Urban Poor Alliance to endorse pro-poor candidates

Attention: News Editor, News Desk, Reporters and Photojournalists

MEDIA ADVISORY

Urban Poor Alliance to endorse pro-poor candidates

Urban Poor Alliance (UP-All) requests your presence at a General Assembly this coming Sunday (April 29, 2007) from 1:00 to 6:00 in the afternoon at the Bulwagang Tandang Sora, College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD), University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

UP-All will be formally launching itself in the National Capital Region. This activity is expected to gather more than 1,000 representatives of various urban poor groups. This activity has also been deemed an auspicious moment given the upcoming elections, which has been seen as an opportunity to raise the perennial issues and concerns of the urban poor sector.

UP-All NCR has taken the initiative to rearticulate these issues and concerns in the form of a Legislative Agenda. Parallel to this effort, UP-All NCR has also engendered a process that produced a shortlist of senatorial and partylist candidates who have an acceptable character and track record and who are supportive of the aspirations of the urban poor. Selected candidates have been approached by representatives of the Alliance and (through their representatives) have attended a dialogue with UP-ALL leaders on the Legislative Agenda.

The UP-ALL NCR Launch will also be the venue where the shortlisted candidates who committed themselves on the Legislative Agenda will be endorsed. Each candidate will be asked to participate in the ceremonial signing of the Legislative Agenda and will be given a maximum of five (5) minutes to make a speech

The Urban Poor Alliance (UP-ALL) is a coalition of non-government organizations (NGOs) and peoples organizations (POs) representing over 500,000 organised constituents from the urban poor sector. With a presence in four major regions: National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, UP-ALL aims to facilitate the exercise of the basic right to decent shelter especially among the poor through intensive advocacy, broad-based networking, constant policy dialogue, and cutting-edge research.

Date: April 29, 2007 (Sunday)

Time: 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Venue: Bulwagang Tandang Sora, College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD), University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City

UP-All NCR Legislative Agenda

We, the urban poor people’s organizations and NGOs from the different areas in Metro Manila ask you to sign your agreement to the following proposals for legislation and commit to work for their realization when elected:

1. Enact a law that will set up an independent quasi-judicial body with authority to do the following:

a. Monitor, investigate, and stop demolitions that do not comply with the law.

b. Review, monitor, and check implementation of resettlement action plans (RAPs) and social service programs for the urban poor.

2. Enact a law compelling infrastructure projects that will displace informal settlers to have resettlement action plans (RAPs) with corresponding budgets and identified fund sources.
3. Enact a law compelling LGUs to formulate land use plans providing for resettlement sites and sufficient land for the housing needs of their informal settler constituents.
4. Enact a law that would disallow the use of the National Building Code as a basis for demolishing the houses of informal settlers.
5. Commit to opposing legislative efforts to criminalize the poor as embodied in HB 4215, which seeks to amend the “Anti-squatting law repeal act of 1997” or RA 8368 and HB 3532, which define the enforceable juridical relations on occupancy on or possession of private lands in the country.
6. Conduct an inquiry on the status of titling and distribution of proclaimed socialized housing sites.
7. Enact a law creating a Special Charter for the Socialized Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC).
8. Conduct a sunset review and assess the effectiveness of the CISFA as well as the performance of its implementing agencies.
9. Enact a law mandating the creation of Local Housing Boards (LHBs) by LGUs.

Signed this _______ of April, year 2007 in _____________________________,

_________________________________

Name of Candidate

2007 Senatorial Candidate

If you require further information please contact:

Urban Poor Associates (UPA)
Ref: John Francis Lagman
Tel.: 4264118 / 4264119 / 4267615
Fax: 4264118
http://jlagman17.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlagman17

Urban Poor Alliance
Secretariat Office: Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies, Inc. (PHILSSA)
3/F Hoffner Building, Social Development Complex
Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Telephone Nos.: 426-4327, 426-4328, 426-6001 local 4854
Telefax No.: 426-0811