A Quezon City Department of Sanitation and Cleanup Works garbage truck passed by Area 2 in UP Diliman to collect garbage from the stores before the clearing operations ensued on April 23, 2024. Courtesy: Faith Baltazar, UJP-UP Diliman 

MANILA — A road-clearing operation along a popular food street inside the UP Diliman campus was done at the request of the university but could have been done better, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said Wednesday.

The QC Department of Public Order and Safety on Tuesday dismantled structures and confiscated stalls, standees, chairs, tables and other properties without warning along Area 2, which stirred up outrage and prompted protests from the community.

"There is clearly a need to remind those who implemented it that their job demands the highest levels of empathy, compassion, and respect for human rights," the mayor said in a statement where she also extended apologies to vendors affected by the operation.

"Full coordination should likewise be done with all the stakeholders, supported by clear and timely lines of communication,” she also said. 

She said the city government is also working on a draft framework for clearing operations "based on the principles of transparency, consultation, participation, the minimization of harm, and optimal outcomes for all concerned parties."

UP OFFICIAL REQUESTED CLEARING

Belmonte said clearing operations were also conducted in Pook Dagohoy, Pook Palaris, and Area 1 — residential areas in the Diliman campus — in line with recent directives from the Department of the Interior and Local Government to remove obstructions and illegal structures along barangay roads. 

Aside from being a university campus, a large part of UP Diliman is also part of Barangay UP Campus.  

Belmonte said that although the clearing was done to follow DILG rules, it was at the request of UP Diliman Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Roehl Jamon.  

Students and other members of the UP community gathered and rallied behind the vendors on Tuesday, calling for the protection of community spaces in the campus and opposing what they said were efforts by the university to commercialize community spaces.

Area 2 is a residential area lined with affordable dining options. It is located near the construction site of DiliMall, a multi-story building intended to replace the Shopping Center that burned down in 2018. 

However, the planned DiliMall has faced criticism after a supposed blueprint for it showed that the first and second floors of the building would be occupied by high-end establishments. 

Bookstores, printing shops, and other establishments offering services essential to students will be located on the third floor.