Payatas: The Story of a Tragedy
Payatas: The Story of a Tragedy
(A Primer on the Payatas Tragedy)
Prepared by KADAMAY and Task Force Damayan
Lupang Pangako in Payatas, Quezon City (QC) is your typical thriving community. It has rows of houses,
paved streets, a marketplace, church, school, daycare, multipurpose hall, barangay hall, police station,
basketball court, electricity, water system, and other facilities and structures necessary for daily living.
There are around 15,000 residents in Lupang Pangako before the tragedy that struck last July 10. A large
majority of the residents though are what we term as the urban poor, who are mostly drivers, vendors,
construction workers, factory workers, government employees, and non-regular service workers. Contrary
to government propaganda and the lie spread in the mass media, not all residents are scavengers whose
lives depend largely on the nearby dumpsite.
Lupang Pangako, which if translated means Promised Land, served as a relocation site for urban poor
families whose homes in other parts of QC, like Cubao, Tatalon, and Pinyahan, were previously demolished
by order of the government. Many of the residents who were relocated there by the city government in 1988
and 1989 have already experienced at least three demolitions in their lifetime.
As the population grew, the people saw the need to organize themselves into associations in order to
advance their rights and welfare. For every alley of houses, a leader was assigned by the poor residents
themselves to attend to their basic concerns.
Indeed Lupang Pangako is your typical urban poor community which is worlds apart to the plush
subdivisions which now surrounds it. It is no different to the slums which presently dot other cities and
municipalities. It is a living testament to the impoverishment currently experienced by our country.
History of Payatas
Lupang Pangako, which used to be called Urban, is situated within the contested 2,818-hectare Payatas
Estate where a large part of the land is presently occupied by big subdivisions owned by big landlords. It is
near the La Mesa Dam, the Marikina-Montalban River, and the municipalities of San Mateo and Rodriguez
(formerly Montalban) in the province of Rizal.
The Payatas Estate was first registered with the Roguera family in 1907 under Original Certificate of Title
No. 333. It was then transferred to Nanjo Kaisha Ltd., a Japanese corporation, in 1920. Back then, it was
considered an unclassified public forest by the Bureau of Forestry.
But when Quezon City was formed, 53% of the land area covered by Payatas Estate (the present 2,818
hectares) became part of the city. This covers six different barangays, one of which is Barangay Payatas
where Lupang Pangako is located. The rest of the barangays are Commonwealth, Batasan Hills, Holy Spirit,
Fairview, and Silangan.
Around 907 hectares of the Estate which now forms part of Quezon City is occupied by the Novaliches
Reservoir (or La Mesa Dam) and 444 hectares is part of the National Government Center (NGC). The
remaining 1,467 hectares is occupied by big subdivisions such as Capitol View, Empire View and Capitol
Homes, and by pockets of urban poor communities.
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Payatas: The Story of a Tragedy
In 1995, the whole of Payatas Estate has a recorded population of 311,502. Today, the population is estimated
to be around 450,000-600,000.
History of the Dumpsite
While it is said that a portion of Barangay Payatas was designated as a dumpsite in 1973, the dump has not
grown significantly before 1990. Residents of Lupang Pangako contend that until 1988 and 1989, they were
still able to see the House of Congress in the distance.
They would also have to look down to view the faraway dumpsite which is 2-3 kilometers away from
Lupang Pangako and is situated below the community at a height equivalent to 3-5 storeys.
When then President Fidel Ramos ordered the closure of Smokey Mountain in Tondo, Manila (another
mountain of garbage symbolic of the widespread poverty experienced by our country) in 1993 after a bloody
demolition between the police and the urban poor residents, a large portion of the 6,000 metric tons of
garbage churned out daily by Metro Manila were transferred and dumped at the San Mateo Landfill in Rizal
and at Payatas.
Gradually the garbage rose until Lupang Pangako looked more like a gargantuan spectacle of trash than
your typical urban poor neighborhood.
The Payatas dumpsite made life more miserable and hazardous for the thousands of poor people who live in
the once Promised Land. The open dumpsite openly invited all sorts of diseases. Methane and other toxic
chemicals emitted by the garbage heap can cause various respiratory illnesses. Business in the marketplace
also went down until the only profitable business were those related to scavenging garbage. Finally, the poor
folks had to bear with the stigma attached to being a resident of the area -- that they who live in Lupang
Pangako or even in Payatas are filthy, foul-smelling, and diseased.
By 1993, there has already been recommendations for the closure of the dumpsite. According to VBB Viak
Consulting Engineers, a Swedish group commissioned by the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) to study the possibility of leachate intrusion into the nearby La Mesa Dam, the dumpsite
has already reached its limit and has already been the cause of environmental and health-related problems.
The La Mesa Dam is the main source of drinking water for the whole of Metro Manila.
The group also warned on the possibility of a garbage-slide due to the steepness of the slope and the sloppy
way by which the trash is dumped in the area.
Newly-elected president Joseph Estrada then ordered the closure of the Payatas dumpsite in 1998 primarily
due to the pressure of former president Ramos. He then formed the Task Force for the Development of
Payatas appointed Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Jejomar Binay to head the
closure, transformation and eventual development of the dumpsite.
Nothing happened of the Task Force since the President has no political initiative whatsoever to effect his
closure order. The president himself is veritably utilizing Payatas and its residents to project its pro-poor
image. Also, the dumpsite itself is a huge business for government and a few powerful individuals.
Money in Trash
Land-owners, garbage contractors, and government officials reap huge profits from the mountain of garbage
which imperilled the lives of thousands. According to the Center for Research and Communication (now
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Payatas: The Story of a Tragedy
also called University of Asia and Pacific), the collection and dumping of garbage is an industry worth P2.1
billion annually.
A research by the Philippine Daily Inquirer revealed that dumpsite operators rake about P50,000 daily or
P1.5 million monthly by merely allowing the QC government and its garbage collectors to dump garbage in
an 11-hectare property in Payatas. They charge about P100-500 as entrance fee for every truck allowed to
dump garbage in their property.
The dumpsite is actually divided into two areas. The 11-hectare land is the so-called Lesser Dumpsite owned
by Tommy and Sandra Rovero-Cox of Meteor Company. It is the dumpsite which is near the community of
Lupang Pangako. The Greater Dumpsite which occupies 19 hectare is owned by the Halili family of TOFEMI
Realty.
There are several garbage contractors allowed to dumped garbage in Payatas. These contractors are the
collectors of trash coming from QC and the cities of Manila, San Juan, Makati, and Muntinlupa. They have
multi-million contracts with the said city governments as well as with large private establishments which
produce a significant volume of trash, for example, shopping malls, hospitals, hotels, and subdivisions.
One of the biggest garbage contractors in Payatas is REN Transport owned by Reynaldo Pascugin III. REN
used to have an exclusive contract for garbage collection in the whole of QC. It makes us many as 500-600
trips to the Payatas dumpsite daily. For example, a large portion of the P460 million budget of the QC
government for garbage collection for this year goes to REN Transport alone.
Reportedly, another of the biggest garbage contractor in Payatas, Chuck Mathay of the Pusong Makabayan
foundation, is the son of the Mayor Mel Mathay of Quezon City.
Barangay Payatas officials also make money out of the operations of the dumpsite. When Barangay Chair
Emerita Pecson was appointed dumpsite administrator in January 1999, she allowed the construction of
junkshops right on top of the dumpsite. Pecson was even charged for breaking environmental laws when it
was discovered that the wood used for the construction of the junkshops were from trees cut in the La Mesa
Dam. Pecson charges P5,000 for every junkshop set up in the dumpsite and P3,000 as montly rental fee.
While rates go these high, she writes only P100 in the official receipt given to junkshop owners.
“Garbage-Slide”
The first recorded incident of garbage-slide occured in Lupang Pangako in August 3, 1999 during the height
of a typhoon. While only pigs were killed in that incident, 32 families lost their homes.
The affected families and their supporters from Samahang Tunay (Genuine Organization), a local
organization of KADAMAY in Payatas, held several pickets and protest actions in the Quezon City Hall
demanding a stop to the dumping of garbage in Payatas. They even held a dialogue with Mayor Mel Mathay
but their demand fell on deaf ears, including their request that they be given new housing.
A year after, the Quezon City government has done nothing on the growing demand of Lupang Pangako
residents to immediately close the Payatas dumpsite. A year after, another garbage-slide occured on the
fateful morning of July 10, several times worse than the first one. This time, more than 500 families lost their
homes, livelihood, and properties, aside from loved ones.
To date, 234 people have been confirmed dead due to the disaster, while 85 persons remain missing and are
still believed to be under the dump. Recovery operations have stopped since July 22. Around 63 bodies
recovered since then are presently kept at the Empire View Park and have yet to be released by the forensic
team and the QC government to their respective families.
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Payatas: The Story of a Tragedy
There are four phases in Lupang Pangako -- Phase I to Phase IV, and only Phase II was affected by the
garbage-slide. Phase II on the other hand is divided into 21 areas that are locally-called purok. Of the 21
purok, only 7 were hit by the garbage-slide. These are puroks 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 17.
A few days after the disaster, several families in other Phases and in other areas around the dumpsite,
particularly in the Group III area, were evacuated as they were believed to be in a danger zone. Officials
feared another garbage-slide due to continuous heavy rains.
Evacuation and Relocation
At the height of the tragedy, more than 500 families or 2000 persons were evacuated at the nearby Lupang
Pangako Elementary School (LPES). What used to be a classroom for 40 students instantly became a room
housing 40-60 families.
When more families had to be evacuated due to the spectre of another garbage-slide, several families were
housed at the Ina ng Lupang Pangako Chapel, at the cockpit in Phase IV, and in an abandoned school in
Group III. Those at the LPES swelled to several hundreds.
The cramped condition in the evacuation center resulted in the proliferation of respiratory-related diseases,
such as colds and cough, especially among children. A 4-year old child (Jullie Ann Tolentino) even died at
the evacuation center in Group III last July 23 due to a complication of her bronchopneumonia.
The evacuees also complained with relief provisions given them. They said that for days they had nothing to
eat but rice, noodles and sardines. While they are thankful to the support given them, they said that
government officials running the evacuation center should have been considerate enough to give them a
decent meal.
For weeks, classes was also suspended at the LPES. The decongestion of the LPES evacuation center as well
as the other centers began July 19 when the first batch of 19 families were relocated to Erap City or
Kasiglahan Village I in Rodriguez, Rizal.
Around August, all evacuees were removed from Lupang Pangako and were then transferred to Group III
and in the basketball court in Molave. Though to this date, there are no longer any evacuees in the Molave
basketball court and only a few families remain in Group III. Most have been relocated to Erap
City/Kasiglahan in Rizal.
Around 400 families have already been transferred to Kasiglahan, which if translated means “Bliss”.
Ironically the place is no heaven for the victims. The housing units given to them remain unfinished and
poorly built, lack basic utilities and services such as electricity and water, extremely infested with
mosquitoes, and lie directly on an active earthquake faultline. There is no clean and safe drinking water,
school, clinic, marketplace, and church. The victims are unlikely to find a sustainable job or livelihood inside
the relocation. Worse, the victims would have to pay for the housing units, or else they face eviction after
failing to pay amortization for three consecutive months.
Who's to Blame
Clearly, local government officials of Quezon City, particularly Mayor Mel Mathay and Barangay Payatas
Chair Emerita Pecson, MMDA Chair Jejomar Binay, and Presidential Adviser Robert Aventajado who heads
the Greater Metropolitan Manila Solid Waste Management Committee, are very much accountable for the
tragedy.
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Payatas: The Story of a Tragedy
They have obviously been neglectful of their responsibilities in the efficient management of the metro's
garbage problem and in instituting the President's order to close the Payatas dumpsite. Such conduct has
obviously been prejudicial to the best interest of public service, and in fact has resulted in the death of
hundreds of innocent men, women, and children.
Worse, these officials, significantly Mayor Mathay, tried to pass the buck on the urban poor residents citing
them as responsible for their own tragic fate. They called the residents hard-headed for refusing to leave
Lupang Pangako despite the danger posed by the 50-foot mountain of garbage.
But when this lie was exposed, when it was revealed that the residents came before the huge dumpsite and
that it was the dumpsite itself which closed in on the Lupang Pangako community, these same officials tried
to pass the blame on the unsuspecting public. In chorus with "environmentalists", everybody was blamed for
the tragedy because everybody produced so much garbage and disposed of them irresponsibly.
But when this outrageous claim also did not work, they then began to pass the blame on one another.
Blaming the Estrada Government
While the tragedy which struck Lupang Pangako, Payatas displayed the incompetence and irresponsibility
of certain government officials, this same tragedy also revealed the tip of enduring poverty, injustice, and
degradation suffered by many of our people. It revealed the extreme callousness, inutility and criminal
neglect of the present Estrada government to the plight of more than 20 million urban poor throughout the
country.
While millions are wasted daily on pork barrel, graft and corruption, the payment of foreign debt, and the
all-out war in Mindanao and other parts of the country, the government has done practically nothing to
alleviate the people's wretched conditions.
The Estrada government pretends to be pro-poor but what it has done for the people is make them suffer
even more with oil price increases, increases in taxes, low wages, massive unemployment, labor
contractualization, and intensified political repression.
The present government is a government serving foreign multinational interests and the interests of big local
landlords and compradors like Tan, Cojuangco, Sy, and Marcos. Under the Estrada government, a system is
perpetrated where only the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, if they don't die at all.
Clearly, the victims of the Payatas tragedy could not expect justice under this government and under this
unjust system. They would have to organize themselves and militantly fight for justice and their rights. They
would also need to link up with the poor millions who also suffer the same degradation in our land. Only
then would justice be rendered not only to them, but to the rest of our people wheeling under widespread
grinding poverty.
Struggle for Justice
The hundreds of victims of the Payatas tragedy are now organized under the July 10 Payatas Victims
Organization (J10PVO). The J10PVO, also called by its members as Damayan, also includes as members
victims of the first garbage-slide which happened August last year.
Presently there are more than 200 members of the J10PVO. Its members include the survivors of the tragedy,
those who have lost their loved ones, and those who have lost their houses and other properties.
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Payatas: The Story of a Tragedy
The J10PVO was organized with the help of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY), a
national alliance of urban poor associations. As such, it is also a member-organization of KADAMAY.
Attorney Romeo Capulong of the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) stands as its legal counsel.
The J10PVO has programs for medical and dental services, therapy for adults and children, education, legal
services, cultural work, and activities for youth and women.
The J10PVO aims primarily to seek justice for all victims of the Payatas tragedy, This includes the attainment
of the immediate needs for relief and rehabilitation of the victims and their long-term struggle for the
attainment of their right to decent housing, livelihood, and social services.
Specific demands of the J10PVO include the following: (1) resumption and completion of recovery
operations for the more than 80 persons still under the mountain of garbage; (2) immediate release of
recovered and identified bodies to their respective families; (3) free hospitalization and burial to all victims;
(4) free housing within other areas of Payatas; (5) rehabilitation and social services to all victims including
medical services, psycho-social therapy, free education, etc.; (6) sufficient livelihood to all victims; (7) bring
all officials and individuals criminally and admistratively liable for the tragedy to the bar of justice; (8)
indemnify all victims; and, (9) stop the demolition of the Payatas community, immediately close and remove
the Payatas dumpsite, restore the Payatas community.
So far, through the J10PVO, and with te assistance of KADAMAY and PILC, the victims have filed a class
suit against local officials involved in the tragedy at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. The said case was
filed last August 1 and the judge to which the case was filed waived docket fees worth P10 million.
The victims also filed a criminal and administrative case against the same officials with the Office of the
Ombudsman last August 22.
It is unfortunate that there are some "pro-urban poor" groups trying to make money out of the worsened
plight of the Payatas victims. These small groups are being utilized by government officials to sow intrigue
among the victims, the objective of which is to divide the ranks of the J10PVO and weaken their fight for
justice.
Epilogue
The story that was the Payatas tragedy has not ended yet. While we want the grieving to end so that those
affected could again rebuild their lives, we do not want this singular event to be simply effaced from
memory. There is a constant need to recollect this sad story if only to draw the lessons necessary for
preventing a repeat of the tragedy.
And such would not be so hard to do given the fact that everyday the larger tragedy of widespread poverty
continue to bury a growing number of the urban poor under a trash of social, political, and economic issues
and problems disposed of by the present government.
What is important now is that the victims and the rest of the poor are rising from the tragedy and are
pursuing the promise of Lupang Pangako through organized and militant struggle. Justice shall be rendered
unto them. Only then shall the pain brought by the tragedy end. Only then shall the story of the Payatas
tragedy come to an end.
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