Press Release
April 27, 2010
Over one thousand urban poor people marched from Quezon City Hall to National Housing Authority (NHA) today, April 27, 2010, to demand for adequate relocation of the 312 families, who were forcefully evicted from Road 10 Navotas and to criticize police brutality against the poor, in particular the midnight dispersal of the campers in front of NHA last April 13, 2010. With them were members of Task Force Anti-Eviction (TFAE) including the Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise Foundation (COPE), Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), and Urban Poor Associates (UPA).
Led by the Road 10 evicted families, the group carried a 20 feet tall cross which symbolizes the sufferings and oppression of the urban poor and the eventual triumph of the sector, like Christ who suffered and victoriously redeemed the sins of the world on the cross. The group said, through eviction and dispersal suffering, they are creating a world of justice and peace for all. Also, they re-enacted the violent eviction and dispersal of the Road 10 residents of Navotas.
This protest with a theme “Justice for Road 10 Navotas, Justice for all Urban Poor” marked solidarity among the urban poor sector. “Many urban poor from different parts of Metro Manila including urban poor communities in Rizal joined us today because they knew what happened to us, how our women in the barricades were brutally hit by the police and water cannoned during demolition,” said Prescilda Juanich, President of Road 10 Navotas Samahang Pinagbuklod ng Pagkakaisa. “ We all see the great need of our presence to call for justice against the violation of our human rights and to condemn government housing agencies such as, NHA for its negligence of its duty to provide housing for the poor and its callousness to use violence to disperse our peaceful assembly at dawn last April 13.”
Road 10 Navotas is one of the 11 priority areas that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo promised to relocate in Montalban during a dialogue with urban poor representatives last August 1, 2008. The president herself instructed government agencies to provide 300 million pesos for the housing of the 11 priority areas. Until now the evicted Road 10 residents do not have houses prepared for them.
Juanich said, “We exhausted all efforts to make sure that we will be provided with adequate relocation way back two years ago. Now, NHA should move to convene a high level Inter-Agency Committee meeting to address our problem. After all, it is their mandate and obligation to seek solutions to the problem of housing the poor.”
UPA monitored that the government housing backlog is about 2,610,404 and the new estimates of housing need for 2011 to 2016 is 5, 247, 381, an obligation left to fulfill by the successor of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
For his part, UPA Deputy Coordinator Teodoro Añana said, “urban poor comprised 50% of our population and only few were given decent houses. Housing agencies need to be reformed by changing its leadership because for the past years they are proven incompetent and incapable of providing housing services to the poor and not only that, they also use violence against the urban poor.”
Task Force Anti-Eviction (TFAE) observed that the government violates the urban poor constitutional rights indiscriminately and with impunity. Despite cases filed against government agencies no one seems to be punished. Even the urban poor people’s right of free speech and peaceful assembly are being curtailed through violent dispersal just like what happened to the residents of Road 10 Navotas. TFAE and Road 10 residents will file a complaint against NHA at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to secure justice and they hope that this will be a test case against a government agency that violates the rights of the people.-30-
Monday, April 26, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
“Salubong”
Urban Poor Re-enacted the Meeting of the Risen Jesus and Mary
Press Release
April 3, 2010
Two thousand urban poor showed up on F. Legaspi Bridge (former Javier Bridge) Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City, to watch Mary and Jesus puppets re-enacting their first meeting after the resurrection. Mary and Jesus approached each other riding rafts on Manggahan Floodway, accompanied by 50 children wearing angel costumes. With them were members of Task Force Anti-Eviction (TFAE) including Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), Urban Poor Associates (UPA), and Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise Foundation (COPE).
This very traditional ceremony situates itself in the concrete problem faced by the residents living along the Manggahan Floodway. On December 4, 2009, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo revoked two presidential proclamations promising security of tenure to 100,000 informal settlers along Manggahan Floodway and in Taytay, Rizal through Executive Order No. 854.
This E.O 854 caused trouble to the residents because they are threatened with eviction and hundreds of them are relocated in distant settlement in Calauan, Laguna, which does not provide basic services and job opportunities.
“We strongly object to the issuance of E.O 854. We talked to all the agencies involved in the implementation of the E.O. but it seems no one is listening to our concerns. This day, through the Salubong we are showing our determination, just like the resurrection of Jesus we have high hopes that we will be saved from the looming eviction and that the government could reflect on this Lenten season to do changes favorable to the Manggahan residents,” said Vicky Morante, President of Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Kababaihan sa Floodway Inc.
“This salubong is also a form of Manggahan resident’ united prayer and a one voice, asking Jesus to spare us from losing our homes,” she added.
At 4:00 PM, urban poor cheered when children wearing angel costumes removed the black veil of Mary when she finally met with the Risen Jesus. People say they felt there are so many problems in the country that they must give time to the happy events in their faith including the resurrection of Jesus and the Salubong.
For her part, Jennilyn David, resident in Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City, said, “We are shouting no to demolition and no to distant relocation while marching to Legaspi bridge because if eviction and distant relocation will push through it is not just our homes that will be taken from us. It also poses other problems such as disenfranchisement.”
A Task Force Anti- Eviction study says that unless we stop the current eviction trend in Metro Manila the number of evicted families will dramatically rise. The number of evictions will grow until there are 59 families evicted every hour. In one day, 1,410 families will be rendered homeless and in a week there will be 9,873 evicted urban poor families. The total number of families scheduled to be evicted by the government is 404, 781. The looming evictions will not solve the issue of poverty in the country but will make the poor poorer. -30-
Press Release
April 3, 2010
Two thousand urban poor showed up on F. Legaspi Bridge (former Javier Bridge) Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City, to watch Mary and Jesus puppets re-enacting their first meeting after the resurrection. Mary and Jesus approached each other riding rafts on Manggahan Floodway, accompanied by 50 children wearing angel costumes. With them were members of Task Force Anti-Eviction (TFAE) including Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), Urban Poor Associates (UPA), and Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise Foundation (COPE).
This very traditional ceremony situates itself in the concrete problem faced by the residents living along the Manggahan Floodway. On December 4, 2009, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo revoked two presidential proclamations promising security of tenure to 100,000 informal settlers along Manggahan Floodway and in Taytay, Rizal through Executive Order No. 854.
This E.O 854 caused trouble to the residents because they are threatened with eviction and hundreds of them are relocated in distant settlement in Calauan, Laguna, which does not provide basic services and job opportunities.
“We strongly object to the issuance of E.O 854. We talked to all the agencies involved in the implementation of the E.O. but it seems no one is listening to our concerns. This day, through the Salubong we are showing our determination, just like the resurrection of Jesus we have high hopes that we will be saved from the looming eviction and that the government could reflect on this Lenten season to do changes favorable to the Manggahan residents,” said Vicky Morante, President of Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Kababaihan sa Floodway Inc.
“This salubong is also a form of Manggahan resident’ united prayer and a one voice, asking Jesus to spare us from losing our homes,” she added.
At 4:00 PM, urban poor cheered when children wearing angel costumes removed the black veil of Mary when she finally met with the Risen Jesus. People say they felt there are so many problems in the country that they must give time to the happy events in their faith including the resurrection of Jesus and the Salubong.
For her part, Jennilyn David, resident in Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City, said, “We are shouting no to demolition and no to distant relocation while marching to Legaspi bridge because if eviction and distant relocation will push through it is not just our homes that will be taken from us. It also poses other problems such as disenfranchisement.”
A Task Force Anti- Eviction study says that unless we stop the current eviction trend in Metro Manila the number of evicted families will dramatically rise. The number of evictions will grow until there are 59 families evicted every hour. In one day, 1,410 families will be rendered homeless and in a week there will be 9,873 evicted urban poor families. The total number of families scheduled to be evicted by the government is 404, 781. The looming evictions will not solve the issue of poverty in the country but will make the poor poorer. -30-
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sufferings of Christ, Kalbaryo of the Urban Poor
Press Release
March 30, 2010
Fifteen young urban poor wearing Christ masks re-enacted the passion and death of Jesus Christ today in Makati city’s business district, a place that the poor consider a symbol of wealth in Metro Manila and where one does not see the worsening problems of poverty, violence, and oppression. With them were members of housing rights organizations including Urban Poor Associates (UPA), Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), and Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise Foundation (COPE).
This Lenten season marked the 24th year of Kalbaryo with a theme “What Have You Done to my Brothers and Sisters”? A 24 years of struggle of the urban poor sector against evictions, homelessness, hunger, injustice, joblessness, lack of dignity and powerlessness.
No big changes have happened in the condition of the poor during the 24 years. Through the Kalbaryo the actors delivered a message that Christ is judging us on what we have done to our urban poor brothers and sisters. Jesus tells us in Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 25) where he is speaking of the hungry, homeless, and persecuted, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers you do unto me.” Thus, it shows that the suffering of Jesus should remind us of the sufferings of the poor.
“The Kalbaryo of the urban poor started in 1986. Over the years it has taken place in different places: in Leveriza; on top of the old Smokey Mountain; in Cabuyao relocation area; in urban poor places where eviction and oppression are imminent,” said UPA Deputy Coordinator Teodoro Añana. “But this year, massive demolitions are happening in all parts of Metro Manila even when it is a presidential election year. So through this Kalbaryo we want to show images of the sufferings of the poor and Jesus. It is also a non violent democratic way of seeking solutions to the urban poor problems.”
UPA, a non-government organization that focuses on evictions of urban poor people, found out that every hour two urban poor families lost their homes and were evicted from their community. That means in one day 40 families are rendered homeless and in a week, a total of 277 urban poor families made homeless. Most of the eviction cases are done by forcibly and turned violent. Human rights violations during eviction and demolition are not recorded by government agencies.
Last March 22, 2010 the urban poor groups sought the help of Commission on Election (Comelec) to ban demolition during the election period as this could result to the disenfranchisement of thousands of urban poor voters. At 2:00 PM today, the groups ended their Kalbaryo by revisiting the Comelec’s office to follow up on the commission’s response to their petition—appeal for a demolition moratorium. The urban poor group also submitted a letter to Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan, the legal department head of Comelec requesting for a dialog with him to discuss urban poor people’s concern about their suffrage.
Añana concluded, “We believe there can be no solution to the country’s problem unless the poor, who are at least 50% of the population, are involved in the reform process. This can only be concretely done by exercising their right to vote and electing leaders who will change the condition of the urban poor. Because demolition and relocation threaten this reform process, the urban poor sector will never get tired of waiting for Comelec’s action on this matter. They want Comelec’s answer during the Kalbaryo. Only 42 days are left before the May 10 election. What is important is the poor should be involved in all the phases of reform—in voting, planning, in the implementation and in the enjoyment of the good results of reform”
Kalbaryo as a tradition has united the urban and rural poor in seeking to build a society of justice and prosperity for all. Anti-poor policies and strategies are still in existence, hence the continuous creation of slums in urban areas. If no serious action is taken, such tragedy will mean the poorest are getting poorer. The urban poor want a stop to government unjust actions. The Kalbaryo is a gentle way of reminding us of our obligations to our brothers and sisters. -30-
March 30, 2010
Fifteen young urban poor wearing Christ masks re-enacted the passion and death of Jesus Christ today in Makati city’s business district, a place that the poor consider a symbol of wealth in Metro Manila and where one does not see the worsening problems of poverty, violence, and oppression. With them were members of housing rights organizations including Urban Poor Associates (UPA), Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), and Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise Foundation (COPE).
This Lenten season marked the 24th year of Kalbaryo with a theme “What Have You Done to my Brothers and Sisters”? A 24 years of struggle of the urban poor sector against evictions, homelessness, hunger, injustice, joblessness, lack of dignity and powerlessness.
No big changes have happened in the condition of the poor during the 24 years. Through the Kalbaryo the actors delivered a message that Christ is judging us on what we have done to our urban poor brothers and sisters. Jesus tells us in Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 25) where he is speaking of the hungry, homeless, and persecuted, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers you do unto me.” Thus, it shows that the suffering of Jesus should remind us of the sufferings of the poor.
“The Kalbaryo of the urban poor started in 1986. Over the years it has taken place in different places: in Leveriza; on top of the old Smokey Mountain; in Cabuyao relocation area; in urban poor places where eviction and oppression are imminent,” said UPA Deputy Coordinator Teodoro Añana. “But this year, massive demolitions are happening in all parts of Metro Manila even when it is a presidential election year. So through this Kalbaryo we want to show images of the sufferings of the poor and Jesus. It is also a non violent democratic way of seeking solutions to the urban poor problems.”
UPA, a non-government organization that focuses on evictions of urban poor people, found out that every hour two urban poor families lost their homes and were evicted from their community. That means in one day 40 families are rendered homeless and in a week, a total of 277 urban poor families made homeless. Most of the eviction cases are done by forcibly and turned violent. Human rights violations during eviction and demolition are not recorded by government agencies.
Last March 22, 2010 the urban poor groups sought the help of Commission on Election (Comelec) to ban demolition during the election period as this could result to the disenfranchisement of thousands of urban poor voters. At 2:00 PM today, the groups ended their Kalbaryo by revisiting the Comelec’s office to follow up on the commission’s response to their petition—appeal for a demolition moratorium. The urban poor group also submitted a letter to Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan, the legal department head of Comelec requesting for a dialog with him to discuss urban poor people’s concern about their suffrage.
Añana concluded, “We believe there can be no solution to the country’s problem unless the poor, who are at least 50% of the population, are involved in the reform process. This can only be concretely done by exercising their right to vote and electing leaders who will change the condition of the urban poor. Because demolition and relocation threaten this reform process, the urban poor sector will never get tired of waiting for Comelec’s action on this matter. They want Comelec’s answer during the Kalbaryo. Only 42 days are left before the May 10 election. What is important is the poor should be involved in all the phases of reform—in voting, planning, in the implementation and in the enjoyment of the good results of reform”
Kalbaryo as a tradition has united the urban and rural poor in seeking to build a society of justice and prosperity for all. Anti-poor policies and strategies are still in existence, hence the continuous creation of slums in urban areas. If no serious action is taken, such tragedy will mean the poorest are getting poorer. The urban poor want a stop to government unjust actions. The Kalbaryo is a gentle way of reminding us of our obligations to our brothers and sisters. -30-
Monday, March 29, 2010
Kalbaryo ng Maralitang Taga-Lungsod
MEDIA ADVISORY
In observance of the Lenten Season, the urban poor will hold their 24th year of Kalbaryo with a theme, “What Have You Done to My Brothers and Sisters”. This will show that the sufferings of Jesus should remind us of the sufferings of the poor.
The celebration of the annual Kalbaryo will be on March 30, 2010. The celebration will be led by men and women wearing Christ Masks. The urban poor actors will carry signs containing quotes from the bible. There will also be a small tableau of a child sleeping on cardboard and a mother begging while holding her baby.
Also this year, the urban poor will depict “Salubong” on April 3, 2010 (Black Saturday) in Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City, where 60,000 urban poor are being evicted because of the President’s issuance of Executive Order 854.
Program
Date Scenarios
Kalbaryo
March 30 (Tuesday)
Makati City At 10:00 AM, six Christs, one woman and baby, one young boy will be at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati lining up in the main door. There will be music and a drama about the condition of the poor.
Then they will walk to Ayala Ave. in a single file in rhythmic way. They cross to the Ninoy Aquino monument and stand there looking at the traffic.
Next, they will go to the Rustan’s Mall and do the same action as at the Stock Exchange.
At 2:00 PM, the last stop of the Kalbaryo is at the Comission on Election (Comelec) office in Intramuros. Christ will reiterate the message that demolitions should be banned during election period as they can disenfranchise thousands of urban poor voters.
Salubong
April 3 (Black Saturday)
Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City At 4:00 PM, 2000 urban poor people will meet at the F. Legazpi Bridge (former Javier Bridge) Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City, to watch Mary and Christ puppets riding rafts on the floodway and meeting one another, accompanied by 50 children wearing angel costumes.
Then at 5:30 pm, the participants will go to Purok 6 East bank road, Sta. Lucia, Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City for a prayer service.
Please Cover.
In observance of the Lenten Season, the urban poor will hold their 24th year of Kalbaryo with a theme, “What Have You Done to My Brothers and Sisters”. This will show that the sufferings of Jesus should remind us of the sufferings of the poor.
The celebration of the annual Kalbaryo will be on March 30, 2010. The celebration will be led by men and women wearing Christ Masks. The urban poor actors will carry signs containing quotes from the bible. There will also be a small tableau of a child sleeping on cardboard and a mother begging while holding her baby.
Also this year, the urban poor will depict “Salubong” on April 3, 2010 (Black Saturday) in Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City, where 60,000 urban poor are being evicted because of the President’s issuance of Executive Order 854.
Program
Date Scenarios
Kalbaryo
March 30 (Tuesday)
Makati City At 10:00 AM, six Christs, one woman and baby, one young boy will be at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati lining up in the main door. There will be music and a drama about the condition of the poor.
Then they will walk to Ayala Ave. in a single file in rhythmic way. They cross to the Ninoy Aquino monument and stand there looking at the traffic.
Next, they will go to the Rustan’s Mall and do the same action as at the Stock Exchange.
At 2:00 PM, the last stop of the Kalbaryo is at the Comission on Election (Comelec) office in Intramuros. Christ will reiterate the message that demolitions should be banned during election period as they can disenfranchise thousands of urban poor voters.
Salubong
April 3 (Black Saturday)
Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City At 4:00 PM, 2000 urban poor people will meet at the F. Legazpi Bridge (former Javier Bridge) Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City, to watch Mary and Christ puppets riding rafts on the floodway and meeting one another, accompanied by 50 children wearing angel costumes.
Then at 5:30 pm, the participants will go to Purok 6 East bank road, Sta. Lucia, Manggahan Floodway, Pasig City for a prayer service.
Please Cover.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Urban Poor Ask the Comelec to Ban Demolition
Five hundred urban poor people marched to Comelec and filed a petition-letter to ban demolitions during the election period. The people’s organization and housing rights organizations including Urban Poor Associates (UPA), Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), and Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise Foundation (COPE), brought with them a 1-meter high improvised Precinct Count Optical Scanner machine that emits a big ballot saying, “No to Demolition”. The group also changed the meaning of PCOS to People’s Concern Over Suffrage.
UPA, a non-government organization that concentrates on evictions of urban poor people, pointed out that there are 804,562 urban poor voters that could be disenfranchised because of the on-going massive demolition and distant relocation conducted by the government.
UPA Legal Counsel Bienvenido Salinas said, “This May 2010 election is expected to create change in the Philippine Governance and it is people’s right to exercise their right to vote and to elect leaders. Hence not a single voter should be denied this right. Forced evictions and relocating informal settlers to distant places in time of election is unlawful as they will surely disenfranchise members of the urban poor. Hence, we urge Comelec, the most powerful government agency during elections to ban demolitions and distant relocation.”
One of the basic human rights recognized in the international instruments of human rights is the right to vote as guaranteed by the Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The said right is reiterated in Section 1, Article V of the Philippine Constitution.
Estrella Terencio, president of UPSAI and former railway dweller in Makati was relocated in 2006 to give way to the Northrail-Southrail Linkage Project said, “When we were forcibly relocated to Cabuyao, Laguna more or less we had 4000 voters prepared for the 2007 election. But only 400 were able to vote because most of us were not yet settled in the relocation site and did not have the required six-month residency.”
“Political candidates in Makati even filed a petition for exclusion against us who were relocated to Southville Cabuyao, claiming that we had ceased to be bonafide residents of Makati City. We are one with all the urban poor facing demolition in calling on the Comelec to ban demolitions because we know that they could also be disenfranchised just as we experienced in the last election”, she added.
Nilo Cosino, residing in Manggahan Floodway Pasig City and affected by the E.O 854 of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said, “The government rehabilitation project of Manggahan Floodway will relocate 24,000 voters along Pasig before the May 10 election to Calauan, Laguna, 100-kilometers away from Pasig. For this reason we are afraid that many of us will not be able to vote because we are registered in Pasig City and the transportation to Pasig to vote would cost P300 round trip, too much for a poor person.”
UPA monitored that beginning this year from January to March 3,043 families have been evicted compared to only one demolition last year in the same period. For example, demolition is taking place in Manggahan Floodway, C-5 Road Project, and Road 10 Navotas which turned violent. If this trend continues for the year, it will go against a commonly held observation that the numbers of evictions and demolition usually go down during a presidential election year.
“In 1998 presidential election a decrease of 107% of families evicted and in 2004 presidential election 366% steep decline of families evicted in Metro Manila was recorded. It is obvious that politicians once considered the urban poor as vote banks but now it is different, because rampant demolition is witnessed during this presidential election year,” said UPA Deputy Coordinator Teodoro Añana.
Añana concluded that, “Many urban poor communities are ready to make the May 10 election meaningful for them and their children. However, some think the evictions are turning out to be a way for politicians to deprive them of their fundamental right to vote and to frustrate their desire for meaningful political change. Together with the urban poor we are asking government, especially the COMELEC, to impose a ban on demolitions for this election year.” -30-
UPA, a non-government organization that concentrates on evictions of urban poor people, pointed out that there are 804,562 urban poor voters that could be disenfranchised because of the on-going massive demolition and distant relocation conducted by the government.
UPA Legal Counsel Bienvenido Salinas said, “This May 2010 election is expected to create change in the Philippine Governance and it is people’s right to exercise their right to vote and to elect leaders. Hence not a single voter should be denied this right. Forced evictions and relocating informal settlers to distant places in time of election is unlawful as they will surely disenfranchise members of the urban poor. Hence, we urge Comelec, the most powerful government agency during elections to ban demolitions and distant relocation.”
One of the basic human rights recognized in the international instruments of human rights is the right to vote as guaranteed by the Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The said right is reiterated in Section 1, Article V of the Philippine Constitution.
Estrella Terencio, president of UPSAI and former railway dweller in Makati was relocated in 2006 to give way to the Northrail-Southrail Linkage Project said, “When we were forcibly relocated to Cabuyao, Laguna more or less we had 4000 voters prepared for the 2007 election. But only 400 were able to vote because most of us were not yet settled in the relocation site and did not have the required six-month residency.”
“Political candidates in Makati even filed a petition for exclusion against us who were relocated to Southville Cabuyao, claiming that we had ceased to be bonafide residents of Makati City. We are one with all the urban poor facing demolition in calling on the Comelec to ban demolitions because we know that they could also be disenfranchised just as we experienced in the last election”, she added.
Nilo Cosino, residing in Manggahan Floodway Pasig City and affected by the E.O 854 of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said, “The government rehabilitation project of Manggahan Floodway will relocate 24,000 voters along Pasig before the May 10 election to Calauan, Laguna, 100-kilometers away from Pasig. For this reason we are afraid that many of us will not be able to vote because we are registered in Pasig City and the transportation to Pasig to vote would cost P300 round trip, too much for a poor person.”
UPA monitored that beginning this year from January to March 3,043 families have been evicted compared to only one demolition last year in the same period. For example, demolition is taking place in Manggahan Floodway, C-5 Road Project, and Road 10 Navotas which turned violent. If this trend continues for the year, it will go against a commonly held observation that the numbers of evictions and demolition usually go down during a presidential election year.
“In 1998 presidential election a decrease of 107% of families evicted and in 2004 presidential election 366% steep decline of families evicted in Metro Manila was recorded. It is obvious that politicians once considered the urban poor as vote banks but now it is different, because rampant demolition is witnessed during this presidential election year,” said UPA Deputy Coordinator Teodoro Añana.
Añana concluded that, “Many urban poor communities are ready to make the May 10 election meaningful for them and their children. However, some think the evictions are turning out to be a way for politicians to deprive them of their fundamental right to vote and to frustrate their desire for meaningful political change. Together with the urban poor we are asking government, especially the COMELEC, to impose a ban on demolitions for this election year.” -30-
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
EVICTIONS ARE UP DESPITE 2010 BEING A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEAR
Teodoro Añana
Deputy Coordinator
Urban Poor Associates
Based on Urban Poor Associates’ (UPA) monitoring many demolitions, some of them violent, have taken place in the first weeks of 2010.
From January to February last year UPA monitored only one demolition incident involving 87 families in Sta. Lucia, Pasig City. But during the same period this year 2,500 families have been evicted. If this trend continues for the year, it will go against a commonly held observation that the numbers of evictions and demolitions usually go down during a presidential election year
In the 1998 presidential election, the number of evicted families in Metro Manila went down to 3,882 from 8,067 in 1997 or a decrease of 107%. In the 2004 presidential election some 925 families in Metro Manila were evicted, a steep decline from the number of 4,315 families evicted in 2003 or a decrease of 366%. The reason is quite obvious: politicians do not want to antagonize thousands of urban poor voters. This is a common observation in other Asian countries where politicians consider urban poor communities as vote banks.
Beginning January this year, however, more evictions are happening. Is it because President Arroyo is not running for president? (She is running as a candidate for congress in a Pampanga district). For example, evictions are taking place in communities along the Manggahan Floodway in Pasig City, Road 10 in Navotas City, and C-5 Road in Quezon City. Evictions in the three places will dislocate thousands of urban poor families and potential voters: 4,000 families from R-10 Navotas, 40,000 from C-5 in Quezon City, and 100,000 families from the Manggahan Floodway in Pasig City and Taytay. The president is reported by the media as instructing the DPWH to finish the construction of C-5 Road so that South Luzon Expressway and North Luzon Expressway will be connected before she steps down.
The DPWH offers only financial assistance of P21,000 to a family it evicts; it shows a take it or leave it attitude. This is a departure from their practice under the administration of former President Ramos when DPWH built and managed its own resettlement sites such as those in Bulacan and Cavite. They say they do not have any relocation sites now. The financial offer is contrary to law. Section 28 of the UDHA specifically mentions only in court ordered demolitions can financial assistance be given.
The Manggahan Floodway demolitions are being justified as part of the flood prevention initiatives of the Pasig River and its tributaries, in the light of the Typhoon Ondoy floods. Some of the affected communities have been given security of tenure through President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Presidential Proclamations which declared the place a socialized housing site. The proclamations have been revoked by Executive Order No. 854. People are saying that local politicians and HUDDC want to develop the place for commercial use. The evicted families are being relocated to Calauan in Laguna.
These are projects worth billions of pesos. They are on-going projects and thus are presumed exempted from the election ban on new infrastructure projects. Since corruption is endemic in public works projects many suspect that government officials and politicians want to push through the projects to take advantage of the last months of PGMA’s administration as well as to generate funds for the election campaign.
In Metro Manila most of the evicted families are being relocated to the Calauan Resettlement site. According to a UPA team who visited there, the site can accommodate some 8,759 units of houses. As of February 4, 2010, 3,866 families have been relocated. The Calauan resettlement site used to be a housing project of former President Joseph Estrada for government employees, such as, teachers and policemen. There were very few takers because the place was simply too far from the city, an estimated 120 kilometers if one starts from the Cubao area and lacks basic services, such as, water and electricity. Now government is relocating urban poor families and expects them to stay there. The urban poor say there is no livelihood and no job opportunities in or near the site; basic facilities of water and electricity are still lacking. Many relocatees have gone back to Manila because they do not want to starve in Calauan.
Evicting the urban poor during this election year and relocating them to Calauan, Laguna or somewhere in Bulacan poses other problems for the urban poor. It is now less than three months from the May 10 election and the local Comelec can prohibit them from voting in the municipalities where they are relocated for lack of the required six months residence. Will they be allowed to vote in the city from where they were evicted? Will they be prohibited from voting because they are no longer residents of the city. Since travel is very expensive (it costs nearly P400 for a round trip from Calauan to Manila and back to Calauan), can they accept transportation money from candidates? If not, they say quite a number of them will not be able to vote.
Many urban poor communities want to make the May 10 election meaningful for them and their children. However, some think the evictions are turning out to be a way for politicians to deprive them of their fundamental right to vote and to frustrate their desire for meaningful political change. They are, therefore, asking government, including the COMELEC, to impose a moratorium on demolitions for this year.
Deputy Coordinator
Urban Poor Associates
Based on Urban Poor Associates’ (UPA) monitoring many demolitions, some of them violent, have taken place in the first weeks of 2010.
From January to February last year UPA monitored only one demolition incident involving 87 families in Sta. Lucia, Pasig City. But during the same period this year 2,500 families have been evicted. If this trend continues for the year, it will go against a commonly held observation that the numbers of evictions and demolitions usually go down during a presidential election year
In the 1998 presidential election, the number of evicted families in Metro Manila went down to 3,882 from 8,067 in 1997 or a decrease of 107%. In the 2004 presidential election some 925 families in Metro Manila were evicted, a steep decline from the number of 4,315 families evicted in 2003 or a decrease of 366%. The reason is quite obvious: politicians do not want to antagonize thousands of urban poor voters. This is a common observation in other Asian countries where politicians consider urban poor communities as vote banks.
Beginning January this year, however, more evictions are happening. Is it because President Arroyo is not running for president? (She is running as a candidate for congress in a Pampanga district). For example, evictions are taking place in communities along the Manggahan Floodway in Pasig City, Road 10 in Navotas City, and C-5 Road in Quezon City. Evictions in the three places will dislocate thousands of urban poor families and potential voters: 4,000 families from R-10 Navotas, 40,000 from C-5 in Quezon City, and 100,000 families from the Manggahan Floodway in Pasig City and Taytay. The president is reported by the media as instructing the DPWH to finish the construction of C-5 Road so that South Luzon Expressway and North Luzon Expressway will be connected before she steps down.
The DPWH offers only financial assistance of P21,000 to a family it evicts; it shows a take it or leave it attitude. This is a departure from their practice under the administration of former President Ramos when DPWH built and managed its own resettlement sites such as those in Bulacan and Cavite. They say they do not have any relocation sites now. The financial offer is contrary to law. Section 28 of the UDHA specifically mentions only in court ordered demolitions can financial assistance be given.
The Manggahan Floodway demolitions are being justified as part of the flood prevention initiatives of the Pasig River and its tributaries, in the light of the Typhoon Ondoy floods. Some of the affected communities have been given security of tenure through President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Presidential Proclamations which declared the place a socialized housing site. The proclamations have been revoked by Executive Order No. 854. People are saying that local politicians and HUDDC want to develop the place for commercial use. The evicted families are being relocated to Calauan in Laguna.
These are projects worth billions of pesos. They are on-going projects and thus are presumed exempted from the election ban on new infrastructure projects. Since corruption is endemic in public works projects many suspect that government officials and politicians want to push through the projects to take advantage of the last months of PGMA’s administration as well as to generate funds for the election campaign.
In Metro Manila most of the evicted families are being relocated to the Calauan Resettlement site. According to a UPA team who visited there, the site can accommodate some 8,759 units of houses. As of February 4, 2010, 3,866 families have been relocated. The Calauan resettlement site used to be a housing project of former President Joseph Estrada for government employees, such as, teachers and policemen. There were very few takers because the place was simply too far from the city, an estimated 120 kilometers if one starts from the Cubao area and lacks basic services, such as, water and electricity. Now government is relocating urban poor families and expects them to stay there. The urban poor say there is no livelihood and no job opportunities in or near the site; basic facilities of water and electricity are still lacking. Many relocatees have gone back to Manila because they do not want to starve in Calauan.
Evicting the urban poor during this election year and relocating them to Calauan, Laguna or somewhere in Bulacan poses other problems for the urban poor. It is now less than three months from the May 10 election and the local Comelec can prohibit them from voting in the municipalities where they are relocated for lack of the required six months residence. Will they be allowed to vote in the city from where they were evicted? Will they be prohibited from voting because they are no longer residents of the city. Since travel is very expensive (it costs nearly P400 for a round trip from Calauan to Manila and back to Calauan), can they accept transportation money from candidates? If not, they say quite a number of them will not be able to vote.
Many urban poor communities want to make the May 10 election meaningful for them and their children. However, some think the evictions are turning out to be a way for politicians to deprive them of their fundamental right to vote and to frustrate their desire for meaningful political change. They are, therefore, asking government, including the COMELEC, to impose a moratorium on demolitions for this year.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Inhumanity
Commentary
By Denis Murphy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20100308-257276/Inhumanity
THE poor woman seen clutching her Santo Niño and weeping bitterly on the front page of the March 5 Inquirer is Angelita Villaruel. Two weeks earlier I praised her courage and that of the other women of Navotas who resisted efforts of the Navotas police to shove aside their human barricade and demolish their houses. The women were water-cannoned and knocked down; they climbed to their feet and were knocked down again; they were clubbed by the police, but still they resisted. For two more weeks they resisted with the help of Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, Fathers Allan Lopez and Robert Reyes and the lawyer and staff of Urban Poor Associates, CO Multiversity and COPE. Finally, on March 4, they were overwhelmed and their homes destroyed: 100 shanties were knocked down and 243 families (1,200 men, women and mostly children) were left homeless.
The demolition was illegal and all the government officials involved, from the highest in the DPWH down to the demolition crew, knew that, because there was no relocation. The officials’ justifications for the action seem right out of the half-mad, half-wacky world of “Alice in Wonderland.” The mayor of Navotas says he issued the Certificate of Compliance (COC) needed for a demolition because the DPWH told him it had a relocation spot, even when it hadn’t one. The
DPWH then turned around and said they had to demolish the homes because the mayor had ordered them to do so in the COC.
The people now sleep in the rubble. There is nowhere else to go. They ate together the night of the eviction, red eggs and noodles and rice from the parish. Children play on the back hoe and women cry quietly. Two weeks ago the women asked, “How can they beat us? We’re old enough to be their grandmothers?” They now ask, “How can they leave us homeless with our children?”
The day before the eviction the women and their supporters met with government officials at the National Housing Authority. No solution was reached, but at the end of a long, often heated discussion, the government promised to send its people from various agencies to the site the next morning (March 5) to do what was possible to stop the eviction and mitigate the suffering of the poor. The government people were not there when the eviction started the next morning. One or two came later, but were of little help.
Maybe because evictions are so common and the lives of the poor so alien to the better-off members of society, we have forgotten how huge a tragedy evictions are. It is traumatic for children to see men tear down their homes and to see their mothers knocked to the ground by water cannons. Studies show it ordinarily takes five years for a family to recover economically from a demolition. Women grieve as they see the homes, where they had their children, torn down as if they were junk. The men lose work days; there is more sickness requiring medicine. Distant relocation often means the loss of a job or separation from one’s family for long periods of time. They borrow money to see them through the hard times that is hard to repay. Poor women as well as well-off women feel their house is an extension of themselves—as a man feels his professional work is part of himself—so to see their houses torn down is extremely painful.
In the aftermath of “Ondoy” the government talked of the need to evict huge numbers of poor people from waterways, including the Manggahan Floodway and Lupang Arienda. The number of people affected could be between half a million and one million. Is the wider society prepared to allow the poor to suffer on such a scale? In-city and near-city relocation are far less painful than distant relocation. Can we make them the rule? There is sufficient time left to examine every community, big or small, to determine exactly which ones have to move and where it is best to move them. Surely not all the 200,000 families nominated for relocation need to be sent to far-off resettlement camps from which 35 percent to 40 percent will return, as has been the norm in the past.
The urban poor will most likely vote for candidates such as Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas, I’m told, who have promised the poor to end illegal forced evictions. Demolitions and the fear of demolitions poison urban poor life. On the other hand, a government that treats its poor decently with a sense of dignity, respect for law and the humanity ordered by the Constitution, will have very devoted followers. The first rule of government, as of doctors, should be “do no harm.” Other considerations can come later.
Denis Murphy works with the Urban Poor Associates. His email address is upa@pldtdsl.net.
By Denis Murphy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20100308-257276/Inhumanity
THE poor woman seen clutching her Santo Niño and weeping bitterly on the front page of the March 5 Inquirer is Angelita Villaruel. Two weeks earlier I praised her courage and that of the other women of Navotas who resisted efforts of the Navotas police to shove aside their human barricade and demolish their houses. The women were water-cannoned and knocked down; they climbed to their feet and were knocked down again; they were clubbed by the police, but still they resisted. For two more weeks they resisted with the help of Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, Fathers Allan Lopez and Robert Reyes and the lawyer and staff of Urban Poor Associates, CO Multiversity and COPE. Finally, on March 4, they were overwhelmed and their homes destroyed: 100 shanties were knocked down and 243 families (1,200 men, women and mostly children) were left homeless.
The demolition was illegal and all the government officials involved, from the highest in the DPWH down to the demolition crew, knew that, because there was no relocation. The officials’ justifications for the action seem right out of the half-mad, half-wacky world of “Alice in Wonderland.” The mayor of Navotas says he issued the Certificate of Compliance (COC) needed for a demolition because the DPWH told him it had a relocation spot, even when it hadn’t one. The
DPWH then turned around and said they had to demolish the homes because the mayor had ordered them to do so in the COC.
The people now sleep in the rubble. There is nowhere else to go. They ate together the night of the eviction, red eggs and noodles and rice from the parish. Children play on the back hoe and women cry quietly. Two weeks ago the women asked, “How can they beat us? We’re old enough to be their grandmothers?” They now ask, “How can they leave us homeless with our children?”
The day before the eviction the women and their supporters met with government officials at the National Housing Authority. No solution was reached, but at the end of a long, often heated discussion, the government promised to send its people from various agencies to the site the next morning (March 5) to do what was possible to stop the eviction and mitigate the suffering of the poor. The government people were not there when the eviction started the next morning. One or two came later, but were of little help.
Maybe because evictions are so common and the lives of the poor so alien to the better-off members of society, we have forgotten how huge a tragedy evictions are. It is traumatic for children to see men tear down their homes and to see their mothers knocked to the ground by water cannons. Studies show it ordinarily takes five years for a family to recover economically from a demolition. Women grieve as they see the homes, where they had their children, torn down as if they were junk. The men lose work days; there is more sickness requiring medicine. Distant relocation often means the loss of a job or separation from one’s family for long periods of time. They borrow money to see them through the hard times that is hard to repay. Poor women as well as well-off women feel their house is an extension of themselves—as a man feels his professional work is part of himself—so to see their houses torn down is extremely painful.
In the aftermath of “Ondoy” the government talked of the need to evict huge numbers of poor people from waterways, including the Manggahan Floodway and Lupang Arienda. The number of people affected could be between half a million and one million. Is the wider society prepared to allow the poor to suffer on such a scale? In-city and near-city relocation are far less painful than distant relocation. Can we make them the rule? There is sufficient time left to examine every community, big or small, to determine exactly which ones have to move and where it is best to move them. Surely not all the 200,000 families nominated for relocation need to be sent to far-off resettlement camps from which 35 percent to 40 percent will return, as has been the norm in the past.
The urban poor will most likely vote for candidates such as Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas, I’m told, who have promised the poor to end illegal forced evictions. Demolitions and the fear of demolitions poison urban poor life. On the other hand, a government that treats its poor decently with a sense of dignity, respect for law and the humanity ordered by the Constitution, will have very devoted followers. The first rule of government, as of doctors, should be “do no harm.” Other considerations can come later.
Denis Murphy works with the Urban Poor Associates. His email address is upa@pldtdsl.net.
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