Urban Poor Ask Supreme Court to Order Compliance of RA 7279 in Manila Bay Clean Up

Press Release

March 31, 2011

Urban Poor Associates (UPA) filed on Thursday before the Supreme Court a motion to issue order for compliance with Republic Act 7279 prior to demolition and/or eviction of informal settlers. This is an appeal on the high court’s decision on the implementation of the Manila Bay clean up rendered last February 15.

The Court orders Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to come up with the lists of informal settlers living along the Pasig-Marikina-San Juan Rivers, the NCR (Parañaque-Zapote, Las Piñas) rivers and the Navotas-Malabon-Tullahan-Tenejeros Rivers and the LGUs outside Metro Manila for the list of informal settlers along Meycauayan-Marilao-Obando (Bulacan) rivers, the Talisay (Bataan) River, the Imus (Cavite) river, the Laguna De Bay and Connecting waterways.

The high Court even set a timeline up to December 31, 2012 and 2015 for the full implementation of the demolition of houses and removal of the informal settlers.

However, UPA and other other movants Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise (COPE), Kabalikat sa Pagpapaunlad ng Baseco (KABALIKAT), Ugnayan Lakas ng mga Apektadong Pamilya sa Baybaying Ilog Pasig (ULAP) and residents along Radial 10 (R10) Boulevard in Tondo, Manila, found the court’s resolution silent as to the observance and compliance of the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (RA 7279) which lays down requisites before eviction and/or demolition is enforced.

In a fifteen-page motion, the urban poor group through their lawyer, Ritche Esponilla, stressed that the effort in the rehabilitation of the Manila Bay should not be at loggerheads with the basic [human] rights accorded to the underprivileged and homeless citizens guaranteed by the 1987 Constitution itself.

RA 7279 requires that urban poor whose houses are subject to demolition should be notified 30 days before. It also compels consultation and relocation to the affected underprivileged citizens, and without such compliance there must be no evictions or demolitions.

UPA said with the SC decision shanties of 129,606 urban poor families surrounding Manila Bay are in danger of being demolished without relocation.

"There is an urgent need that the Court issues an order for compliance of requisites set out by RA 7279 prior to demolition and/or eviction to protect the housing rights of the poor. While the clean up is valuable it must not come at the expense of displacing thousands of urban poor families already marginalized by society,” Atty. Esponilla said.

“We must also remember that the high Court already recognized that this endeavor (preservation of Manila Bay) cannot go against the right of those whose dwellings are in danger of being torn down. In its ruling on October 2009, it emphasized that it does not give the MMDA and other concerned government agencies the power to evict any individual from his or her home without first giving notice,” he added.

UPA said President Benigno Aquino III tasked Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to form a technical working group (TWG) that would study issues/concerns of the urban poor. This TWG is already working.

UPA field director Alicia Murphy concluded, “The waterways dwellers are working hard to implement their dream of on-site housing through the TWG. We even came up with a housing proposal along waterways designed by Palafox architects that would not interfere with the cleaning of Manila Bay and the Pasig river. We believe that efforts on restoring the beauty of Manila Bay must be equipped with a comprehensive and decent housing program for the welfare of the poor. In this way, we will be able to preserve lives – the life of the poor and the life of the Bay. -30-

Urban Poor High Hopes with the New MMDA Chair

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Urban Poor High Hopes with the New MMDA Chair

10 December 2009. Task Force Anti-Eviction composed of various people’s organizations and NGOs such as Urban Poor Associates (UPA), Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), and Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise (COPE) Foundation has high hope with the new chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Secretary Oscar Inocentes.

Denis Murhpy, Executive Director of UPA said, “We are all happy that the new chair is committed to doing everything legally and through dialogues. Over the last three years, Bayani Fernando evicted thousands of families illegally that is without proper notice, consultation and resettlement. And often removed small vendors from the road or sidewalks and confiscated or destroyed their goods. If the new chair dialogues in a sincere way he will find solutions that allow the poor to survive in the city and make a living.”

UPA research team noted, that this year alone there were 28 evictions, 6 of these evictions were conducted by MMDA and ended up violent.

Last November 11, 2009, before the new chair took over, MMDA demolished shanties in Estero De La Reina. The eviction turned out badly. Women and even pregnant women were fighting the demolition team over pieces of lumber and G.I roofing. Finally 10 families left Binondo in an MMDA truck at about 4 pm with a cross section of poor people and children. They arrived at the resettlement area in Norzagaray, Bulacan at 8 p.m. because of heavy traffic. But the local barangay captain told them they couldn’t enter because they only have a trip pass which was given by the MMDA personnel. So, the people have no choice but to come back to Binondo at 11 p.m. only to sleep on the sidewalk because their houses were already destroyed.

This action of MMDA earn the ire of the urban poor and has been singled out by civil society monitoring groups as the biggest violator of housing laws. Even though no law or executive order exempts MMDA from observing just and humane demolitions and evictions as provided by UDHA, the agency has repeatedly violated the law. Families living in shanties demolished by MMDA in 2008 for its beautification and urban renewal programs were not given adequate relocation, not even temporary shelters.

In parting, Murphy said, "In cities as crowded as Calcutta, India, the government and the food vendors were able to reach an agreement about selling and eating hot food at lunchtime on the sidewalks. Everyday four million people have a hot lunch in the sidewalks of Calcutta. There is soon for the vendors on our sidewalks if MMDA will sincerely try to reach a solution with them. The new chairperson's clearing moratorium for vendors on the sidewalks and informal settlers this December is hopeful."

Task Force Anti Eviction will continue to monitor MMDA’s program to ensure that there will be no more violent and illegal evictions. The group will cleave on the word of Sec. Inocentes that he will do everything “legally” and through dialogues.

-30-

Cruelty to the poor and democracy

Inquirer Opinion / Columns

Commentary : Cruelty to the poor and democracy

By Denis Murphy
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: November 29, 2009

CRUELTY TO THE POOR BY GOVERNMENT people or the agents of the powerful are always surprising, since it seems so unnecessary. The urban poor with whom I’ve worked for many years are among the most patient, tolerant and realistic people God ever made. There’s no need for violence of any sort. The people will cooperate in any government plan that is based on consultations and common sense.

Instead, there is an endless tale of violence big and small done to them, which in the end undermines the people’s sense of their dignity and democracy itself, just as long rains loosen the soil on the hillside and eventually bring down the whole hill or mountain.

Cruelty manages to turn first-class citizens into resentful people, willing to scheme and do whatever may be needed to get what they want for themselves. Think of how the people of Estero dela Reina will react to government in the future after their experience with an eviction team of the Metro Manila Development Authority on Nov. 11. The people were told they had to get out of their homes of 20 or more years and relocate to the Norzagaray resettlement area, 40 kilometers or more away. They didn’t want to go, but they had little choice: whether they agreed to go or not their homes would be torn down.

The eviction turned out badly. People including women were injured in violent scuffles with the MMDA. Nothing is uglier than seeing women and even pregnant women and the demolition team fighting over pieces of lumber and G.I. roofing. Finally 10 families left Binondo in an MMDA truck at about 4 p.m. with a cross-section of poor people, the elderly, a few men, women, small children and babies. They arrived at the resettlement area at 8 p.m. because of the heavy traffic. The barangay captain there told them they couldn’t enter because they didn’t have the proper papers. They came back to Binondo at 11 p.m. to sleep on the sidewalk.

An almost similar episode took place a few days earlier. Families from Santolan, Pasig were brought to the Calauan resettlement area, 100 km from Manila. When they got there, they found there were no homes for them. They returned to Santolan, though now they were homeless. The callousness of the officials involved is breathtaking. No one apologizes. Not every poor person has to experience cruelty personally. Word of it travels fast in poor communities.

Sometimes matters turn truly violent. On Oct. 10 in North Fairview, Quezon City, Myrna Porcare, 52, was shot down with a shotgun at a distance of two or three meters by the security guards of the landowner. Her offense was to try to remove a fence put up illegally by the guards. Police watched the incident develop, but didn’t intervene. Myrna’s son was also killed. The killers are now out on bail.

It seems clear in this incident that these guards are not for security at all. No one was threatening them or the landowner, and the police were there to protect the demolition crew. The guards were not needed. Can the rich buy what can be called “special forces,” or “guns for hire,” who can be sent into an area to do whatever the owner wants?

There are even more harsh incidents against the poor in the rural areas, around mining sites, in factories and plantations, and once in a while something like the Maguindanao massacre. People treated unfairly over time lose any sense that they are citizens of a democracy where their rights as human beings under God should be guaranteed and their human freedoms defended. To be a citizen should bring rights and security, and, hence, pride. Even St. Paul was proud to say he was a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37).

Paradoxically, it should be added that Filipino government officials are among the most accessible officials in the world. Hundreds of poor people meet the President every month, troop the halls of the House and Senate, visiting the officials one after the other, or talk to their mayors and Cabinet officers. That is democracy at its best.

Of all the varieties of violence the saddest is that between the demolition teams and the urban poor men and women. The demolition people are urban poor themselves, so it is one poor man trying to keep his family going against another poor man or woman trying to do exactly the same. The powerful have set poor against poor. Nothing destroys more quickly any sense of brotherhood and sisterhood among the poor. It is sinister for that reason.

In the last analysis these cruel ways come down from the top officials and the elite, as do most values in society, so it’s up to the powerful to stop the practice.

On Nov. 18 in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources people had a chance to witness how citizens can deal with abuses of authority. The people of Mindoro were there to protest a Norwegian mining company’s activity on the island. There were the governors and bishops of the two provinces, the clergy, mayors, academicians, Fr. Robert Reyes, NGOs, Mangyans and other ordinary people. They were telling the environment secretary they couldn’t accept the permission he gave to the mining company to begin work. They said he had made a big mistake. How in a democracy can a single national official overrule a decision of all the people of an island, who are the most likely to know their situation and what is best for them? The people of Mindoro show the effectiveness of people at different levels of society joining together in search of good law, the proper use of authority—and democracy.

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

©Copyright 2001-2009 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company


http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20091129-239240/Cruelty-to-the-poor-and-democracy

Members of urban poor communities mark National Heroes Day

08/31/2009 | 12:44 PM



100 protesters march toward Mendiola to mark National Heroes Day

08/31/2009 | 10:54 AM

MEDIA ADVISORY: CONFRONTATION - CHR vs. MMDA

Residents along R-10 in Tondo, Manila look on as demolition team from Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) conducts clearing operations on Feb. 3.

Attention: News Editor, News Desk, Reporters and Photojournalists

MEDIA ADVISORY

CONFRONTATION
CHR vs. MMDA

On Monday February 9 the irresistible force, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) headed by Chairperson Leila de Lima, will challenge the immovable object, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando.

On the R-10 Road before Pier 10, near Moriones Street, the local residents will hold before the eviction teams of MMDA the CHR Resolution No. A2008-052, a resolution recommending the imposition of a moratorium on all evictions and demolitions.

The CHR has ordered all evictions which do not provide decent relocation to stop immediately. The MMDA since Feb. 2 has evicted families without any relocation. The two government bodies will confront one another Monday at 8:00 AM along the R-10.

The R-10 which stretches from Velasquez Street in Tondo to Lapu Lapu Street in Navotas is scheduled to be widened. Some 3,046 families by government count are in the way. NGO workers of Urban Poor Associates (UPA) and Community Organizers of the Philippine Enterprise (COPE) say there are more than 10,000 families on the road. Neither MMDA nor the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which commissioned the evictions, offers relocation.

The CHR has determined eviction without relocation is a violation of the country’s laws.

Please come.

Where: R-10 Tondo, before Pier 10, near Moriones Street

Date: February 9, 2009 (Monday) / 8:00 AM

MMDA clears Baclaran Church of street vendors

11/23/2008 | 01:13 AM



MMDA to clear sidewalks with vendors
11/22/2008 | 12:15 PM

MMDA dismantles houses along C-5

09/02/2008 | 06:42 PM




Informal settlers seek intervention of CHR (Read on at http://tinyurl.com/6afklm

MMDA goes after illegal vendors in Taguig

08/19/2008 | 06:58 PM

NGOs nix Inter-Agency Committee headed by MMDA, BF

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NGOs nix Inter-Agency Committee headed by MMDA, BF

13 August 2008. Urban poor non-government organizations have expressed opposition to a proposed Executive Order that will set guidelines on the work of the Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee (MMIAC) in the fields of eviction and relocation.

Their opposition is to the presence and leadership of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and its Chairman Bayani Fernando in the MMIAC.

“The MMDA history in dealing with the urban poor renders it unfit to lead or head the MMIAC as provided by the Executive Order. We see no reason why MMDA itself should be a member of this MMIAC,” the Task Force Anti-Eviction said in a statement.

Among those who expressed grievances were NGOs such as Urban Poor Associates (UPA), Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), Community Organization of the Philippines Enterprise (COPE), St. Thomas More Law Center, John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues (JJCICSI), Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN) and Partnership of Philippine Support Agency (PHILSSA).

Urban poor people often term Bayani Fernando (BF) as “berdugo” of the urban poor, the statement said. He has merited this title because, “he uses force and intimidation in dealing with the urban poor. He treats the poor as garbage, nuisances and eye sores, and evicts them summarily with total disregard for their rights in the most inhumane manner and contrary to the provisions of the law.”

At a forum dubbed “Human Rights and Access to Justice For the Poor” held in Ateneo last August 4, Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Leila de Lima mentioned several instances where the MMDA demolished the homes and houses of the urban poor without due notice and without providing for relocation.

“In 2008 alone, from January to May, there have been 25 reported cases of demolitions, eight of which require our quick response team to investigate. Out of the eight quick reaction team investigations, four cases involved the MMDA. In two cases involving MMDA, there was a finding of human rights violations,” CHR Chairperson de Lima said.

As an alternative to BF and the MMDA, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) – National Housing Authority (NHA) should be named as the lead agency of the MMIAC, according to the Task Force Anti-Eviction.

“There are at present 2,140 families who have been evicted, but have not been relocated. They lived in 14 areas. They live now in makeshift huts in the streets along the banks of canals and in other unfit places. The first order of business should be to relocate them,” said Ted Añana, deputy coordinator of UPA. Añana was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the permanent representative of urban poor sector in the MMIAC. -30-

MMDA dismantles houses, shops in Quezon City

08/05/2008 | 06:50 PM




QTV: Violence mars MMDA clearing operations in Manila
08/06/2008 | 12:40 PM




MMDA clears Manila streets of vendors
08/06/2008 | 03:13 PM




MMDA, vendors clash in sidewalk-clearing operation
08/06/2008 | 06:40 PM




MMDA clearing operations in Manila marred by violence
08/07/2008 | 07:47 AM

MMDA goes after illegal vendors in Taguig

Karamihan ng vendors, nakipag-agawan ng paninda sa clearing ops ng MMDA
07/30/2008 | 02:45 PM

MMDA goes after illegal vendors in Quezon City

06/09/2008 | 07:41 PM




Saksi: Mga ambulant vendor sa paligid ng ilang eskwelahan sa Metro Manila, tinarget ng MMDA
06/09/2008 | 11:43 PM

1 hurt as MMDA personnel clash with vendors at Muñoz market

05/15/2008 | 04:53 PM




MMDA personnel, vendors clash
05/15/2008 | 07:23 PM




Saksi: MMDA men clash with illegal vendors in Quezon City
05/15/2008 | 11:47 PM

TRO sought against MMDA, DPWH, PNR, NHA to stop forced eviction

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TRO sought against MMDA, DPWH, PNR, NHA to stop forced eviction

16 April 2008. To prevent their eviction and the demolition of their houses, settlers along the railway and Radial Road 10 (R-10) are seeking a temporary restraining order against the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Philippine National Railways (PNR) and National Housing Authority (NHA).

Petitioners filed their petition for a TRO and preliminary injunction April 16 at the Supreme Court. The settlers who live along the railroad tracks in Sta. Cruz, Tondo and Sampaloc, Manila are being threatened with demolitions and evictions due to the Northrail Southrail Linkage Project (NSLP). While the residents along R-10, North Bay Boulevard in Navotas City are affected by the road-widening project.

The government agencies should be prohibited from evicting the informal settlers and demolishing houses since the evictions are being carried out in utter violation of the constitutional guarantees and safeguards regarding forced evictions vis-à-vis Republic Act 7279, otherwise known as the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA), according to the Urban Poor Associates (UPA), a non-government organization who provided the assistance through its legal unit, the St. Thomas More Law Center.

“The respondent government agencies brazenly laid down its plan of actions for the year 2008 which involve the demolition of houses and evictions of thousands of urban informal settlers in the guise of carrying out its development and/or clearing operation along the whole stretch of railroad tracks and Road 10, Navotas City,” the counsel for the petitioners, lawyer Bienvenido Salinas Jr. and Ritche Esponilla, said in a statement.”

Other NGOs such as the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN) and Community Organizers of the Philippine Enterprise (COPE) Foundation co-sponsored the filing of the case.

The group cited the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) who admittedly observed several flaws in the conduct of demolitions and evictions in urban poor communities. Such violations are: a mere 5 five days verbal notice; No consultation; Insufficient fund; No relocation; Proponent (like MMDA) do not apply for the Certificate of Compliance with PCUP as required by E.O. 152; Affected families are forced to receive financial assistance instead of relocation; Relocation sites have few if any available economic opportunities; and Relocation sites have no adequate basic services.

“These looming threats of eviction and demolition despite non-compliance with what are required by no less the Constitution and UDHA – e.g. prior notice/s, adequate relocation and consultation which continuously being undertaken by the respondent government agencies inflict gross injustice on the urban poor community. The effect and impact of massive displacements of affected families, including women and children, cannot be denied.”

Petitioners are aware of the basic principle on the observance of hierarchy of courts. With due deference, however, petitioners find it proper to file this suit directly before the Supreme Court under the exception that “when the issue at hand transcends national interest and with a sense of urgency, petition of this nature may be filed directly with the High Court.”

“Undeniably, the issue at hand which will create, as in fact it has created in last year’s demolitions and evictions, massive displacement of affected families within the railroad tracks transcends national interest. This concerns human beings who are also accorded basic rights by no less the Constitution itself to life and shelter. They cannot simply be dragged and forced from their makeshifts in the guise of development and promotion of general welfare.”

Some 50,000 families living on the railroad tracks will be evicted because of the railway project. About 30,000 families still remain on the tracks. While some 16,000 families along R-10 will be evicted due to the road-widening project. -30-

Urban poor group seeks SC's help vs demolitions

Urban poor asks Supreme Court to stop demolitions

Manila, Navotas residents seek TRO vs MMDA demolition

Group asks SC to stop eviction of railway residents

Group says railway project to displace 50,000 families

Stop to demolition

MMDA criticized for banning Christmas carolers

Urban Poor Associates

25-A Mabuhay Street, Brgy. Central, Q.C.
Telefax: 4264118 Tel.: 4264119 / 4267615

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlagman17
http://jlagman17.blogspot.com

** NEWS RELEASE *** NEWS RELEASE *** NEWS RELEASE **

MMDA criticized for banning Christmas carolers

11 December 2007. For banning Christmas carolers from Metro Manila’s streets beginning on human rights day, the country may now be called the Grinch (nasty creatures that hates Christmas) capital of the world and deserves to be at the Guiness book of world records courtesy of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

While street caroling may be dangerous, the government should know and understand why poor kids have to do street caroling instead of staying in the comforts of their homes just like ordinary kids, according to a housing rights group who finds the ban ridiculous.

The Urban Poor Associates (UPA) called on MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando to immediately lift the ban and instead find out the reason why children desperately keep on caroling despite knowing their lives would be at risk due to speeding vehicles.

“We are not encouraging street carolers but these kids out of poverty may be pitching in to help feed their families and yet the government look at them as criminals. If there is a law banning Christmas carolers in this so-called only Christian nation in Asia, this is the most cruel, antisocial and Christmas-hating,” said Ted Añana, UPA deputy coordinator.

Research shows that more than 100,000 persons in Metro Manila are homeless, according to UPA. “Perhaps without man-made disasters like forced evictions and unlawful demolitions especially those being made by MMDA, there will truly be a “Metro Gwapo” where streets will be free of homeless and children doesn’t have to stop schooling and work to survive in slums.”

“They blamed poor people on floods and not the poor drainage system. After driving the poor families away from their shanties, now they are rounding them up from the streets. They have nowhere else to go. We won’t be surprised if next time they move to ban the Christmas for the poor,” Añana added.

Besides rounding up Christmas carolers, the government needs something better to do, the group said. “Corruption monitors confirm that graft and bribery in the country remain rampant. Corruption has penetrated every level of government, from the high-ranking officials down to the MMDA personnel who pull over motorists to demand bribes.”

UPA challenged the government, if it is indeed concern on the “safety of the children and the motorists”, to allocate its overflowing discretionary and intelligence funds to homeless children and the sorry state of the country's public transportation system.

UPA also reminds that Christmas caroling, aside from a holiday tradition, is more than just giving cash gifts. “The true meaning of Christmas lies in the heart of each person. It is a reminder of our childhood and an opportunity to discover kindness among strangers in this wild world.”

-30-

UPA asks MMDA: Why ban Christmas carol singers from streets in metropolis?

Urban poor group slams ban on street carol singers

MMDA demolishes shanties along Quezon Ave

MMDA demolishes 500 stores in San Pedro, Laguna

MMDA tears down barangay hall

MMDA demolition teams return to Commonwealth Avenue

MMDA flattens 40 shanties, building in QC

Structures along Litex road in QC demolished

MMDA demolishes illegal police outpost




MMDA to continue demolition of structures near roads