QC demolition row rages as residents block roads on 3rd day

The demolition team managed to continue tearing down shanties of informal settlers in a neighborhood in Quezon City on Thursday amid violence. On Friday, resistance persisted as residents blocked the streets near their settlements. A report by dzBB's Allan Gatus said occupants of the demolished houses blocked the streets as they set up temporary shelters there. Many of the families slept on the pavement, while others on the nearby lot, using plywood and galvanized iron sheets as "shelter." Vehicles could not pass through the streets near the area because the roads were crowded, the report said.

Some 300 families have been dislocated in the ongoing wrecking operation near 6th, 7th and Broadway Streets in New Manila district. Many of the families claimed they have been occupying the area since the 1950s. Tension has gripped the neighborhood since Wednesday when at least 10 were injured in a confrontation between residents and the demolition team. Last Thursday, residents exploded pillboxes to ward off the demolition team escorted by police personnel. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV