URBAN DEVELOPMENT in the Philippines grapples with inadequate housing and basic service provision, rendering informal settler families (ISFs) highly vulnerable to recurring fire incidents.
As of 2023, half of the estimated 3.7 million ISFs live in “high-risk” areas in Metro Manila and navigate material precarity with a heightened exposure to fire. In many cases, these fires signal not only immediate displacement but also the onset of redevelopment efforts in affected areas.
Fire as entry point
On March 6, a fire broke out in Barangay Pinyahan, along NIA Road, Quezon City, engulfing the homes of around 4,000 families. The blaze escalated to Task Force Bravo—one of the highest alarm levels—and spread through tightly packed houses made of plywood and light materials, exacerbated by a limited water supply from nearby hydrants. As of writing, authorities have yet to confirm the cause of the fire.
Similarly, on April 25, fire struck the Commonwealth Market along Commonwealth Avenue, a commercial corridor supporting the livelihoods of nearby residential communities. The fire reached the fifth alarm before being contained, illustrating the scale of impact.
Urban Poor Associates Senior Community Organizer Robert Mulhadi linked these fires to incremental fire-safe improvements that ISFs make to their homes. These include installing unsanctioned electrical and water connections as a survival strategy in the absence of formal access to basic utilities.
As the affected Pinyahan residents were relocated to temporary evacuation sites, the Quezon City Housing Community Development and Resettlement Department announced plans to construct up to 2,000 housing units by 2027. While these remain in development, residents are left to rely on the city government’s rental subsidies for temporary shelter.
Between relocation and return
With these relocation plans, fire emerges as a catalyst for displacement. Inklusibo Human Settlements Technical Adviser Rafael Dimalanta noted that in many informal settlements, fires become the tipping point for eviction, often preceding large-scale projects in affected areas. “‘Pag may sunog, usually may project na nangyayari (When there is a fire, there is usually a project that follows),” he said.
However, while fires may mark the beginning of redevelopment plans, they rarely signal the end of housing insecurity for displaced residents, as existing housing interventions remain misaligned with their long-term needs and conditions.
Dimalanta pointed to gaps in housing policy, specifically the Local Government Code of 1991, which devolves housing provision to local government units (LGU). In practice, he noted, many LGUs lack the budget to implement these and instead encounter resistance from private landowners unwilling to allocate land for low-cost housing.
Private sector participation in such program delivery extends to national housing, including the Expanded Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino. While designed to scale up production, Dimalanta noted persistent concerns over accessibility, mainly amortization and fees exceeding Php 8,000 and consuming a substantial portion of the intended beneficiaries’ income.
Similarly, beneficiaries are typically required to apply through formal financing schemes, which exclude informal settlers with irregular or undocumented livelihoods.
Mulhadi likewise pointed out that relocation sites under these programs are often outside urban centers, far from ISFs’ sources of livelihood and social networks. These conditions thus discourage many from accepting resettlement and returning to informal settlements despite ongoing risks of fire and displacement.
Breaking the cycle
As ISFs struggle with the transition to stable housing, social ties within their communities also face risks of fragmentation. “Napansin mo, kung nasunog na ‘yan [affected area], biglang binabakuran na. Hindi na kasi babalik [yung residents]. Ganoon ang style nila, unless well-organized ang community,” Mulhadi described.
(You’ll notice that once an area has burned, it is quickly fenced off. Residents no longer return. That is what usually happens, unless the community is well-organized.)
In contrast, well-organized communities with strong local leadership are able to assert their rights more to secure tenure and due process in eviction, making them less vulnerable to displacement.
Mulhadi thus emphasized securing ISFs’ basic human rights as a matter of housing justice. Central to this, he noted, is formal access to electricity and water to reduce reliance on hazardous, makeshift connections that heighten fire risk.
More broadly, he called for a shift in how the urban poor are positioned in development planning—not as passive beneficiaries or obstacles, but as active participants in city governance.
For Dimalanta, this shift toward inclusive development policy entails a systematic identification of communities facing housing insecurity, including a citywide adaptation of ISF’s specific needs in familial arrangements, livelihoods, and everyday realities.
Ultimately, abating the cycle of fire and displacement requires more than post-disaster responses. It calls for a fundamental reorientation of urban development that sees housing after displacement as the basis of the urban poor’s claim to space and security.
