Permanent familiarity: Leaving or living in Aroma Temporary Housing

LOUD RUMBLING noises are heard on the roads along Barangay 105 in Tondo as big, speeding trucks pass by, scattering dust all over the place. 

Right across the road is a housing compound named Aroma, an area filled with people, overflowing garbage, and shacks that serve as a testament of survival and livelihood in the city.  

The heat scorches the city, but it does not stop people from picking up plastic bottles and digging through trash full of leftovers to make pagpag. 

Folks gather in narrow alleys, kids run around, and locals gossip right outside sari-sari stores. It was just another afternoon for the residents as they ponder how long they will remain in Aroma. 

“Kapag sinabi na magrelocate na pangkalahatan, wala naman kaming magagawa,” Aroma resident Liezl Egos said, accepting the possibilities of being kicked out from the compound. 

A different scent  

The Aroma Housing Compound is a temporary housing project consisting of 34 two-storey buildings when it was first inhabited. They were built during the administration of former president Fidel Ramos in 1995 as a solution to relocate informal settlers populating Smokey Mountain—a garbage dump site in Tondo. 

The country has witnessed five presidents since people started relocating to the compound. Despite the area being introduced as "temporary,” people have continuously lived there for almost three decades. 

Aroma has provided shelter for many people carrying different reasons and stories.  

“Noong 2004 ako [lumipat dito sa Aroma]. ‘Yung asawa ko matagal na dito, mula Smokey [Mountain], 1990s lumipat sila dito sa Aroma,” the 39-year-old Egos said.  

Another resident, a 62-year-old sari-sari store owner who asked to be addressed as Lolita, said her family moved to Aroma in 2008, not because the government asked them to, but because they did not have to pay rent there. 

While thousands of families have called Aroma their home, the government has pushed for different housing programs to resettle the families of informal settlers residing along its dangerous areas.  

Relocation efforts 

The National Housing Authority (NHA) is responsible for developing and implementing housing programs for families living in dangerous areas.  

The agency supervises the relocation of informal settlers and people in temporary housing projects, including the case of Aroma residents. 

According to the residents, the agency never failed to inform the people about the relocation efforts being done. Currently, NHA is still in the process of relocating the families, one day at a time. The residents mentioned that they may be relocated to sites situated in Cavite and Bulacan. 

“Gusto na kasi ng NHA ilipat sila [residents]. Marami namang plano-plano pero ‘di naman nakalipat na eh, hindi pa sabay-sabay eh. Inuunti-unti sila hanggang ngayon [sa pagrelocate]. Walang katapusan,” Chairwoman Elenita Reyes of Brgy. 105 told The Capital. 

While some residents like Lolita claimed that the NHA will forcefully kick them out the compound, Reyes clarified that the authority still gives Aroma residents a choice if they want to resettle in a permanent housing project.  

Reyes added that the NHA needs to ensure that people will have a comfortable place to move and live in, and requiring them to leave would not work as people need a place to live in permanently. 

“Kailangan bigyan sila talaga ng tamang kalalagyan, na lilipatan at titirhan, hindi ‘yung paaalisin mo ‘yung tao.  Hindi aalis ‘yan, kailangan talagang meron silang permanent na titirhan,” the chairwoman said. 

Still remain 

Despite the resettlement efforts, some of the relocated families still chose to return to Aroma. Residents have expressed similar sentiments, having found the housing compound more accessible to locations such as school, work, and other living essentials.  

“Doon sa pinaglilipatan nila, kumbaga mangangapa ka pa dahil malayo sa eskwelahan, malayo sa palengke, malayo sa mga trabaho kasi parang bukid doon eh,” Egos said. 

Reyes also shared that people have chosen to come back because for the residents, Aroma sits at the center of convenience.  

“Importante kasi sa tao ngayon ‘yung kanilang pangangailangan, ‘yung kanilang pagkain, pag-aaral, saka ‘yung tirahan nila. Wala silang pangkabuhayan doon eh.”  

For the residents of Aroma, relocating means starting over again and losing access to their livelihood that has long sustained their families. 

“Hindi po kami papayag [ilipat] kasi nandito po ang trabaho ng asawa ko, ‘yung asawa ko po ayaw na sumama kami kasi malayo raw.” Lolita, who has raised her 9 children and 27 grandchildren in Aroma, said. 

The residents of Aroma believe that most people do not understand why they remain living in an area and community like theirs. 

“Katulad nito, kasi ‘yung building namin hindi na maganda, pero tinutuluyan pa rin namin. Nagtitiyaga kami dito, kasi dito na naglakihan. Okay naman kasi, kaysa doon sa lilipatan,” Egos said. 

Something to call home 

Residents may have the option to remain in the place they have grown to call home, or to leave and start anew.  

Either way, a house alone is not enough. Reyes questioned the financial assistance given to the residents from the NHA. 

“Bibigyan nga sila ng baon na P5,000, hanggang saan lang ‘yun?”  

For Egos and her family, if the government orders everyone to relocate, that would leave them with no choice as choosing permanent housing might be the best for their children. 

But for the meantime, the families residing in Aroma will continue their lives in the place where they believe it all started. 

“Dito muna habang wala pa talaga sila ‘yung desisyon na pangkalahatan.  Nandito na talaga [‘yung mga pangangailangan] kasi katulad n’yan, tindahan, tapos malapit sa pamilihan, mabilis lahat," she added.

The story is different for Lolita, as she built her family there, raising all 26 of her grandkids in Aroma. 

“Sa amin kung ganoon ang magiging desisyon [iliipat sa housing], hindi kami sasama. Mangungupahan na lang kami ulit,” she said. 

The situation goes beyond having to write a different address on a piece of paper. For Reyes, many have already attached themselves to the place, thus making it harder for them to leave.  

“S’yempre, ang mga tao kahit na sino man paalisin, masasaktan ‘di ba?” Reyes said. M.N. Gonzales