MEMBERS of Kadamay picketed on Monday the front gates of the National Housing Authority (NHA) in Quezon City to protest an eviction notice against the occupation of idle housing in Bulacan.
Kadamay said they reject this notice as “another crime” the NHA has committed against the urban poor.
“The only thing the NHA seems to be good at is forcefully and even violently sparking evictions of urban-poor Filipinos wherever they reside. Thousands of our countrymen have gone through the process only to find greater burdens in the government’s socialized-housing system. The occupation is not just about acquiring shelter, but asserting that housing should be genuinely treated as a social service and basic right and not just on paper,” Kadamay Chairman Gloria Arellano said.
The group said adequate housing is universally recognized and enshrined in the 1948 United Nation Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Convention of Social Cultural and Economic Rights. This was also brought up by the National Union of People’s Lawyers.
In March 2016 some lawmakers filed House Resolution 2466, urging Congress to look into the extremely low occupancy rate into the Philippine National Police housing, as well as the “squatter like” conditions. It also sought an inquiry into the P18.6-billion housing program of former President Benigno Aquino.
Last year, Kadamay went through various dialogues with shelter agencies on the lack of housing, the sky-high amortization and the lack of beneficiaries of actual social services. People in off-city relocation sites regularly lament the water costs, among others, on top of the housing costs, while employment/livelihood opportunities and public facilities are scarce. Among these was a talk with NHA and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council officials in September 2016 on the state of social services, including housing in relocation sites.
“We crafted a covenant for free, safe and adequate social services not less than a year ago. However, the agency has not only turned a blind eye to the plight of the poor, but has maintained the same set of problems that worsened the situation over the years. No steps whatsoever were taken to address our concerns. In order for the poor and homeless to survive and hope for a just future, the occupation of idle homes is necessary. Housing is meant for people, idle housing is for ants and dust,” Arellano said.
Arellano also lambasted what it called “the fear-mongering” of the PNP in response to the occupation. On March 19, more than 20 police and SWAT personnel to entered Camarin Residences, a relocation site in Caloocan to supposedly keep tabs on Kadamay and any possible occupation.
“Our members had just finished holding a consultation with the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor on the state of water supply when police and SWAT camped inside the premises. Are housing, water and electricity not vital concerns? The government would rather spread panic and fear among citizens instead of facing their own inadequacies, neo-liberal and anti-poor agenda,” Arellano said.
1 comment
in short, free pabahay as mga hindi marunong magsumikap at tatamad tamad. mga ser mga mam, san po tayo pwede makapagenrol as a professional squatter at jojoin na lang ako sa inyo. mukang maganda ang benefits nio e!