COMMENTARY: An offer the President can’t refuse

By Denis Murphy
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: August 30, 2010


THE ESTIMATED 370,000 families who are now threatened with eviction from their homes have an offer for President Noynoy Aquino they hope he can’t refuse. They will ask the President to declare a two- to three-month moratorium on all evictions. During this time a committee of the President’s own choosing will study how best society can meet the dangers of flooding and other disasters and still treat the poor in the “just and humane manner” the Constitution demands.
The families to be evicted include 80,000 families along the esteros; 100,000, mostly fishermen, around Laguna Lake; 60,000 on the Manggahan Floodway; 40,000 in Lupang Arenda; and others in the way of roads (C-5, R10) and other developments. With an average of five persons a family, the total population of men, women and children affected is 1.85 million, which is a little more than twice the population of Cebu City (798,000).

Eviction is one of the worst things that can happen to a family—they lose their homes, jobs, neighbors of 20 and 30 years who have helped them in all their problems, the good schooling and health services of the old neighborhoods. Children are traumatized. The old people, small children and pregnant women suffer the most. On average it takes five years more or less for a poor family to recover economically from distant relocation.

Other urban poor families who are not immediately affected live in fear of eviction and do not invest in their homes or communities. “Why should we?” they ask. “We can be evicted anytime and lose everything.” Thus, slums remain slums. Some people think the moratorium should last three to four months since the problems connected with evictions are so profound and damaging to people’s lives.

The poor hope the President’s committee will have people like Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, Church representatives, architect Felino Palafox, urbanologist Mary Racelis, Vice President Jejomar Binay, the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Council and Francis Tolentino of the Metro Manila Development Authority. There will also be urban poor representatives and NGOs working with the urban poor. The committee will be assisted by the universities and special institutes in Metro Manila, including the Manila Observatory (for satellite imagery).

The committee will be asked to study:

• Are all the evictions necessary? Has government sufficient scientific evidence to justify its actions? Has it done its research in detail? It is obvious, for example, that not all people along the esteros need to move out. A short walk with architects along the Esteros de San Miguel and San Sebastian showed many people there could live alongside or over the esteros if government helped them to do so.

Perhaps the same is true of Laguna Lake, the Manggahan Floodway and even Lupang Arenda. If we search for non-eviction solutions, we may find them. A dike around Laguna Lake, as envisaged by architect Palafox and others, would allow the fishermen to continue fishing, yet protect their homes.

• Are evictions done in accord with our laws and the International Covenants on Human Rights signed by the government? Poor people complain most evictions are illegal for want of legal notice, consultation or relocation.

• Are the evictions in line with good urban planning insights, and do they foster economic growth in the cities or harm it?

• Does government have an overall vision of how it would like to see the urban poor integrated into the development of the cities in the coming decades?

Politically speaking, such large-scale evictions seem a peculiar way for a new and popular government to begin its dealings with the poor. Nearly all urban poor families say they wish to stay where they are. Do we want people thinking there is a cold heart for the poor in the administration?

While some urban poor people are critical of the well off, I am always surprised by how quietly the poor accept the inequality life has dealt them. Several times as we were walking along an estero, sometimes squeezing along in the dark, we would come to a stone wall. The people would say, that’s the wall of the Chinese school, or the wall of San Beda, or the wall of an idle property of Filinvest, or a factory. The land area of the school, etc. would be far larger than the whole community of people living on the estero. There wasn’t any bitterness in their voices when they identified the walls.

We hope the President can restore an element of compassion to government activity that has been missing.

If evictions carry on as usual, the poor may be disenchanted with government. They may tell government, “We will not move on the terms you offer.” What does a democratic government do then? A refusal by government officials to allow for people’s participation in the decision-making that affects their lives may be an obstacle to development on a par with corruption.

(Denis Murphy works with the Urban Poor Associates. His e-mail address is upa@pldtdsl.net)

Estero Settlers Press Call on Housing Solutions

Press Release
August 27, 2010


Estero settlers in vivid costumes, depicting a fairy queen, forest fairies, and evictions in fairy land, gathered today in front of PRRC (Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission) office in Quezon Ave, Quezon City. They demand that PRRC use the housing proposals along esteros designed by world famous Palafox Architects, instead of relocating the poor to far away Calauan.

Felomina Cinco, president of Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Legarda and residing along the stretch of Estero de San Miguel said, “In today’s rally we portrayed a fairy land because we want the government to imagine and believe that our housing proposal is adoptable and could be the answer to housing problem of the country. We want to show them that we are an important player in the city and that we can work together to clean the estuaries and waterways without throwing us to distant places.”

The rally was held simultaneously during a scheduled dialogue with PRRC Chairperson Gina Lopez, where she listened to people’s housing proposal. Housing rights advocate Urban Poor Associates (UPA) also attended the dialogue and urged the agency to use comprehensive land and housing solutions. They reiterated the call for the implementation of a three to four month moratorium on all evictions, which was promised by no less than the President during the campaign period through a signed covenant with the poor.

The group is hopeful that the PRRC Chair would consider their housing proposal because last Monday Ms. Lopez’s spokesperson assured the estero residents gathered at the office that no demolitions would take place while they hold consultations and discussions on the estero residents’ proposals.

However, estero residents still expressed fear on the looming eviction of the 80,000 people living along the waterways. Just after their first rally at PRRC, DENR Secretary Ramon Paje in a press briefing stood firm on his agency’s plan to demolish shanties erected along waterways and turned down UPA’s proposal that government make use of the solution implemented in Bangkok Bang Bua Canal where about 3,400 families benefited from slum upgrading.

His pronouncement has caused the estero dwellers to call for the removal of DENR Secretary Ramon Paje because they think he has no heart for the poor. They challenged him to come to Estero de San Miguel in Brgy. 412 and 416 to see for himself that the estero is clean.

“We are cleaning the esteros without them telling us. I thought this administration will include us “sa pagbabago” but with the way the secretary responded to our call he seems to only think of the waterways and neglects the welfare of the urban poor living along the estero, ” Cinco said.

According to UPA Studies, slum upgrading in the esteros is possible and the government has no reason to turn down the proposal because there are so many commercial establishments encroaching on the estuaries. In 2009, for example, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) demolished one hundred families living on the Estero De La Reina for the purpose of rehabilitating the estero. But after a month,the 168 Mall extended its parking lot over the said estero.

UPA Project Director Alice Murphy concluded “The Adopt an Estero program can be divisive among peoples of the city. But it is important to listen to the people and not be shortsighted. We have the responsibility to take care of the rivers but not at the expense of the people living along the estero. Estero clean up and slum upgrading can go together. In this way, we are not excluding the estero settlers from development.” -30-

Hundreds of Estero People Present their Housing Plans

Press Release
August 23, 2010

Hundreds of people living in Esteros gathered in front of PRRC (Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission) today, August 23, to ask the agency to halt all planned demolitions along waterways and estuaries, which were to be implemented within the first 100 days of Pres. Noynoy’s administration.

To watch the video footage of the rally, click here or here.

Estero residents and Urban Poor Associates (UPA), a housing rights advocate, brought with them a big tarpaulin with pictures of old esteros compared with the new esteros. The groups call this a “win-win solution” both for the government and the civil society. They aimed to get the attention of PRRC Chairperson Gina Lopez to listen to their alternative housing proposals.

On August 10 the president conducted a surprise inspection of creeks outside the Malacañang Complex and in the same week, the heads of different government agencies traveled down Estero De San Miguel, a two-kilometer tributary of the Pasig River located just behind Malacañang. The PRRC Chairperson joined these visits.

The people feel this visit to Gina Lopez is necessary because she has the power to rehabilitate the waterways. Thus, she can be an ally in proposing this alternative housing solution along the waterways.

The estero people have had a series of meetings with the Palafox Architects in order to come up with housing designs appropriate for the esteros. This design of houses along the esteros will not interfere with the cleaning of the waterways, and the people living on the esteros will have a decent place to dwell in the city.

UPA believes that this housing proposal can be done in our country just as it has been done along the stretch of Bangkok Bang Bua Canal, where about 3, 400 families benefited from slum upgrading. The Bangkok Canal peoples’ networks demonstrated to the city that these canal-side communities are not polluters but are an important asset to the city, and they developed a long-term comprehensive solution to problems of land and housing in Thai Cities.

Felomina Cinco, president of Nagkakaisang Mamamayan sa Legarda and residing along the stretch of Estero de San Miguel said, “my family and the other hundreds of families living in Estero de San Miguel have stayed here for more than 22 years. My husband and I were able to send our children to the nearest state universities while my youngest child who has cerebral palsy has access to hospitals and public schools that have the capacity to cater for her needs. This estero has provided us a life for many years.”

“We believe in upgrading our community and we oppose off-city relocation. I hope they will heed our call to involve and include us in their programs. We assure the government that we can work together to restore the esteros to its former beauty,” she added.

According to UPA studies there are 80,000 families living along the waterways who are in danger of being evicted. UPA stressed that the urban poor and the cleaning of the river are not mutually exclusive of one another. The shelter rights of the poor are as essential as the rehabilitation of the waterways. Hence, the public must not be made to choose between the interest of the environment and the rights and welfare of the poor.

UPA Project Director Alice Murphy concluded, “Let us move into 21st century thinking by making Metro Manila and our other cities inclusive. They should be cities that include and integrate the urban poor whenever development is undertaken, rather than force them to far-flung relocation and degraded sites.” -30-

Hundreds of Estero People Present their Housing Plans

MEDIA ADVISORY

Hundreds of people living in Esteros will gather in front of PRRC (Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission) tomorrow August 23 at 10:00 AM, to ask the agency to halt all planned demolitions along waterways and estuaries.

Esteros residents and Urban Poor Associates (UPA), a housing rights advocate, want PRRC Chairperson Gina Lopez to listen to their alternative housing proposals. The groups have had a series of meetings with the Palafox Architects in order to come up with housing designs appropriate for the esteros. This modern design of houses along esteros will not interfere with the cleaning of the waterways. While the people living on the esteros will have a decent place to dwell in in the city. They assured the government that they will protect the waterways by all means possible.

The people feel this visit to Gina Lopez is necessary because sometime she says the people should be relocated within the city, other times she says the people should go to Calauan, a hundred kilometers away. The people want to know what is her plan for them.

Photo ops: Painted faces of children with word listen to our housing proposal and stop all demolitions. Some members of the group will use house masked and big hands as a symbol of stopping demolitions in waterways. There will be a big pricture of the old esteros compared with the new esteros.

Date: August 23, 2010 (MONDAY)

Time: 10:00 AM

Venue: Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, Triumph Building, Quezon Avenue, Quezon City


Please Cover.


Ref: Princess L. Asuncion
Mobile phone: 0908 1967450

Violent Demolition in 7th St. New Manila, Quezon City