Parola Compound C OMM UNITY OR G. League of Urban Poor Action (LUPA) MUNIC IPALIT Y City of Manila EST ABLISHE D 1972 (approx.) P OP ULAT ION 32,000 households The Parola Compound is located next to the Port Area of the City of Manila. The area was originally a marshland on the edge of Manila Bay and was initially settled by around 30 families in the early 1970s that constructed their dwellings on top of the marsh using stilts and braces over the sand bed. As more settlers established dwellings on the site land reclamation become more prevalent, with families using rock and rubble to fill in the marsh. By 1992 there were approximately 500 families residing in Parola, when a massive fire destroyed most the community. Residents reconstructed their dwellings and commenced to use more permanent reclamation techniques, principally concrete, which appears today as the foundation for the entire area. Settlement continued to the Compound, which now holds approximately 32,000 households in an area of 20 hectares. Although the reclamation was undertaken by the community itself, during the visit community leaders reported that the Philippine Ports Authority has since claimed ownership of the reclaimed land. Leaders were not aware of any further formal ownership arrangements over the land, but understood that there had been a presidential proclamation of the area for social housing during the tenure of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. As a result of its location on top of Manila Bay the community is particularly prone to flooding and damage from heavy rain, with makeshift drainage and sewage having been constructed within the concrete foundations. These drainage channels appear throughout the community in the narrow walkways that link the dwellings to the exit points of the Compound, carrying a mixture of runoff rainwater, sewage and human effluent. There are many smaller community organisations within the Parola Compound. These are federated to form the League for Urban Poor Action (LUPA), which represents the entire community as well as other urban poor settlements in the vicinity. Community leaders report regular threats of eviction dating back to the early 1990s. It was reported that early evictions proceeded only with a formal eviction notice, and no efforts to otherwise engage with the community on the eviction process. Leaders 79