56 houses cleared at Bonifacio Naval Station

Some 56 houses have been cleared during a two-day operation to rid the Bonifacio Naval Station complex of overstaying personnel, Captain Geronimo Malabanan, Navy spokesperson, said on Sunday. Jars, toy bicycles, and boxes littered the lawns of some of the houses inside the BNS yesterday. A few people were seen bringing belongings outside as military trucks, heavily laden with boxes and furniture, began leaving the compound. However, another 17 families have secured a court injunction, claiming that a proclamation issued by the late President Diosdado Macapagal in the 1960s had given them the right to remain where they were. The 17 retired officers tried to cling to their homes, saying that the property belonged to their association, the Naval Officers Village Association Inc. (Novai), under the Macapagal proclamation. Novai had obtained a title to 47.5 hectares inside Fort Bonifacio, including the 20-hectare BNS where the officers' quarters now stand, the petitioners claimed. They said the courts had already upheld the validity of Novai's title. The military said that Novai's title, issued in 1992, was spurious. The case is on appeal. Malabanan said they would not be kicked out until after the injunction was resolved. Six officers arrived on Sunday to claim units awarded to them by the Navy in a bid to satisfy an acute need for housing by active military personnel. "This is one way of lifting the morale and welfare of our officers," Malabanan said. In a simple ceremony, Navy Vice Commander Rear Admiral Abraham Abesamis, chair of the Navy Housing Board, gave to Lieutenant Jose Johriel Cenabre, Captain Isabelo Gador, Commander Varciso Vingson, Commander Gilbert Naldoza, Lieutenant Colonels Arthur Biyo and Ramon Tan the keys to their new homes. - INQ7.Net