Poor folk along railroad tracks slam Noli De Castro

Urban poor folk living along the railroad tracks in Manila who are scheduled for relocation hurled harsh words at Vice President Noli De Castro when he visited them on Wednesday. De Castro, who is concurrent chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), was accompanied by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim to personally inspect the site. A GMA News report quoted De Castro as downplaying the residents' protests, saying that "political will" is needed in such a situation. During a dialogue with the Vice President, residents protested the city government’s plan to demolish shanties located within 15 meters from the railroad. The impoverished settlers would only agree to keeping their shanties only 3.5 meters from the tracks. Many of the shanties stand only a few meters from the railroad. The local government of Manila is expected to demolish the shanties of some 5,000 families to give way to a new railway project. The residents also decried the government's plan to have them relocated to Trece Martires City in Cavite , with some saying they instead want to reside at another relocation site in Cabuyao, Laguna. -GMANews.TV