Bayan Muna (BM) Party issued an alert bulletin yesterday, August 20, on the ongoing demolition of Pangarap Village in North Caloocan by the personnel of the Araneta family. Carmel Development Inc (CDI) guards forcibly destroyed fences around the community and cut down trees near homes.

The company’s guards and thugs deliberately cut the trees to fall on residents’ houses, forcing them to leave. CDI is owned by Greggy Araneta, husband of Irene Marcos, daughter of dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr, and brother of the current president of the country.

“The forced demolition of residents’ homes and the violence perpetrated by Greggy Araneta’s guards and thugs are inhumane and unjust,” BM condemned. They challenged government agencies to address and assist residents to defend their human rights and right to housing.

BM said the guards and thugs used weapons on the residents. One of the thugs even used a shotgun to break the window of a house and threw stones inside to make the occupants leave. The thugs confiscated cellphones of residents who dared to video the demolition.

Residents identified one Al Alamid as the leader of Araneta’s thugs. They said Alamid offered ₱5,000 to residents who voluntarily leave their houses.

The CDI is seizing 156 hectares of land that served as relocation or housing for retired soldiers since the 1970s. More than 40,000 residents live here and 3,000 of them hold titles.