Officials of the University of the Philippines met with various government agencies and affected communities residing in Purok Aguinaldo, April 16, to clarify lingering issues surrounding the development of the SDG Urban Farm and Wellness Park project.
Vice President for Development Daniel Peckley Jr. and Vice President for Public Affairs Marian Coquia-Regidor represented UP in the dialogue held at the Department of Agrarian Reform Central Office. Representatives from DAR, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, the local government of Quezon City, officials from Brgys. UP Campus and Krus Na Ligas, farmers’ groups, and community organizations also attended the meeting.
During the dialogue, DAR Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Facundo Palafox V affirmed that the 24-hectare lot allocated for the project is an institutional property of UP and is therefore excluded from the government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, in line with the 1992 ruling by the Supreme Court.
While farmers in the community and their legal counsel acknowledged this affirmation, they expressed fears that the project’s development will displace them from their current settlements and affect their livelihoods.
Peckley clarified that land portions allocated for infrastructural development in the park — such the housing projects to be implemented by DHSUD and Quezon City — will not affect the rice fields currently tilled by farmers in the area. Moreover, he assured that affected households, especially informal settler families in the community, will be given on-site transitional housing facilities with complete provisions for utilities while the housing projects are being developed.
