Tucuma residents welcome suspension of demolitions but wants moratorium extended till housing program reformed

Press Release

April 28, 2012

Tucuma Federation

The residents of the depressed community of Tucuma in Barangay Merville, Parañaque who have been preparing to fight off an eviction heaved a sigh of relief and welcomed the temporary suspension of demolitions ordered by DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo hours after they held a rally and sought a dialogue with his office yesterday.

“We however call on Sec. Robredo to extend the moratorium till the housing and even jobs policy of the government is reviewed and reformed,” Ramil Asturias, Tucuma Federation president said. This was in reaction to reports that the suspension will only last until the regulations on demolitions are assessed and affirmed.

Leaders of Tucuma Federation together with residents of NIA compound in Quezon City and West Bicutan who face similar land disputes staged the rally and were met with a DILG official named Clarion Paz-Tanghal who received the letter on behalf of Sec. Robredo. Asturias appealed to Robredo to facilitate negotiations between Tucuma Federation, the landowner Molave Development Corporation and Parañaque  Mayor Florencio Bernabe.

Renato Magtubo, Partido ng Manggagawa chairperson, supported Asturias’ position and said that “Suspending demolitions until new rules are drafted merely scratches the surface of the problem. The government needs to address the root cause of lack of housing for the poor. The housing program is tied up with the jobs and wages policy. The low wages in the country, as attested by a recent report of the ILO, means that the poor have barely enough income for food much less rent or amortization on housing.”

Magtubo announced that a long march or Lakbayan from Calabarzon to Manila will be held on the eve of Labor Day and banner the call “Stop to demolitions, Housing and jobs for all.” Some 400 workers, youth and poor from Cavite, Laguna and Batangas will march from Zapote early in the morning of April 30 then merge with a contingent from Metro Manila by 3:00 p.m. in Baclaran and stay overnight at the Holy Trinity Church in Balic-Balic. On May 1, the “Lakbayan para sa Pabahay at Trabaho” will join the huge 20,000-strong “historic” rally by the newly-formed Nagkaisa, which unites the country’s major labor center for the first time since the 1980’s.

Magtubo revealed that the number of informal settlers was estimated at half a million families by a HUDCC study in 2007 while the housing backlog is assumed to be 3.7 million units. “Tucuma’s fight is the fight of all. Decent housing is a right not a privilege of all Filipinos. Violent evictions must be prohibited. Land disputes must be resolved through negotiations without the threat of violence, deceit or bribery. Residents must be relocated to better living conditions to ensure that negotiations end peacefully in agreement,” he insisted.

Parañaque residents vow to defend community as Mayor says demolition to proceed today

Press Release

April 26, 2012

Tucuma Federation

Residents of a Parañaque community vowed to defend their homes as City Mayor Florencio “Jun” Bernabe declared that the scheduled demolition today will proceed. The possibility of another violent eviction follows the bloody demolition at Silverio compound last Monday in which one resident was killed and scores were arrested. Ramil Asturias, president of the Tucuma Federation, said that “We have lived peacefully here for years but will resist any attempt to forcible evict us from our homes.”

The Tucuma Federation represents some 1,000 families living in the depressed community of Tucuma in Barangay Merville. A hundred Tucuma Federation members rallied at the Parañaque City Hall yesterday in a last-minute appeal but Mayor Bernabe snubbed the call for a dialogue. In news reports, Mayor Bernabe averred that he cannot do anything as it is a court-ordered demolition. After the Tucuma members returned home from the city hall rally, they began preparations for defending their homes against demolition.

“Mayor Bernabe’s character is revealed by his double standard. He says that his hands are tied by the court order for a demolition yet he refuses lift a finger to enforce a city ordinance mandating the expropriation of the disputed land. It is in Mayor Bernabe’s power to set aside the demolition as the affected residents are also the beneficiaries of the expropriation ordinance,” Asturias explained.

The Tucuma Federation is demanding the implementation of City Ordinance 0013 s. 2000 expropriating the disputed land and asking that Mayor Bernabe refile the expropriation case on the property owner. The Molave Development Corp. headed by a certain Cynthia Tinitigan is claiming ownership of the disputed land which is less than one hectare big.

The Tucuma Federation expressed solidarity with the Silverio residents, condemned the deadly force used on Monday’s demolition and demands a moratorium on demolitions. “Heads must roll for the death of one resident from police gunfire and the brutality accompanying the arrest of scores protesters,” asserted Ramil Cangayao, spokesperson of the Alyansa ng Maralitang Pilipino (AMP). The Tucuma Federation is an affiliate of the AMP which is an alliance of urban poor associations in Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon.

Meanwhile Renato Magtubo, Partido ng Manggagawa national chair, asserted that “Violent evictions must be prohibited. Land disputes must be resolved through negotiations without the threat of violence, deceit or bribery. Residents must be relocated to better living conditions to ensure that negotiations end peacefully in agreement.” Magtubo explained that one of the demands of the coming Labor Day rally is a moratorium on demolitions.

Parañaque residents rally against demolition

Press Release

April 25, 2012

Tucuma Federation

More than 100 residents of a community in Parañaque staged a rally at the city hall this morning to call for a stop to the scheduled demolition of their homes tomorrow. In the face of the violent eviction at the Silverio compound last Monday, another demolition has been scheduled tomorrow at the Tucuma community at Barangay Merville in Parañaque.

Ramil Asturias, president of the Tucuma Federation has vowed that “We will defend our community where some 1,000 urban poor families reside. It is in the hands of Mayor Florencio ‘Jun’ Bernabe whether a peaceful resolution of the land dispute or another violent confrontation occurs at Tucuma.”

Aside from a stop to the scheduled demolition, the Tucuma Federation also called for the implementation of City Ordinance 0013 s. 2000 expropriating the disputed land and asked that Mayor Bernabe refile the expropriation case on the property owner. The Molave Development Corp. headed by a certain Cynthia Tinitigan is claiming ownership of the disputed land which is less than one hectare big.

“We ask that Mayor Bernabe make a political decision to set aside the demolition order since the affected residents are also the beneficiaries of the expropriation ordinance that has long remained unenforced,” Asturias explained.

The Tucuma Federation likewise condemned the deadly force used on Silverio residents and demands a moratorium on demolitions. “Heads must roll for the death of one resident from police gunfire and the brutality accompanying the arrest of scores protesters,” said Ramil Cangayao, spokesperson of the Alyansa ng Maralitang Pilipino (AMP). The Tucuma Federation is an affiliate of the AMP which is an alliance of urban poor associations in Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon.

Meanwhile Renato Magtubo, Partido ng Manggagawa national chair, asserted that “Violent evictions must be prohibited. Land disputes must be resolved through negotiations without the threat of violence, deceit or bribery. Residents must be relocated to better living conditions to ensure that negotiations end peacefully in agreement.”

Magtubo explained that one of the demands of the coming Labor Day rally is a moratorium on demolitions. Some 20,000 workers and urban poor under the umbrella of the newly-formed Nagkaisa will march along Espana to Mendiola to highlight the issues of job contractualization, low wages, high prices of oil and power and violent demolitions, among others. Some 40 labor organizations established the Nagkaisa, among them the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Federation of Free Workers, Alliance of Progressive Labor and PM.