In the capital city of Manila, working class neighborhoods are wiped out to make way for a motorist’s corridor that reduces North-South travel to ‘5 minutes’

(First of two parts)

Time-lapse of Antipolo Street before and after demolition 

MANILA (UPDATED) — Antipolo Street, lined with cramped single- and two-storey homes, was like many in Sampaloc in Manila’s 4th legislative district. Their facades with fading paint, overgrown plants and sagging balconies reflected years of wear, while rusting roofs told of seasons past.

The street bustled with cars, taxis, motorcycles, and tricycles, as children played and neighbors gathered on the pavements for afternoon chats. But unlike most neighborhoods, its ground quietly trembled every hour or so as the rust-colored Philippine National Railways (PNR) commuter train rumbled past, just 15 meters from the houses. It was a constant, familiar presence.

Most days, Jason (not his real name), 38, hardly noticed the sound as he ran his small motorcycle shop out front, while his wife worked in the city, and their children attended the nearby elementary school. For Jason and many others who lived in Antipolo Street for most of their lives, the trains were simply a backdrop to their lives.

Little did they know that those railroad tracks would be the reason Antipolo Street would be wiped out. Along the tracks now stands a portion of the eight-kilometer elevated tollway linking North Luzon and South Luzon expressways which was built over the existing PNR line to minimize the need for government to expropriate land.

Thirty-eight barangays and 3,461 families along the PNR tracks in Manila and Caloocan lost their homes, including those in Antipolo Street. Two-thirds of them were property owners, not all informal settlers as government liked to say.

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In the mess of a metropolis that is Metro Manila, infrastructure projects such as elevated tollways have prioritized motorists over people and communities. Not only have some displaced families like those from Antipolo Street yet to be compensated, the project has also ironically exacerbated the very traffic problems it was meant to alleviate, while also generating new issues for the community.

“It was incredibly difficult to accept the idea of being forced from our homes. Finding affordable housing in Manila is nearly impossible, even with the compensation they promised. Plus, my business was located on that street,” Jason explained.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. and NLEX Corp., builders of the elevated tollway, were contacted several times from May to September 2024, assuring this reporter that the company would respond to questions in writing. 

NLEX Corp., in response to emailed questions from this reporter, said that issues concerning right-of-way acquisitions have caused delays in the project.

They said they mitigated these by modifying construction methodologies, working on available areas out of the usual sequence, advancing ROW payments, and more.”

They also admitted that, though government did relocate affected “informal settlers,” some families were disqualified from relocation because of various issues.

DISPLACEMENT AND FLOODING

In Barangay 593 in Sampaloc, across Magsaysay Avenue, around a hundred families have either lost their homes or are at risk of losing them, according to barangay secretary Michael Garcia.

“We’ve lost many of our residents. Those who can are renting houses or rooms within the barangay. We’ve also lost our basketball court to the construction, which is a real blow to the kids who no longer have a place to play,” Garcia said.

The situation worsened with the onset of the construction, as the barangay began experiencing flooding.

“It’s only since the construction started that we’ve had flooding after rain. During Typhoon Carina in August, every house was inundated,” Garcia added. 

He explained that the rainwater, which usually drains towards Santa Mesa Road and into the Pasig River, was obstructed by cement from the construction.

The barangay officials requested a meeting with NLEX Corp. The company representatives explained that they could not install a permanent drainage system for the community until the remaining houses scheduled for demolition were cleared.

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Other barangays also faced flooding during Typhoon Carina. Residents from Barangay 590, near the Santa Mesa Bridge and at the end of the connector road linking to Skyway 3 in Pandacan, encountered similar issues.

“The construction covered the drainage here last July. When it rains, water quickly rushes into our houses,” said Jess Fernandez, 46, a resident of Barangay 590.

He recounted that during the height of Carina, a child waded into the flood and fell into a manhole. Fortunately, the child was unharmed, though “he swam in filth,” Fernandez added.

As construction continued and the DPWH increased pressure on residents to vacate, Jason began to lose hope. By 2022, before the court issued an order for the demolition of his home, he and his family had already abandoned their Antipolo Street residence. Many of his neighbors also left.

“Antipolo Street was wiped out by 2022,” he lamented.

Time-lapse of satellite images of NLEX Connector Road - Magsaysay Avenue before, during and after construction

Jason then rented a house near Antipolo Street. He lost his home and small business and joined the ranks of renters and the displaced in Manila.

In the final stretch of the project, near the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) campus, the connector road intersects with Santa Mesa Road, where construction for the connection to Skyway 3 and NLEX Connector Road was underway.

Massive interchange girders were erected along Santa Mesa Road, extending above the bridge and onto Skyway 3 in Pandacan. This part of the project required additional demolitions, including that of a gasoline station.

“All those affected are resistant to leaving. There has been significant pushback. But since it’s a government project, there’s only so much that can be done,” said Mario Dauz, barangay chairman of Barangay 590.

PROJECT HISTORY

In 2010, Manuel V. Pangilinan’s First Pacific Investments Corp. put forward an unsolicited proposal for what initially was a 13-kilometer elevated expressway to link North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), built and operated by his company, and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), developed by San Miguel Corp.

This expressway, designed to cut through the heart of Manila, aimed to ease traffic congestion in the rapidly expanding metropolis.

To facilitate the right-of-way acquisitions and lower the cost of land purchases, First Pacific wanted to build the highway near or directly above the existing Philippine National Railways (PNR) tracks. This followed similar proposals from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

On January 21, 2014, Pangilinan’s Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) signed a joint venture agreement with the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) for the construction of the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road (later, NLEX Connector Road).

But President Benigno Aquino III’s administration declared that a Swiss Challenge — an opportunity for other companies to submit competing proposals — should be followed for transparency in the procurement process.

MNTC still won the bid, securing the project.

MPTC and the Toll Regulatory Board signed a concession agreement. On July 20, 2015, the National Economic and Development Authority's Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) deferred its approval. But by December 16, 2015, the project was re-approved.`

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President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration included the NLEX Connector Road project under the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program. MNTC — now called NLEX Corporation — secured a P23.2-billion contract on July 25, 2016, to construct, operate, and maintain the highway. The concession was awarded in November 2017.

On November 5, 2019, NLEX Corp. subcontracted the main works for the Caloocan City to España Avenue segment to large construction firm DM Consunji, Inc. The contract for the España Avenue to Santa Mesa segment was awarded to the Chinese state construction firm, China Road and Bridge Corp.

In March 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Duterte administration suspended all public works and imposed a national lockdown.

The President announced a moratorium on demolitions, but the DPWH continued its negotiations with Manila residents. It began clearing the 844 informal settler families along the train tracks. These families did not receive compensation but some were relocated to government housing projects in Cavite and Caloocan.

NLEX Connector Road’s first segment was completed by late 2022. The DPWH proceeded with right-of-way acquisitions in Sampaloc, including streets like Antipolo. Those who refused to sell their homes faced court action for expropriation. Such was the case with Jason’s property.

“It was my fault. When we bought the property, we didn’t expedite the transfer of the deed to my name. We’re still working on it. The DPWH valued our property at P45,000 per square meter, but we’ll receive only about P30,000 per square meter due to deductions for property tax and other fees,” Jason explained.

Regarding the structure, the DPWH paid Jason P15,000 per square meter. However, he had yet to receive any compensation for the land itself, as the title had not been transferred to his name.

On Antipolo Street, Jason and his neighbors, along with others, faced displacement. Some of them organized under groups like the Sampaloc People’s Alliance which staged protest actions and lobbied against the project.

Then-Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, together with then Vice-Mayor (now Mayor) Honey Lacuna, as well as other city officials and representatives from DPWH, hold a dialogue with residents affected by the NLEX Connector Road construction on October 1, 2019. (Photo from Manila Public Information Office Facebook page)

On October 1, 2019, the residents met with then-Manila Mayor Francisco Moreno Domagoso and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna at Manila City Hall.

“These (homes) are all we have. My children, grandchildren, and even some relatives live here. This is where we build our lives,” said Theresa Alvarez, 52, a resident of Tondo, addressing the mayor.

Domagoso promised to request the City Council to fund an independent study to assess the social impacts of the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road. Nothing came of this proposed study.

Meanwhile, residents also learned of another project that will utilize the right-of-way along the PNR tracks: the North-South Railway Project (NSRP) of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

But because the NLEX Connector Road already occupied a significant portion of the 30-meter right-of-way, right-of-way acquisition was extended westward. This led to the demolition of even more homes.

As construction neared completion, NLEX Corp. officially opened Phase 1 of the NLEX Connector Road.

The launch was attended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., along with heads of various agencies such as DPWH, the Department of Transportation, and the National Economic Development Authority, as well as mayors from across Metro Manila, including Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna.

“Today marks a new chapter in our history, as we open the first section of the NLEX Connector—an infrastructure project that transforms the landscape of Metro Manila and showcases the best of the Filipino spirit,” said J. Luigi Bautista, NLEX Corp. president.

President Marcos, in his speech, expressed his excitement at the prospect of motorists traveling from Caloocan to Manila in just “five minutes” for the first time ever.

(To be concluded) 

This story was made possible by a grant from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network through the Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University 

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