Court stops sale of Smokey Mountain dump

MANILA, Philippines - A Manila court yesterday stopped the state housing firm Home Guaranty Corp. (HGC) from selling the 121,905-square meter Smokey Mountain dump in Tondo, Manila.

In an eight-page resolution, Manila City Regional Trial Court Branch 6 issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the public auction of the land that was scheduled yesterday afternoon.

The court granted the urgent relief sought in the petition filed by beneficiaries of the Smokey Mountain Dumpsite Reclamation Project (SMDRP).

“It was the intent of the government to constitute the petitioners, and others similarly situated, as the beneficiaries of the SMDRP. Consequently, it is beyond question that the petitioners have a clear and unmistakable right or interest over the subject property,” read the order signed by Judge Jansen Rodriguez, which is effective for 20 days.

The court said HGC committed “material and substantial” violation of the petitioners’ right or interest over the dump when it filed a complaint for ejectment against them and when it offered the property for public auction without consulting them.