They were relocated under the government’s SIMPLE program.
Intramuros has been a historic landmark—and a place where informal settler families have made their homes. Now, 193 families are leaving the Walled City for a relocation site in Morong, Rizal.
The Intramuros Administration—the tourism department’s agency overseeing the historic district—said in an Aug. 25 Facebook post that the families from the Banana Island community along Legazpi Street were relocated from Aug. 12 to 14 under the government’s SIMPLE Program, or Strategy for the Inclusive Mainstreaming of People’s Living Entitlements.
They’re not the first. The families will join 195 others from the Balon and Pagong communities who were relocated to the same site in 2024, bringing the total to 388 families moved under SIMPLE.
The government says the relocation “aims to provide informal settler families in Intramuros with access to improved living conditions, sustainable livelihood opportunities, and a more secure future as they transition to their new community.”
To ease the transition, the families received financial assistance from property owner L.G. Mathieson Development Corporation and food packs from the Manila city government.
“Through relocation and pabahay programs like SIMPLE, the IA remains committed to building a more inclusive and sustainable community while preserving the heritage and character of the Walled City,” the IA said.
But the move raises a question beyond the numbers: What does a new home mean if it also means leaving behind the community and daily life families have built in Manila?
The IA’s Aug. 25 post didn’t provide details on the families’ new housing, their access to jobs and schools in Morong, or what livelihood support will be available to them after relocation.
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