Bishop criticizes evictions of estero dwellers

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo has taken the cudgels for poor families who have been dislocated due to forced evictions and demolitions of their dwellings along Estero de Paco, Estero Tripa de Gallina and Estero de Pandacan in Manila.

"Kahit na mahihirap iyan, kahit na ang kanilang lugar ay hindi dapat tirhan, mga tao iyan. Yung nakalulungkot, mahirap na yung mga tao, pinahihirapan pa,” the Bishop said during a press conference to draw media attention to the poor people’s plight, held at the Arzobispado de Manila on March 23, 2007.

More than 1,000 families living along Esteros covered by at least 15 barangays stretching from United Nations Avenue to Osmena Highway have been affected.

"Kailangan sana ang pamahalaan natin ay sumusunod sa batas. Kasi may batas naman tayo tungkol sa pagtatanggol ng mga tao at ginawa iyna upang igalang yung mga tao sa kanilang karapatang pantao. Dapat sana sa pagtanggal sa kanila, ilikas na may matitirhan pagkatapos,” Bishop Pabillo said.

Setters along these waterways were forcibly evicted by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) starting February 27. With no other place to go, they have been left homeless and have put up makeshift tents on sidewalks along the streets.

"Masyadong ginigipit kami. Walang relocation at walang financial assistance. Tumira kami sa bangketa, pinaalis din kami ng pulis. Hirap na hirap na kami. Sana tulungan kami sa aming pangangailangan, kapirasong lupa,” said 73-year old Virginia de la Torre, one of the evicted residents in Barangay 734.

"None of the 914 families evicted from the waterways were relocated after often violent demolitions. Another 500 families also suffer the same fate. The evictions were illegal since the MMDA failed to comply with guidelines on the conduct of demolitions,” according to Urban Poor Associates (UPA), a non-government organization that helps poor families in eviction cases.

"The law requires that families evicted from government land must be given decent relocation,” said Atty. Bienvenido Salinas II, coordinator of UPA’s legal unit, St. Thomas More Law Center.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued on January 28, a Pastoral Statement on the Nation’s Housing Problem. The bishops called for a stop to uncaring evictions and demolitions and asked that laws be observed in the process of eviction. “We cannot afford to be indifferent and complacent in front of this grave injustice…While Filipinos are getting known all over the world as good construction workers and builders, we are not able to provide houses for our homeless.”

The Philippine government suffers a severe backlog in housing, one of the most difficult social problems that UPA blames on public officials’ insincerity and lack of political will. “Many politicians are only playing on the basic needs of the poor people and cuddle them in pursuit of election victory,” the UPA added.

To survive in cities, poor people end up at garbage mounds, canals, or vacant lots, where they patch together shanties from wood, galvanized iron and other scrap materials. Regarded as eyesores, these communities are constantly being dismantled whenever city governments embark on beautification and other projects. ##