“There should be no eviction or demolition of the dwellings of informal settler families (ISFs) or underprivileged and homeless citizens without the State providing adequate alternative housing and relocation.”

This was stressed by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) as it pointed out that the government should ensure the availability of basic services such as access to potable water, electricity connection, sewage facilities, and access to primary roads and transportation facilities to evicted ISFs.

"The availability of basic services must not be subject to any condition such as compliance to a certain percentage of the total number of the transferees before water and power are made available," the CHR said.

"And again, as early as the pre-social preparation phase, the government must have already identified relocation sites and prioritized on-site or in-city relocation sites that are compliant to the requirements of adequate housing," it added.

The CHR’s stand on demolition of ISFs dwellings is contained in its position paper on "Bills Establishing a Code of Conduct for Eviction of Underprivileged and Homeless Citizens, Demolition of Their Dwellings, and Their Resettlement Amending for the Purpose R.A. No. 7279, Otherwise Known as the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.”

It said the right to adequate housing is a basic human right. But with so many Filipinos who are homeless or underprivileged, this right has remained a challenge to provide and protect -- especially for the government, it also said.

This is why the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 or Republic Act No. 7279 was enacted into law which laid out the prohibitions against eviction and demolition, and provided the requirements in resettlement plans, it stressed.

In cases where they cannot provide for themselves, the CHR said that the government should undertake measures to provide them with alternative housing and other resources.