SOCIAL DIMENSION:INVOLUNTARY RESETTLEMENT

Involuntary resettlement, the sixth social dimension of sustainable development, is aprocess that assists people who are displced or temporarily disadvantaged because of a private or public project, and helps them rebuild their lives in a new environment. One key test of successful involuntary resettlement is whether the project-affected people are better off with the project than without the project.

Year 2013, the Aquino administration had pushed through of relocating families in areas identified mainly residents in esteros and along flood ways. The government had found alternative resettlement in rural area and offered 18,000 pesos for each family as start-up capital provided they will sign contract with agreement not to return. In general principle, involuntary resettlement should be avoided whenever possible. When population displacement is unavoidable, it should be minimized by exploring all possible options; for example, with a highway project, there are two options; either not to build the road or to consider alternative routes to the highway that will displace a small number of people. Once a decision has been made and people either have to be displaced or suffer short-term economic hardship, they should be compensated and assisted, so that their economic and social future will generally as favorable as it would have been in the absence of the project.

A workable resettlement policy as per ADB must include: (1) Full compensation and assistance – In the case of vulnerable groups such as women, children, the disabled or aged, help is needed physically moving their belongings; Skill development and Employment Opportunities in their new habitat by assisting and linking them to networks of their new communities. (2) Full consultation and communication between parties involved: The project proponents, the people who are to be displaced and the community that is being asked to accept them. People about to be displaced should be fully consulted about planned resettlement and on their compensation options, and agreement should be reached. If an agreement cannot be reached, the people should not be forced out. (3) Promote successful integration of the newcomers into host communities to avoid civil disorder.

In many developing countries, project proponents claim that the people about to be ejected are squatters who have no formal title to the land they occupy and therefore are not entitled to any resettlement compensation. This is a sensitive issue, but ADB, in reformulating its policy on involuntary resettlement, decided that the absence of a legal title to the land should not preclude compensation. ADB Resettlement Policy “Specifies that a lack of formal legal title to land is not a bar to compensation and other assistance. This may apply to a range of people affected, e.g. informal dwellers, land users with traditional or customary rights, squatters or those with adverse possession rights but no formal legal title to land and assets.”

In 2003, I got an invitation from San Miguel Corporation to join their team as Quality Assurance – Laboratory Analyst for their paper business. I accepted the offer and was contented with my new home. I had established myself in the company, had made friends whom I considered as family and already settled not thinking of moving out. In 2007, global recession, our company had greatly suffered as all of our major customers went cost cutting and opted to go trading. The company tried it’s best to sustain operations. However, came 2009 when income could not meet up with operations cost. The management had no choice but to shutdown the company.

I could relate my experience to involuntary resettlement for I felt loosing my home. I was anxious for my future and worried for some of my colleagues at retirement age. But the company made dialogue and explained to us their plans and programs. They provided various trainings and seminars to give us options establishing business, we we’re paid more than what we expected, the company extended help by linking us to some possible employers and they provided 3 years medical assistance to us. This had gives us all empowerment to start a new and /or further improve the life we had before.