Artex The Venice of the Philippines. The Artex Compound is

Artex

The Venice of the Philippines.

The Artex Compound is permanently submerged by water since 2004. It was once part of the biggest and most modern textile mill in Asia owned by the Yupangco family. During its heyday, the Yupangco Cotton Mills allotted part of its land next to its factory as a housing project for its workers. The housing project sits on an area of about one hectare while the factory itself occupies more than seven hectares.

In 1989, the company closed down caused by endless labour strikes as allegations of low pay and inhuman working conditions were faced by the company. Left with unpaid wages and benefits, the workers protested by staying in their houses.Through their association, the Samahang Manggagawa ng Artex, the workers-residents were awarded ownership of the compound by the Regional Trial Court of Manila which was later confirmed by the Court of Appeals. The case, however, was elevated by the owners of Artex to the Supreme Court which, in 2002, reversed the decision of the lower courts, thereby giving back the property to its original owner. To this day the inhabitants still refuse to leave their houses as they claim never to have been paid and also due to the fact that they have no other place to go.

Although the old Artex Development Company was already affected by numerous floods in the past, in 2004 the water remained permanently in the compound. The permanent flooding has most likely been caused by the fast urbanisation of Malabon. The various fishponds in Malabon were filled with soil and elevated to make place for new housing projects and gated villages. In addition a lot of new roads and streets were build further raising the land surrounding Artex. Consequently Artex became like a low lying catch basin for rainwater of the surrounding areas. At first the inhabitants of Artex tried to pump the water out of their compound but it became quickly apparent that it was a waste of time and money. The water naturally returned in the compound no matter how much they pumped it out. Finally the water reached levels of about five feet, partly submerging the 200 houses in Artex whilst during the monsoon season the water can reach alarming levels. However the houses are built two stories high wherein the first floors are permanently submerged by water.