 |
|---|
No Vacancies: The Occupants of Pandi
by Bingbong Austria
The housing units of Pandi, Bulacan used to be vacant. Initially meant to shelter the urban poor displaced by fires and demolitions, the houses were left for years to gather dust and cobwebs.
But the dirt streets of what was once a ghost town bustled with activity on March 18. Under the blazing March heat, armed with umbrellas, cardboard signs, and indignant rage, members of Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), MAKABAYAN bloc, National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) and other national democratic mass organizations rallied to voice out their frustrations against a president accused of reneging on his promises.
Among the protest organizers was 21 year-old Jeff, who also leads the youth sector of Kadamay in Bulacan. Aside from giving the poor an avenue to be heard, Jeff said that Kadamay holds educational discussions to inform them of their basic rights. They invite and engage with mothers and families from urban poor communities.
Jeff, 21, leads the youth sector of Kadamay and helps organize mass educational discussions for urban poor communities.
“Kalakhan kasi sa Bulacan, wala talagang permanenteng bahay. Kung gaano karami sila, ganoon din karami yung tao na nangangailangan talaga ng tirahan,” he said.
The housing problem, Jeff said, spans a large area of Bulacan, with around 4,000 government-built residential units in Bocaue, Guiguinto, and Marilao still unoccupied. Instead of leaving the houses to rot, more than 10,000 Kadamay members, some hailing from as far as Navotas and Caloocan, asserted their right to free housing.
According to Jeff, there is a lack of information and awareness initiatives on the government’s part as well.
“Dapat pinapaalam din ng gobyerno na pakinabangan dapat talaga ito ng mga tao, hindi lang naman iisang lugar lang yung nasunugan. Marami rin naman po,” he said.
Data from the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), as of mid-2016, indicated that there is a housing backlog of 1.4 to 1.5 million. However, 52,341 houses across the country meant for members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) are left empty, according to the National Housing Authority (NHA).
“Kung tatanungin niyo yung mga tao doon, ayaw tirhan ng mga PNP yan kasi maliit, malayo sa Manila, tsaka paiba iba sila ng destino,” Jeff said.
Some of the empty units were also being leased at a rate of 3,000 pesos per month.
“Dapat nanghihinayang sila sa perang pinanggamit nila doon kasi nabubulok lang imbes na pakinabangan ng tao. Pero bakit, ganoon, hinaharangan nila? Ginagawa na lang nilang bentahan,” he said. Despite the rent charged, Jeff added that the houses were quite small - barely enough to fit one family inside.
According to Anakpawis, the root of the housing problem is Republic Act No. 7279, or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (UDHA).
Under the UDHA, resettlement areas shall be provided access to potable water, electricity, sewerage facilities, and transportation. The socialized housing projects should also ideally be situated near areas with livelihood opportunities. However, the houses of Pandi and nearby areas in Bulacan have none of these. During the day, the people have to trudge in the scorching heat, carrying pails of water back to their houses. As the sun sets, they light their candles and move in the dark, hoping the flickering flames can withstand the chilly breeze throughout the night .
A woman pushes her cart of street food and palamig, hoping to make a living in the streets of Pandi.
Claire, another youth leader from Kadamay, said they have exhausted all channels of communication with the local and national government, to no avail.
“Dumating kasi sa punto na lahat ng legal process, ginawa na. Kinausap yung NHA, DILG, mga COA, pati mga local government, tsaka si Duterte na mismo, ilang beses nang kinausap yan pero ayaw kaming pakinggan kasi mas inuna niya yung dumating na ambassador sa Malacanang,” she said.
“Nag-ano kami kay Leni, sabi niya, talagang pumayag na yung general ng AFP na tirahan na yung bakante ng mga pulis,” Claire said.
But before any formal arrangements could be made, the Vice President stepped down from her post as housing head, and the members of Kadamay were back at square one. Leoncio Evasco Jr., who replaced Robredo as HUDCC head, was unresponsive. Weathered by the problems they faced, Kadamay’s numbers dwindled from 13,000 down to 10,000.
Claire said the government makes dialogue difficult because the housing projects cost a lot of money. “Kabawasan yun sa kayamanan nila eh. Kasi kung sa amortisasyon ang pagbabatayan sa binabayaran, ang mahal mahal ng amortisasyon na inaano nila sa mga pabahay.”
Congressman Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers’ Partylist said the people’s collective action exposed Duterte’s pronouncements about progress and change are nothing but empty promises.
“Kitang kita niyo na po kung anong ibig sabihin ng pribatisasyon, dito sa mga government housing, pinagkakakitaan ng mga corrupt na opisyal at ng mga pribadong developer, tapos ilang taon pang pinanatiling nakatiwangwang at bakante samantalang daan-daang libong maralita lalo na sa buong Pilipinas ay nananatiling walang pabahay,” he said.
The only change Duterte has brought to the urban poor is worsened fascism, Tinio added.
 |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
“Ang okupasyong ito ay palatandaan na kailangang kumilos ng taumbayan para maipatupad ang sinasabi nating nasa kilusang masa ang tunay na pagbabago at hindi sa gobyerno.” said Ka Tonying of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).
An eviction notice from Malacanang came last Monday, which meant that they must leave the units seven days after, or they will be forced to. However, just last Friday, Housing secretary Leoncio Evasco reversed the order, saying that the government will be providing housing projects for them instead.
While national labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) applauded the collective struggle and assertion of the urban poor which pressured the administration to act on their demands, they continue to call on the people to "remain vigilant and defend their justly claimed homes" as it may just be "another rhetoric to pacify the growing outrage" against the Duterte administration.
*Credits to Rappler and Inquirer.net for the clips of Duterte's inaugural speech and footage of Duterte's supporters at the Quirino Grandstand, respectively.