section 3, IRR of RA No. 7279, and this IRR was crafted pursuant to Section 44 of RA No. 7279, to wit: "Sec. 44. Moratorium on Eviction and Demolition. — There shall be a moratorium on the eviction of all program beneficiaries and on the demolition of their houses or dwelling units for a period of three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act: Provided, That the moratorium shall not apply to those persons who have constructed their structures after the effectivity of this Act and for cases enumerated in Section 28 hereof.” (Emphasis ours) In essence, if there are valid grounds for eviction and demolition, although they are not obstruction to public roads, the informal settlements can be demolished pursuant to the afore-quoted law, but it should not be attributed to MC No. 2019-121. To reiterate, for the dwellings/structures constructed Prior to the effectivity Of RA No. 7279, Section 28 of RA No. 7279 shall govern, they are not subject of summary eviction. Contrarily, in case the dwellings/structures were constructed after the effectivity of RA No. 7279, they are subject to summary eviction. In which case, the IRR of RA No. 7279 shall govern. Thank you. fe q 1.0 SUMMARY EVICTION- Refers to the immediate dismantling of new illegal structures by the local government units or government agency authorized to demolished in coordination with the affected urban poor organizations without providing the structure owner(s) any benefits of the Urban Development and Housing Program.