In 2015, the Homeless People's Federation Philippines Inc. (HPFPI) and Technical Assistance Movement for People and Environment Inc. (TAMPEI), along with their partners from Muntinlupa Development Foundation (MDF) and City Urban Poor Affairs Office (UPAO), carried out a joint citywide mapping of informal settlements in Muntinlupa.

In Barangay Poblacion, where the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) Compound is located, a total of 41 informal settlements were mapped. However, since mid-2020, the residents in these areas have started facing eviction and demolition threats due to the plans of the government to transform the NBP Compound into a mixed-used development. The NBP, the country's main penitentiary, has been home to some 1,800 urban poor households who decided to settle in the Compound's idle lands due to high costs of formal housing in Metro Manila. Most of them have been in the area since 1990s while others were much earlier.

In 2020, TAMPEI conducted a study among households affected by the proposed development. It was found out that the relocation process allegedly involved inhumane practices such as lack of public consultation and in some cases, intimidation and favoritism. Upon transfer to Agaw-Agaw Relocation Site in Biazon Road, households would find themselves in more precarious conditions with no basic infrastructure and social services present. Worse, the relocation process kicked off at the height of the pandemic when most households lost their primary income sources.

Slum upgrading is a cross-cutting discourse. When viewed from the lens of social development and done in a participatory manner, it promotes citizen empowerment through direct engagement of community members.

In Agaw-Agaw, most residents were deprived of their right to participate in resettlement planning as the process largely remains in the hands of the authorities. This is especially true in light of the dismantling of their community associations that used to unite them back in the NBP Compound. However, upon transfer to Agaw-Agaw, the community leaders, most of whom are women, were stripped off their leadership roles, thereby creating disruptions in their existing social systems.

This proposed intervention would give Agaw-Agaw residents the platform to hold dialogues with various stakeholders to collectively inform resettlement planning frameworks in Muntinlupa City. Not only will it offer collective voices in addressing the residents' immediate spatial needs such as incremental temporary housing and acesss to sanitation, water and electricity, but it will also, on a larger scale, set precedents for relocation projects that involve institutional conflicts between national and local governments. 

Similar to other projects co-designed by TAMPEI, this one intends to upgrade the physical conditions of Agaw-Agaw Relocation Site through community architecture principles that harness and promote close collaboration among grassroots members and other stakeholders. In particular, the proposal is to concretize these ideals by building a SOCIAL SPACE together with the community.

Technical assistance and documentation. TAMPEI is a movement of young technical professionals and paraprofessionals advocating community-driven and ecologically sound practices in the field of human settlements development. Since its formation in 2010, TAMPEI has engaged with a wide range of local and international partners in implementing people-led projects such as site planning, housing design, construction management, community mapping, and slum upgrading. TAMPEI is an active member-institution of the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights - Community Architects Network (ACHR-CAN).

Community organizing and networking. Being the direct technical arm of the Homeless People's Federation Philippines Inc. (HPFPI), TAMPEI assists the HPFPI in its organizational and spatial development needs. Through this, TAMPEI has learned the basics of community mobilization and social development. The HPFPI has 92 member-communities in 12 cities across the Philippines including Muntinlupa City in Metro Manila. 

Groundwork initiatives. TAMPEI and HPFPI will work directly with the officers of the recently established people's organization in Agaw-Agaw, the Sitio Bagong Daang Hari NBP Reservation. Socially, they will be mentored by the members of HPFPI in Muntinlupa, and technically / spatially by TAMPEI.