“Mabuti pa ang patay may bahay, ang mga buhay walang matawag na sariling tahanan.”
[“The dead are better off than the living poor who do not have homes.”]
This was the sentiment raised by urban poor groups, Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) and Balikwas Kadamay, in time for the upcoming observance of All Saints Day.
“The irony of the coming Undas was not lost on the campers. Millions will flock to cemeteries to visit their departed loved ones in their ‘homes’ yet her stand the people of Floodway, newly homeless,” says Gloria Arellano, Kadamay National Chairperson.
Hundreds of demolished residents of Floodway East Bank Road, Brgy. Sta. Lucia in Pasig City who are on the fourth day of their “Homeless Camp” at the doorstep of Malacañang Palace in Mendiola lit candles during a protest rally today as they mourn the death of the mass housing system in the country.
According to Arellano, “The Duterte government must stop adding to the housing backlog. Demolitions are being utilized to extract profit from the poor and their miseries. Joint ventures of private firms and the government are being constructed on lands where urban poor are living and those relocated on far flung and inhabitable relocation sites are being collected with full cost for substandard housing units.”
Duterte accountability
Kadamay and Balikwas Kadamay also held President Duterte accountable for the current state of homelessness in the country. They pointed out previous pronouncements and promises of Duterte that there would no demolition if no habitable and acceptable relocation would be given to the poor.
Early this year, 24,000 homeless poor from Bulacan and Metro Manila launched an occupation of around 5,000 idle housing units in seven government socialized housing sites in Pandi, Bulacan. The occupation of various relocation sites lasted from March to April. The National Housing Authority and local authorities threatened to implement a forcible removal of the occupants, but Duterte relented and approved to allow the housing units to be awarded to those who need homes. The homes were originally allotted to low-income police and soldiers, but many did not occupy units they have availed complaining of the distance, scarce space and substandard make of the homes. Most of these units had been idle for three years and above.
Duterte did not miss to rebuke the poor, however, when he changed his tone in July and threatened those who would repeat what Kadamay did.
“Nagwa-warning ako sa inyo,” he added. “Kung ulitin ninyo ‘yan at pipilitin niyong papasok, ang order ko talaga, paalisin kayo sa pwersa. Either batutahin kayo o ‘pag lumaban kayo, ipagbabaril ko kayo. Huwag ninyong gamitin ‘yang pagka-pobre ninyo to create chaos.”
[I’m warning you all. If you do it again and force your way in, my order will really be to have you removed by force. Either you will clubbed or, if you fight back, I will have you shot. Do not use your being poor to create chaos.]
Failure to deliver housing services
“The demolition in Floodway, Pasig is a clear manifestation on how Duterte failed to realize his promises. This is the single biggest demolition case in recent memory that has left thousands homeless,” says Virginia Sincero, spokesperson of Balikwas Kadamay.
Sincero added, “Out of the thousands of demolished residents, only some were offered a mere P20,000 financial assistance and relocation to far flung areas with no services, facilities or livelihood available to them. It is a sentence that will only worsen their poverty and push the anti-poverty agenda of the Pasig City government.”
Danger zone?
The groups further slam the “danger zone” tag on their community, which was used as justification for the demolition.
Arellano said, “If poor people lives in a particular area, the government can easily tag it as a danger zone. Then when big businesses have projects on such areas, it will become a safe zone.”
The group insisted that the danger zone label comes from the Urban Development and Housing Act and not from independent scientific evaluations.
According to Sincero, “In any case, a community in an actual danger zone should be serviced and not torn down.”
“Homeless Camp”
Members of Balikwas Kadamay said that they would maintain their “Homeless Camp” in Mendiola indefinitely. The group already demanded an action from the president whom they say has been deaf and blind to the ills that befell them these past months.
Pasig City Mayor Eusebio pushed through with the demolition on October 18 to 20 despite a scheduled dialogue on November 8 with the residents and various national government agencies that was supposed to negotiate the awarding of the land and ensure the welfare of the residents.
Sincero stressed out, “We have nowhere else to go and we’re left with no choice in our struggle but to claim justice for what befell us.”
“Our camp continues to grow and we will persevere as it is the necessary thing to do. We call on the Palace to award Floodway land to us and stop demolitions across the country,” Sincero ended.
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