Philippine Army defers eviction of Jusmag occupants

The Philippine Army has deferred evicting retired military and police officers still occupying quarters at a disputed territory inside a military camp south of Manila. Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said it was “inhumane" to push through with Friday’s eviction coming at a time when heavy downpour spawned by typhoon Florita (international codename: Bilis) continues to batter Metro Manila. The eviction was reset for Sunday, Esperon said. Already, eight of the 78 retired officers still maintaining quarters inside the Joint US Military Assistance Group (Jusmag) have left the disputed territory in Fort Bonifacio, a 40-hectare area originally planned to be the temporary quarters of American officers assigned to the country during the heyday of the American bases in the 1970s. Among the eight was former military chief turned special envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu, Esperon said. Twelve others have either started packing their belongings or have expressed intention to leave, including former military chiefs Diomedio Villanueva and Benjamin Defensor, ex-Army chief Gregorio Camiling and ex-National Police chief Edgar Aglipay. Esperon noted that many of the retired officers at Jusmag have also houses in upscale subdivisions and at the nearby Armed Forces Officers Village Inc. (AFPOVAI) and that some even lease their units in Jusmag. At present, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the Southside Homeowners Association Inc. (SHAI) are locked in an ownership battle for the Jusmag lot. The case is pending before the Supreme Court. The BCDA plans to sell the disputed territory at P12 billion, of which 30 percent or roughly P3.6 billion would go to the modernization funds of the Armed Forces. “We respect the processes of the Supreme Court but we must give these housing units to active officers," Esperon said. “They are clinging to what rightfully belongs to the government. We have the moral responsibility to hand these (housing units) over to active duty junior officers," said Esperon, who will assume the top military post on July 21 upon the retirement of General Generoso Senga. He said the Army has only 1,200 housing units while 7,000 active duty officers have pending applications for housing. Five years after the eviction, active duty officers will occupy the 112 units at Jusmag, afterwhich the BCDA will decide whether the property would be developed or sold. In May and June this year, 56 retired officers and 115 retired Navy enlisted personnel from the Philippine Navy and Philippine Marines were evicted from their quarters at the Bonifacio Naval Station also in Fort Bonifacio. - GMANews.TV