On January 16, 2010 a fire destroyed 242 houses in the northwest corner of Baseco. This area is one of the poorest communities in Metro Manila. Most of the families live on a survival basis.
To watch the video, click here.
Urban Poor Associates (UPA) started to build a new village for the fire victims. Baseco was proclaimed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. This gives the poor residents certain ownership rights. Helping the residents build their home will have great impact on their lives, since it will give more ownership rights
KABALIKAT, a people's organization, UPA and the Mapua Institute of Technology College of Architecture surveyed the fire area and subdivided it into family size plots of 24.5 sq.m. They built simple house.
Some 130 fire victims now occupy the subdivided lots. Due to lack of funds, the beneficiaries are provided with a foundation of hollow blocks and dirt fill which raises the house above ordinary flooding levels. They were also given wood, posts, roofing beams and roof.
Through this video, we like to thank the organizations and individuals who helped with the project. We also seek donations to build decent homes for the remaining 112 families.
Thank you.
Urban Poor Associates
25-A Mabuhay St., Brgy. Central, Quezon, Phil
4264118;4267615
Monday, December 13, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Typhoon ‘Yoling’ and Pope Paul VI
Commentary
FORTY YEARS ago this month, two spectacular visitors arrived in Manila. First came Typhoon “Yoling,” the worst storm to hit Manila in the last 100 years. It rolled back the roof off the Ateneo covered court and threw it away as easily as a person peels an orange or an apple and flips it into a garbage can. It removed half the roofs of the poor houses in the Tondo Foreshore area and covered Taft Avenue with water up to people’s waists. The second visitor came toward the end of the month. This was Pope Paul VI, and with him 100 bishops from the surrounding countries of Asia. They were here for the first Asian Bishops Meeting and the formation of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences. As in the past, strong winds and prophecy arrived together.
The Pope and bishops issued a Message to Asia that remains as fresh and challenging today as it did then. And at the end of the meeting, as if teaching by example, Pope Paul spent a day in Tondo. He walked the muddy streets to the home of a poor family and spent almost an hour with them.
If we were back in 1970, what would we have expected the Pope and bishops to say to the peoples of Asia at the start of their Asian-wide evangelical effort? Most people, I think, would have predicted that they would talk of the Church’s past works, defend it against old accusations and insist on its rights—its freedom to practice the faith, for example. People would have predicted that the bishops’ statement would be triumphalistic in tone, although Catholics made up barely 2 percent of Asia’s people.
Instead the Message of the Asian Bishops Meeting was a very “non-churchy” document (in the words of Fr. Catalino Arevalo, S.J.). The Pope and bishops accepted the poverty, oppression and fatalism of Asia as their special areas of concern. They talked respectfully of Asia’s ancient and diverse religions and cultures, and with admiration of the new awakening of the Asian people at that time, especially the youth, and their longing for freedom and a better life and their willingness to struggle for those blessings. The Churchmen said they wanted to work alongside all in Asia who seek to bring freedom and prosperity to the Asian masses. In the resolutions that followed, the first expressed their determination to become the Church of the Poor, “in order that no man no matter how lowly or poor should find it hard to come and find in us their brothers.” I think we can now add: and no matter what their religion or sex.
One of the young Catholic students who was presented to the Pope in a special ceremony on that occasion took the message to heart. Oscar Francisco dedicated himself to a life of poverty. It was not the life of poverty a religious might live, but one that might impress modern youth. At the end of his life, for example, there was little money to care for his illnesses. All his life he had worked to organize the urban poor and farmers.
At the end of the meeting, the Pope spent Sunday afternoon in Tondo’s Barrio Magsaysay. Thousands of ZOTO members marched to the Don Bosco compound to hear him. After the speech he walked on streets still thick with Yoling’s mud to the home of a poor family and spent almost an hour talking and praying with them. (I remember that the security forces were anxious that he was taking so long.) He walked back through the mud sober-faced as if he had seen and heard something terrible.
The Pope and bishops also said in their message, “We have seen the face of the next age of mankind being written.” They said they “saw the masses awakening, the end of long ages of fatalism and the passive acceptance of poverty, ignorance and sickness.” They saw and understood the expectation of Asians for “more rice on the table, more knowledge, freedom and dignity…” They saw “the people of Asia coming together as one family.”
I remember how happy the young people were that the Pope and bishops had talked of things that were close to their hearts. It is easier for the young, for the people of other faiths and even for Catholics, it seems, to see the Church as the Good Shepherd when it talks of human rights and defends the poor.
The text of Resolution No. 1 sums up the heart of the Church’s Message to Asia: “It is our resolve, first of all, to be more truly the Church of the Poor. If we are to place ourselves at the side of the multitudes in our continent, we must in our way of life share something of their poverty. The Church cannot set up islands of affluence in a sea of want and misery; our own special lives must give witness to evangelical simplicity, and no man (or woman), no matter how lowly or poor (or what their religion), should find it hard to come to us and find in us their brothers (and sisters).”
Those few days at the end of November 1970 that Pope Paul and the bishops spent here in Manila were probably the brightest theological moment in the continent’s history. We should remember that at this very special time, they chose to talk of poverty, human rights, democracy and equality, and of the Church of the Poor. They showed us the road to the future.
Denis Murphy works with the Urban Poor Associates. His email address is upa@pldtdsl.net.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Organizing Forever
| |
| By Denis Murphy |
| Posted date: November 08, 2010 |
|
The people led by Trining Herrera and David Balondo said, “Yes. That’s what we want.” Zoto, the Zone One Tondo Organization, was born. It was the first of the urban poor community organizations that would revolutionize urban social action throughout the country. The Philippines became a leading advocate in Asia of community organization and the promise that poor people can gain power through non-violent and democratic people’s groups and actions. History has shown that without some form of people’s organization there will never be a fair distribution of wealth in countries. Randy David (Inquirer, 10/28/10), while discussing conditional cash transfers, notes they alone will not end poverty. “Only economic growth and the equitable sharing of its fruits” will end poverty, he writes. True, enough, but isn’t it also true that without people’s organizations (unions, peasant associations, coops, urban poor organizations, etc.) the wealth will never be fairly shared? Organized people compel the powerful to share. In a 10-year struggle Zoto forced the government of President Ferdinand Marcos to turn its plans for developing that area upside down. Marcos had planned to clear Tondo of all its poor people and build a modern commercial-residential complex. In the end some poor people had to relocate, but they received lots of 96 sq m in Dagat-Dagatan just a five-minute jeepney ride north of Tondo. Two-thirds of the 30,000 families won land titles and upgrading on site. Community organization is not just a struggle for land. It has proven to be the most efficient way for communities to get legal light and water, sanitation, medicine, better schools and even jobs. It gives good government a partner in the slums. It gives bad government an opponent with which it must come to terms. The community organizers that started Zoto included people like the late Fr. Jose Blanco, the late Oca Francisco, Ed dela Torre, Fernando Yusingco, Herb and Jessica White, Holy Spirit Sister Victricia Pascasio, Bishop Roman Tiples and Rev. Henry Aquilan. They convinced the people they were, despite their poverty, as valuable as anyone and should stand up and speak as free men and women for what they believed were their human, God-given rights. The COs, as they were soon called, showed the people how to analyze problems, how to find solutions, how to plan mass actions, how to carry them out with discipline, how to negotiate and how to carry on despite setbacks and arrests. They never, however, told the people what to struggle for or what plan to follow, at least not most of the time. CO was meant to help people gain the skills and vigor needed to win a seat at life’s negotiating tables. It gives power to the people. Zoto was disciplined. If they said they would gather at 9 a.m. they were there at 9 a.m. All of them. It was a strong organization, but women loved it. I remember talking to a group of women who had been evicted from Slip Zero and moved to Dagat-Dagatan. They were crying, remembering their years in Slip Zero and Zoto, their weddings and the birth of their children. “I loved Zoto,” one woman said after many stories and they all cried. CO won land tenure security for hundreds of thousands of urban poor families, and it often failed. Whether it failed or succeeded it encouraged people to take their future into their own hands and struggle for change. That is just about the best thing people can do for their brothers and sisters. CO allows poor people to negotiate effectively with public utilities for legal light and water connections. These connections bring large savings. Legal piped water, for example, costs only a third or less of what people in the slums pay for illegal water. Savings can be used for other essentials. As a companion to the CCT in the war on poverty these savings are important. In the R-10 area of the North Harbor, families save P300-P400 on average per month on water now that they have legal connections. They can afford to use all the water they need (250 liters per day per family, according to the United Nations) and still save money. In the new Dumpsite area of Tondo, families pay the syndicates P60 a day for generated electricity. This is P1,800 a month, while the average monthly legal electric bill for a poor family that consumes 50 kWh is about P297 (with light, TV set, radio, flat iron and electric fan). The light and water utilities usually require some form of people’s coop, which won’t come to be without a people’s organization. The people’s organizations also provide the courage needed to offset the threats of the syndicates. They sometimes threaten death. If families can save P800-P900 a month on light and water, they can increase their food budgets by 25 percent. CO and peoples’ organizations allow good governments to function better. They force bad governments to reform. It’s appropriate to thank all the Philippine community organizers for what they have done and suffered. May God reward them all. (Denis Murphy works with the Urban Poor Associates. His email address is upa@pldtdsl.net.) |
Monday, November 1, 2010
Two economies, two presidents
| Commentary : Two economies, two presidents |
| By Denis Murphy |
| Posted date: October 28, 2010 |
|
Poverty is not very visible in New York. Even poor families come out of the supermarkets pushing overloaded carts of food. Economic insecurity, however, is rooted just beneath the surface. Bob Herbert, writing in the New York Times, said: “The American economy over the last 40 years (since the Nixon years) has given unparalleled wealth to the very, very rich, undermined the living standards of the middle class and crushed the poor.” Only the super-rich have benefited, the top 1 or 2 percent of the population. Herbert pointed out that the pauperization of 98 percent of Americans is not the result of impersonal market forces gone amok, but the consequence of the conscious planning of the economic elite to achieve ever greater wealth for themselves no matter what damage was done to the rest of the population. The growing poverty of the people is the collateral damage of the greed of the very rich. He wrote: “The middle class is finally on its knees. Jobs are scarce and good jobs even scarcer. Government and corporate policies have been whacking working Americans every which way for the past three or four decades while globalization and technological wizardry were wreaking employment havoc, the movers and shakers in government and in the board rooms of the great corporations were embracing privatization and deregulation with the fervor of fanatics. The safety net was shredded, unions were brutally attacked and demonized, employment training and jobs programs were eliminated, higher education costs skyrocketed, and the nation’s infrastructure, a key to long-term industrial and economic health, deteriorated.” Meanwhile, President Barack Obama is in trouble. His Democrats may lose the House of Representatives in next month’s election. His approval ratings are down. New Yorkers who voted for him enthusiastically two years ago are disappointed and even angry with him. These days political talk is always angry talk. Compared with the somber economic and political news from the US, we now have good news in the Philippines. We can learn, however, from the US failures and weaknesses as we once sought to learn from its successes. If Herbert and other similarly minded experts are correct, the US economy has been undone by the super-rich and their allies in Congress who have gained near-total control over who gains and who loses in the economy. The rich and powerful in the Philippines exert at least the same amount of control over the Philippine economy as their counterparts in the US have over theirs. Who watches these men and women? President Aquino should have a salutary fear that the Filipino rich will manipulate the economic gains to their near-exclusive benefit as the US rich have done. The President has spoken enthusiastically of the benefits of government-private business partnerships, but it would be tragic if these ended up benefiting the very rich and few others. Corruption must be controlled, but there are many legal ways in which financial wizards can channel economic growth into their coffers and away from those of the middle-income and poor people. Who watches out for this? Who protects the President’s back on this issue? Who makes sure that he is not betrayed by the very rich? Obama is criticized now for having spent too much time and political capital trying to negotiate with the Republicans, when it was clear from the beginning they had no intention of negotiating or working with him, and were out simply to stonewall all his efforts. Instead, Obama should have acted single-mindedly from Day One for his priority goals, the critics say. In the beginning he had high popularity ratings, so he could have done almost whatever he wished to do. Now it is more difficult. “Ripeness is all,” Shakespeare tells us. Now seems the best time for President Noynoy to assist the poor, before political problems mount for him and his choices become limited. Finally, Obama is criticized for not explaining his programs carefully to ordinary Americans, his healthcare program, for example. He has found that the people do not support his programs because they often do not understand how they benefit from them. If the ordinary people support a president’s programs, Congress will have to pass the necessary laws. The most important step for a reform president is to get the unequivocal support of ordinary citizens. No Congress or boards of directors can resist the power of a president who brings with him the support of the nation. When President Noynoy undertakes specific legislations and programs to benefit the poor and lower middle-income people, he will be dependent on the strong and loyal support of these groups. Few others will back him. The more time he spends with the poor and middle-income people, explaining his programs and listening to their wishes, the more they will support him when the crucial days arrive and basic issues of social justice are at stake. (Denis Murphy works with the Urban Poor Associates. His e-mail address is upa@pldtdsl.net.) |
Friday, October 8, 2010
Asian Urban Poor Leaders Unite Against Evictions
Press Release
October 8, 2010
“No to evictions and Yes to adequate housing” were the words of Asian urban poor leaders in a press conference held on Friday, October 8, 9:00 AM at Tree House Restaurant, Matalino St., Brgy. Central District, Quezon City. The twenty-one Asian leaders in their native dress linked arms with Filipino urban poor as a way of solidarity against eviction.
This was organized by Coordinator of Leaders and Organizers of Community Organizations in Asia (Locoa), in cooperation with Task Force Anti Eviction composed of Urban Poor Associates (UPA), Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), and Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise (COPE).
Jeff Wong, Adviser to Four Regions Slum Network in Thailand said, “Asian urban poor leaders and NGOs are here in observation of World Habitat Month, the time of year when urban poor citizens all over the world reassert their right to live in the city.”
“There are an estimated one billion urban poor around the world. In LOCOA member countries, as in most all Asian countries, the most pressing problem is the situation of forced evictions of slum communities. We are optimistic that through international cooperation we can enforce citizens’ right to adequate housing,” he added.
According to Task Force Anti Eviction, there is a trend in Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces, that when there is intention to evict a big number of families it is not accompanied by a comprehensive housing plan for the affected families. This manifests a disregard for the housing rights of the poor and must be given a second look by the present government.
“On the100th day of President Noynoy Aquino and in observation of habitat month, we urge him to look at the problem of the urban poor and study the plans of his administration in implementing projects affecting the poor. One example is the intended Ferry boat terminal project in Laguna which will lead to eviction of fisherfolk. But we are very hopeful that the President will heed the call of the people,” said COM training director France Clavecillas.
Philippine Task Force Anti Eviction and with the rest of 10 Asian country members of Locoa (Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Taiwan, Japan, and Burma) called on their respective national governments to declare a moratorium on evictions and include the “people’s plan” being offered as an option to be included in the government’s response to eviction threats.
Sadaruddin, a community organizer of Urban Poor Consortium in Indonesia, shared their recent success in resisting eviction. The provincial government passed a law in 2007 allowing the residents of Surabaya, united in the people’s organization Stren Kali, to do on-site development. He said, “There the slogan, ‘renovation not relocation’ was listened by the government.” Unfortunately, in 2009, the national government changed the policy regarding buffer zones along the rivers, so the communities are once again facing the threat of forced eviction today. Nevertheless, the people remain committed to continuing their struggle until they attain permanent security of tenure.
Felomina Cinco, president of Nagkakaisang Mamamayan sa Legarda and residing along the stretch of Estero de San Miguel said, “We are still facing eviction despite our persistent presentation of our proposed housing plan. But with the workshop together with other Asian urban poor leaders, we regained hope and were inspired by the experience of struggle of our urban poor friends in Stren Kali who, like us, are determined to carry forth with their fight for the right to carry out upgrading and remain on site.
For her part, Fides Bagasao, LOCOA coordinator said, “This event aims to strengthen the appeal of the Filipino urban poor to the new government to be a defender and promoter of housing rights of the poor, unlike the previous administration which was internationally notorious for its massive and often violent demolitions. We are all united in the goal of improving the quality of life of the poor. We will collectively work to ensure better habitat for today’s and future generations.” -30-
October 8, 2010
“No to evictions and Yes to adequate housing” were the words of Asian urban poor leaders in a press conference held on Friday, October 8, 9:00 AM at Tree House Restaurant, Matalino St., Brgy. Central District, Quezon City. The twenty-one Asian leaders in their native dress linked arms with Filipino urban poor as a way of solidarity against eviction.
This was organized by Coordinator of Leaders and Organizers of Community Organizations in Asia (Locoa), in cooperation with Task Force Anti Eviction composed of Urban Poor Associates (UPA), Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), and Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise (COPE).
Jeff Wong, Adviser to Four Regions Slum Network in Thailand said, “Asian urban poor leaders and NGOs are here in observation of World Habitat Month, the time of year when urban poor citizens all over the world reassert their right to live in the city.”
“There are an estimated one billion urban poor around the world. In LOCOA member countries, as in most all Asian countries, the most pressing problem is the situation of forced evictions of slum communities. We are optimistic that through international cooperation we can enforce citizens’ right to adequate housing,” he added.
According to Task Force Anti Eviction, there is a trend in Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces, that when there is intention to evict a big number of families it is not accompanied by a comprehensive housing plan for the affected families. This manifests a disregard for the housing rights of the poor and must be given a second look by the present government.
“On the100th day of President Noynoy Aquino and in observation of habitat month, we urge him to look at the problem of the urban poor and study the plans of his administration in implementing projects affecting the poor. One example is the intended Ferry boat terminal project in Laguna which will lead to eviction of fisherfolk. But we are very hopeful that the President will heed the call of the people,” said COM training director France Clavecillas.
Philippine Task Force Anti Eviction and with the rest of 10 Asian country members of Locoa (Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Taiwan, Japan, and Burma) called on their respective national governments to declare a moratorium on evictions and include the “people’s plan” being offered as an option to be included in the government’s response to eviction threats.
Sadaruddin, a community organizer of Urban Poor Consortium in Indonesia, shared their recent success in resisting eviction. The provincial government passed a law in 2007 allowing the residents of Surabaya, united in the people’s organization Stren Kali, to do on-site development. He said, “There the slogan, ‘renovation not relocation’ was listened by the government.” Unfortunately, in 2009, the national government changed the policy regarding buffer zones along the rivers, so the communities are once again facing the threat of forced eviction today. Nevertheless, the people remain committed to continuing their struggle until they attain permanent security of tenure.
Felomina Cinco, president of Nagkakaisang Mamamayan sa Legarda and residing along the stretch of Estero de San Miguel said, “We are still facing eviction despite our persistent presentation of our proposed housing plan. But with the workshop together with other Asian urban poor leaders, we regained hope and were inspired by the experience of struggle of our urban poor friends in Stren Kali who, like us, are determined to carry forth with their fight for the right to carry out upgrading and remain on site.
For her part, Fides Bagasao, LOCOA coordinator said, “This event aims to strengthen the appeal of the Filipino urban poor to the new government to be a defender and promoter of housing rights of the poor, unlike the previous administration which was internationally notorious for its massive and often violent demolitions. We are all united in the goal of improving the quality of life of the poor. We will collectively work to ensure better habitat for today’s and future generations.” -30-
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Running Priest Consecrates Estero People During Mama Mary’s birthday
Press Release
September 8, 2010
Over 200 urban poor people living along esteros joined Fr. Robert Reyes today in Brgy. 412 Legarda St. Estero De San Miguel, Manila for the celebration of Mama Mary’s birthday. The running priest brought with him the Cart of Mary, popularly known as “Kariton ni Maria, Kariton ng Maralita,” which is now in its 11th year. This Cart of Mary is a constant reminder to the poor that they are not alone in times of misery.
Fr. Reyes consecrated estero residents living in Estero de San Sebastian and Estero De San Miguel, asking the Virgin Mary to act on the people’s prayer that the government imposes a three to four month moratorium on demolition and approves their proposed on-site development. Estero people posted their prayers on the cart of Mary using colorful paper.
According to Urban Poor Associates (UPA) studies there are 80,000 families living along the waterways who are in danger of being evicted. These estero residents had sought the help of Palafox Architects to create a housing design, which can be built along esteros without interfering with the rehabilitation of the waterways. Today’s activity the people say will not only strengthen their faith and camaraderie but also their resolve to resist eviction in a non violent way and to press for their housing rights.
Fr. Reyes, a spiritual adviser of UPA, said, “this celebration calls on the government agencies involved in the cleaning of waterways to find the appropriate and sensible solution to a perceived problem.”
“The estero people propose a solution to the government that does not need to throw them in distant places. The people believe that the government can adopt it. I am one with them in calling on the government to listen to them and to consider that their housing proposal could be an answer to the overdue land and housing problem in the country,” he added.
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.
For her part, Felomina Cinco, president of Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Legarda and residing along the stretch of Estero de San Miguel said, “For the past weeks, we were negotiating with different government agencies including the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) but it seems that our housing proposal fell on deaf ears. My prayer to our Virgin Mary is that we will be saved from the looming demolition and that we could live here along the esteros until our old age.”
The group is also anticipating a meeting with Pres. Noynoy Aquino this month to listen to the problems of estero dwellers who are his neighbors outside Malacañang Palace. They hope that P-Noy will support their housing proposal. -30-
Running Priest to Consecrate People on Esteros on Mama Mary’s Birthday
MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact Person: Princess Asuncion
Contact Number: 0908 1967450
Running Priest to Consecrate People on Esteros on Mama Mary’s Birthday
Two hundred people living along Esteros will join the running priest, Fr. Robert Reyes, in Brgy. 412 Legarda St., Estero De San Miguel, Manila, tomorrow September 8 at 11:00 AM, to celebrate Mama Mary’s birthday. They will also celebrate the 11th year of “Kariton ni Maria, Kariton ng Maralita”.
Fr. Reyes will consecrate the poor people living on the esteros as a way of asking the Virgin Mary to send their prayers to the government to stop all demolitions and to approve their proposed on-site development. Residents will also bring out Mary Images to be blessed by the running priest.
Estero resident are proposing an appropriate and sensible solution to a perceived problem.
Photo ops: Estero people will bring the “Kariton ni Maria” and will post their wishes using colorful paper on the cart.
Date: September 8, 2010 (WEDNESDAY)
Time: 11:00 AM
Venue: Brgy. 412 Legarda St. Zone 42, Estero de San Miguel, Manila
Please Cover.
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