From tunnel to home: Osmeña Highway families get fresh start in Bulacan

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Ma. Minda Unisa used to dread the floods that would inundate their makeshift homes beneath the Osmeña Highway in Manila.

Now, Unisa is enjoying a safer and more secure life in her new home in San Ildefonso, Bulacan. She is among 50 families who have moved from the underground tunnel community to government housing in the province, according to a "24 Oras" report by Bea Pinlac on Wednesday.

“Naiiyak ako ano ba ‘yan—aahon kami sa taas kasi ‘yung tubig talaga abot ganyan…inaano ko kuryente baka makuryente kami,” Unisa said in her new house. (I am crying. What is this—we had to move up because the water will rise this high…I was worried about the electricity because we might get electrocuted.)

Usina said that she was determined to have a new home.

“Kahit malayo ‘to, sabi ko, titirhan ko talaga,” Usina said. (Even if this is far, I said, I will live here.)

The Osmeña Highway was home to a community of families who built makeshift houses from light materials. The settlement had its own water and electricity connections.

But living conditions were extremely dangerous. The families lived beneath a highway tunnel and near a creek, leaving them vulnerable to flooding and other hazards. Their homes were also cramped and tightly packed, with more than 100 families living in the area.

Now, most of the makeshift homes under the tunnel have been cleared, as families begin moving into their new houses. GMA News joined some of the residents as they made the transition to their new homes.

Lourdes Quitara, another resident of the tunnel community, also moved into her own home in Bulacan.

“Naranasan ko rin nasunugan kami tapos baha pa…Minsan kapag ako lang mag-isa sa bahay umiiyak ako kasi wala akong kasama lalo na kapag Pasko,” Quitara said.

(I have experienced our homes being on fire and flooded… Sometimes when I am alone at home, I cry because I have no one during Christmas.)

“Ngayong Pasko, kumpleto kami masaya ang Pasko,” Quitara said. (This Christmas, we are complete so I am happy this Christmas.)

The housing is not free, but it is offered at an affordable cost. The families will pay nothing during their first year. Starting in the second year, they will pay between P600 and P2,000 a month over the next 30 years.

However, not everyone has been able to move into their new homes yet. Thirty-five families remain in rented residences while construction of their new homes is still underway.

They will hopefully move in by Christmas.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian oversaw the families’ relocation and said the agency would continue providing assistance, recognizing the challenges of starting a new life in a new home.

“We will issue another set of cash relief assistance, another P10,000 kasi alam mo, kapag in-uproot mo ang isang tao, pagdating niya roon to jumpstart their life, panibagong hamon na naman yun,” Gatchalian said.

(We will issue another set of cash relief assistance, another P10,000 because you know, when you uproot another person, when they get there to jumpstart their life, that is another challenge.)

To prevent anyone from returning to the tunnel, its entrance was dismantled as the homes were demolished.

Manila Department of Social Welfare Director Jay Dela Fuente said that they have also instructed the barangay to make sure that no one returns there. Manila City Hall will also coordinate with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to ensure this. —Jean Mangaluz/LDF, GMA News