MANILA, Philippines, 09/18/2008 | 01:16 PM — Urban poor groups in Cavite province appealed to the government on Thursday to declare a moratorium on demolitions in view of the economic crisis.
They issued the appeal after two of their leaders were arrested Thursday morning as they tried to prevent a scheduled demolition at Barangay Bitong Dalig, in the town of Kawit.
Wilfredo Bonga, together with Raul Moring of Samahang Nagkakaisa ng Cavite (Sanagca) were arrested as police ordered the dispersal of some 600 residents who marched and formed a barricade around the target area of demolition.
In a statement, Romy Cabugnason, chairman of the Partido ng Manggagawa chapter in Cavite, said police used a water cannon to break the protesters who tried to secure their place against the advancing demolition crew.
“When the crowd resisted using their bodies as shields, policemen accosted and dragged the two leaders and brought them to the nearby Kawit municipal hall. The protesters proceeded to the municipal hall and vowed not to leave the place until their leaders are freed," said Cabugnason.
The protesters are said they were only asking for a moratorium on demolitions while relocation sites are not yet available for families that will be displaced. After dispersing the protesters, the demolition crew proceeded with the demolition, tearing down at least 50 shanties in just an hour, said the statement.
The Alyansa ng Maralitang Pilipino said the government should declare a moratorium on demolitions especially during these times of acute economic crisis which makes life even harsher for the poor.
Tonette Fajanilan of Sanagca chair cried foul on the government’s use of force during the demolition and vowed to pursue their cause not only in the streets but also in courts.
She said that even in cases where valid court orders are issued by the court, demolition cannot be implemented until relocation sites for affected families are already secured. The intent of this ruling is to avoid an abrupt dislocation of urban poor people.
“Kahit kami mahirap, may karapatan pa rin naman kami sa makataong pagtrato. Kung ang mga rebelde ay kinakausap ng gubyerno, bakit kami ay hindi gayung ang tanging kasalanan lang naman namin ay ang maging mahirap (Even if we are so poor, we also have the right to be treated humanely. If the government talks with rebels, why don’t our officials also talk to us when our only fault is to be poor," said Fajanilan.
“Ang kailangan namin ngayon ay tulong, hindi pwersa at dahas (what we need now is help, not force or violence," Fajanilan said.
Threats of demolition is haunting Cavite residents along the coastal lines of Bacoor, Kawit, Noveleta and Cavite City because of the R-1 expressway extension project and the conversion of the Sangley Point into a major port and logistics hub. - GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/121191/Cavite-urban-poor-groups-appeal-for-moratorium-on-demolitions
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
International labor caucus takes critical look at EU-ASEAN FTA
Workers groups from the ASEAN nations met this August 24-27, 2008 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to take as stand and plan campaigns against the proposed EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement. According to the organizers, the regional gathering of trade unions, labor and migrant workers’ groups and movements from various ASEAN countries took a closer and critical look at the EU-ASEAN FTA and its impact on labor.
Judy Ann Miranda, secretary-general of the Partido ng Manggagawa [Labor Party-Philippines] was the only woman among several delegates from the Philippines. Aside from the Philippines, participants came from Indonesia, Thailand and host Malaysia.
“As the political party of the working class in the Philippines, we were very much interested in the regional caucus as a venue to forge a common understanding of the EU-ASEAN FTA and its effects on labor in the region. We expected the caucus to be an arena for labor and migrants’ movements in the region to share strategies in advocacy and campaigns against the EU-ASEAN FTA,” stated Miranda.
The theme of the caucus was “Workers Understanding and Confronting EU-ASEAN FTA and its Impact on Labor.” It is was held in preparation for the Asia-Europe Summit in Beijing, China in October and in the context of the ongoing sectoral, thematic and country campaigns on the EU-ASEAN FTA in the region. The Monitoring Sustainability of Globalization-Malaysia and the EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Campaign Network were some of the organizers of the labor caucus.
The following is the position paper of the Partido ng Manggagawa on the EU-ASEAN FTA:
No to an EU-ASEAN FTA!
Forge International Solidarity against FTA’s!
The Partido ng Manggagawa as the political party of the working class in the Philippines rejects the proposed EU-ASEAN FTA for being a clear and present danger to the workers and the people of our country. An EU-ASEAN FTA will be more of the same “free trade” agreements whose purported aims is trade liberalization but whose real agenda is the pillage and exploitation of ASEAN nations by EU transnational companies. With the recent conclusion of the controversial JPEPA, the bilateral FTA with Japan, the Filipino people can unfortunately declare that “we have been there and done that.”
For the working class, the fact that a final text of the agreement has not been made public cannot be an excuse not to oppose it immediately. On the contrary, it all the more emphasizes the lack of transparency and corporate secrecy that free trade agreements in general have been transacted and negotiated. The EU-ASEAN FTA is no different. It is being crafted behind the backs of the workers and the people in order to blindside them with another “free trade” agreement that will be contrary to their interests.
The insertion of a labor or social clause in the text will not sweeten the bitter, or rather poisonous, nature of the FTA. A provision paying lip service to respect for labor rights is merely a carrot meant to make the pain of the stick somehow bearable for the workers. While an agreement with a token labor or social clause is better than one without, it does not make the FTA any more acceptable. The workers reject not the labor clause but the “free trade” agreement itself.
We have no illusions that an EU-ASEAN FTA will benefit the workers or the people. The EU has made it as clear as day in its vision of a “Global Europe” that “free trade” is a mechanism to pry open the market of other countries for its TNC’s. It is the corporate interests of the imperialist countries at the core of the EU that will be served by a FTA with the ASEAN. The very fact that the EU funded the preparatory work of the “ASEAN-EU Visions Group” speaks volumes about who stands to profit from such an investment.
The creation of bilateral or multilateral agreements became a flanking maneuver by the imperialist countries after the collapse of the Doha Round of the WTO negotiations, first at Cancun in 2003, followed by Geneva in 2006, and then at last month’s meeting at Geneva again. Stymied by the stalemate at the Doha Round, the imperialist countries have shifted to concluding agreements outside of the WTO to push for the TNC’s agenda of further liberalization in manufacturing and agriculture, and opening up new sectors like services and government procurement.
The welfare of the workers and the people will not be served by such agreements meant to advance the agenda of TNC’s. The implementation of liberalization, deregulation and privatization has ruined domestic industry and agriculture with poverty, unemployment and inequality intensifying in its wake. The workers have suffered in direct proportion from the policies of cheap wages, labor flexibilization and union busting that are hallmarks of capitalist competition in the age of globalization.
The rules of the WTO and the provisions of FTA’s work in favor of the TNC’s of the North rather than the people of the South. Labor in particular is a sacrificial lamb for the TNC’s in their quest for greater productivity and flexibility from the cheap labor of Asia to gain comparative advantage in global competition.
Two decades of neoliberal globalization is enough proof and the experience of the EU’s FTA’s with countries like Mexico and Chile bore this out. In the Philippines, the accelerated implementation of liberalization, deregulation and privatization have already allowed the entry of TNC’s like Union Fenoza of Spain, United Utilities Pacific Holdings of UK, and Suez Lyonaisse of France in the water and power sectors. Privatization of the formerly state-owned water and power industries have been disastrous to the consumers with the workers and the people reeling from poor service and escalating costs.
As genuine internationalists, the workers know the benefits of trade based upon the cooperation of independent nations. It is the ruthless competition among TNC’s on the basis of a merciless race to the bottom of wages, labor standards and working conditions that we resist.
There can be no “free trade” under globalization where monopolies, in the form of TNC’s, dominate the world economy. “Free trade” is a myth when the bulk of global trade is in fact internal transactions between TNC’s and their affiliates and subcontractors. In fact “free trade” agreements are not really about trade as they are about freedom for TNC’s to operate, which boils down to their opportunity to plunder the economies of other countries. FTA’s are not so much about breaking down trade barriers among countries as they are about the TNC’s breaking free from labor, environmental, social and state regulations that have been previously established to protect workers, peoples and nations against corporate abuse and excess.
An EU-ASEAN FTA will merely pave the way for the recolonization by the imperialist countries of Europe of its former colonies in South East Asia. The only difference is that this new form of colonization will use commodities and capital as its armaments instead of guns and cannons. The old colonial powers have not even repaid their debts to its erstwhile colonies and now the new imperialist countries are poised to re-conquer the ASEAN market of 530 million people that ranks 6th in EU’s total trade.
The workers and the peoples of the ASEAN countries must now stand in opposition to the proposed EU-ASEAN FTA and in defense of their sovereignty and independence. The workers movement of the ASEAN nations must call upon the labor movement of Europe to link up in solidarity to protect the interests of the working class against the corporate agenda of the TNC’s. It is not an illusory social clause that will safeguard labor rights worldwide but the solidarity of workers struggles and resistance across the countries.
Judy Ann Miranda, secretary-general of the Partido ng Manggagawa [Labor Party-Philippines] was the only woman among several delegates from the Philippines. Aside from the Philippines, participants came from Indonesia, Thailand and host Malaysia.
“As the political party of the working class in the Philippines, we were very much interested in the regional caucus as a venue to forge a common understanding of the EU-ASEAN FTA and its effects on labor in the region. We expected the caucus to be an arena for labor and migrants’ movements in the region to share strategies in advocacy and campaigns against the EU-ASEAN FTA,” stated Miranda.
The theme of the caucus was “Workers Understanding and Confronting EU-ASEAN FTA and its Impact on Labor.” It is was held in preparation for the Asia-Europe Summit in Beijing, China in October and in the context of the ongoing sectoral, thematic and country campaigns on the EU-ASEAN FTA in the region. The Monitoring Sustainability of Globalization-Malaysia and the EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Campaign Network were some of the organizers of the labor caucus.
The following is the position paper of the Partido ng Manggagawa on the EU-ASEAN FTA:
No to an EU-ASEAN FTA!
Forge International Solidarity against FTA’s!
The Partido ng Manggagawa as the political party of the working class in the Philippines rejects the proposed EU-ASEAN FTA for being a clear and present danger to the workers and the people of our country. An EU-ASEAN FTA will be more of the same “free trade” agreements whose purported aims is trade liberalization but whose real agenda is the pillage and exploitation of ASEAN nations by EU transnational companies. With the recent conclusion of the controversial JPEPA, the bilateral FTA with Japan, the Filipino people can unfortunately declare that “we have been there and done that.”
For the working class, the fact that a final text of the agreement has not been made public cannot be an excuse not to oppose it immediately. On the contrary, it all the more emphasizes the lack of transparency and corporate secrecy that free trade agreements in general have been transacted and negotiated. The EU-ASEAN FTA is no different. It is being crafted behind the backs of the workers and the people in order to blindside them with another “free trade” agreement that will be contrary to their interests.
The insertion of a labor or social clause in the text will not sweeten the bitter, or rather poisonous, nature of the FTA. A provision paying lip service to respect for labor rights is merely a carrot meant to make the pain of the stick somehow bearable for the workers. While an agreement with a token labor or social clause is better than one without, it does not make the FTA any more acceptable. The workers reject not the labor clause but the “free trade” agreement itself.
We have no illusions that an EU-ASEAN FTA will benefit the workers or the people. The EU has made it as clear as day in its vision of a “Global Europe” that “free trade” is a mechanism to pry open the market of other countries for its TNC’s. It is the corporate interests of the imperialist countries at the core of the EU that will be served by a FTA with the ASEAN. The very fact that the EU funded the preparatory work of the “ASEAN-EU Visions Group” speaks volumes about who stands to profit from such an investment.
The creation of bilateral or multilateral agreements became a flanking maneuver by the imperialist countries after the collapse of the Doha Round of the WTO negotiations, first at Cancun in 2003, followed by Geneva in 2006, and then at last month’s meeting at Geneva again. Stymied by the stalemate at the Doha Round, the imperialist countries have shifted to concluding agreements outside of the WTO to push for the TNC’s agenda of further liberalization in manufacturing and agriculture, and opening up new sectors like services and government procurement.
The welfare of the workers and the people will not be served by such agreements meant to advance the agenda of TNC’s. The implementation of liberalization, deregulation and privatization has ruined domestic industry and agriculture with poverty, unemployment and inequality intensifying in its wake. The workers have suffered in direct proportion from the policies of cheap wages, labor flexibilization and union busting that are hallmarks of capitalist competition in the age of globalization.
The rules of the WTO and the provisions of FTA’s work in favor of the TNC’s of the North rather than the people of the South. Labor in particular is a sacrificial lamb for the TNC’s in their quest for greater productivity and flexibility from the cheap labor of Asia to gain comparative advantage in global competition.
Two decades of neoliberal globalization is enough proof and the experience of the EU’s FTA’s with countries like Mexico and Chile bore this out. In the Philippines, the accelerated implementation of liberalization, deregulation and privatization have already allowed the entry of TNC’s like Union Fenoza of Spain, United Utilities Pacific Holdings of UK, and Suez Lyonaisse of France in the water and power sectors. Privatization of the formerly state-owned water and power industries have been disastrous to the consumers with the workers and the people reeling from poor service and escalating costs.
As genuine internationalists, the workers know the benefits of trade based upon the cooperation of independent nations. It is the ruthless competition among TNC’s on the basis of a merciless race to the bottom of wages, labor standards and working conditions that we resist.
There can be no “free trade” under globalization where monopolies, in the form of TNC’s, dominate the world economy. “Free trade” is a myth when the bulk of global trade is in fact internal transactions between TNC’s and their affiliates and subcontractors. In fact “free trade” agreements are not really about trade as they are about freedom for TNC’s to operate, which boils down to their opportunity to plunder the economies of other countries. FTA’s are not so much about breaking down trade barriers among countries as they are about the TNC’s breaking free from labor, environmental, social and state regulations that have been previously established to protect workers, peoples and nations against corporate abuse and excess.
An EU-ASEAN FTA will merely pave the way for the recolonization by the imperialist countries of Europe of its former colonies in South East Asia. The only difference is that this new form of colonization will use commodities and capital as its armaments instead of guns and cannons. The old colonial powers have not even repaid their debts to its erstwhile colonies and now the new imperialist countries are poised to re-conquer the ASEAN market of 530 million people that ranks 6th in EU’s total trade.
The workers and the peoples of the ASEAN countries must now stand in opposition to the proposed EU-ASEAN FTA and in defense of their sovereignty and independence. The workers movement of the ASEAN nations must call upon the labor movement of Europe to link up in solidarity to protect the interests of the working class against the corporate agenda of the TNC’s. It is not an illusory social clause that will safeguard labor rights worldwide but the solidarity of workers struggles and resistance across the countries.
‘Die-in’ protest, barricade stop planned demolition in Cavite
PRESS RELEASE
27 August 2008
Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Cavite
Partido ng Manggagawa-Cavite
‘Die-in’ protest, barricade stop planned demolition in Bacoor and Kawit
What was expected to be a violent confrontation between demolition crews and urban poor dwellers in Bacoor and Kawit in the province of Cavite ended up with a commitment from the local government to negotiate.
As early as seven o’clock in the morning yesterday, soldiers and policemen had already positioned themselves at Barangay Longos in Bacoor to secure the place that is targeted to be cleared of squatters. It was the second day that soldiers were stationed there prompting the residents to assume that demolition would be carried out for the construction of the R-1 or the coastal road extension project. Some 1,000urban poor families from Bacoor and Kawit are bound to lose their homes to the project while fishermen are also set to lose their source of livelihood.
In anticipation, residents took to the streets to block the planned demolition. Some 500 people marched from Kawit to the coastal road in Bacoor to join hundreds of other protesters in Barangay Longos. Together they held a ‘mass die-in’ protest and set up a barricade along the coastal road in Bacoor. The protesters under the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Cavite (Sanagca), Partido ng Manggagawa and the newly formed Balikatan sa Komunidad (BsK) called for a moratorium on demolitions in the province.
Bacoor Mayor Strike Revilla, who rushed to the scene, spoke before the protesters them that he will help them negotiate with the national and provincial governments regarding their concerns. The R-1 project is a joint project of the national and provincial governments.
Cavite Governor Ayong Maliksi who was supposed to oversee the demolition talked with leaders of the groups and assured them also that the provincial government is willing to sit down with them. Governor Maliksi declared that he would try to negotiate with the national government for the people’s demand for source of livelihood.
However residents are still wary given the presence of soldiers and policemen in the area since they fear that anytime of the day surprise demolition can still be carried out by the national and provincial government. ###
27 August 2008
Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Cavite
Partido ng Manggagawa-Cavite
‘Die-in’ protest, barricade stop planned demolition in Bacoor and Kawit
What was expected to be a violent confrontation between demolition crews and urban poor dwellers in Bacoor and Kawit in the province of Cavite ended up with a commitment from the local government to negotiate.
As early as seven o’clock in the morning yesterday, soldiers and policemen had already positioned themselves at Barangay Longos in Bacoor to secure the place that is targeted to be cleared of squatters. It was the second day that soldiers were stationed there prompting the residents to assume that demolition would be carried out for the construction of the R-1 or the coastal road extension project. Some 1,000urban poor families from Bacoor and Kawit are bound to lose their homes to the project while fishermen are also set to lose their source of livelihood.
In anticipation, residents took to the streets to block the planned demolition. Some 500 people marched from Kawit to the coastal road in Bacoor to join hundreds of other protesters in Barangay Longos. Together they held a ‘mass die-in’ protest and set up a barricade along the coastal road in Bacoor. The protesters under the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Cavite (Sanagca), Partido ng Manggagawa and the newly formed Balikatan sa Komunidad (BsK) called for a moratorium on demolitions in the province.
Bacoor Mayor Strike Revilla, who rushed to the scene, spoke before the protesters them that he will help them negotiate with the national and provincial governments regarding their concerns. The R-1 project is a joint project of the national and provincial governments.
Cavite Governor Ayong Maliksi who was supposed to oversee the demolition talked with leaders of the groups and assured them also that the provincial government is willing to sit down with them. Governor Maliksi declared that he would try to negotiate with the national government for the people’s demand for source of livelihood.
However residents are still wary given the presence of soldiers and policemen in the area since they fear that anytime of the day surprise demolition can still be carried out by the national and provincial government. ###
GMANews.TV: Cavite poor cries foul over demolition of fish pens in Manila Bay
Cavite poor cries foul over demolition of fish pens in Manila Bay
08/27/2008 | 08:47 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Urban poor residents along the coastal towns of Cavite province have threatened to hold protest actions against the demolition of fish pens and cages in Manila Bay by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
In a statement, the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Cavite (Sanagca) said small fishermen in Bacoor, Kawit, Noveleta and Cavite City are bound to lose their livelihood with the ongoing cleaning up of the bayside by the DENR and the provincial government.
It also said that thousands of residents, particularly in Longos village in Bacoor, will also lose their homes if the DENR operation continues.
“We call on the national government to declare a ‘ceasefire’ on all demolitions in the country in general and in Cavite province in particular while the nation is in the midst of an acute economic crisis and the government cannot even provide food and shelter to millions of its people,” the group said.
Sanagca chairperson Tonette Fajanilan said the protests will be in the form of marches and human barricades.
“During these times of crisis it would be very inhuman for government to deny hungry people not only their food but also their shelter,” Fajanilan said.
The DENR and the Cavite provincial government started Wednesday morning to dismantle illegal fish pens and cages dotting the Cavite side of Manila Bay.
Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, who witnessed the start of the clearing operation, said this is in part of the government’s effort to rehabilitate the 1,800-square-kilometer bay. - GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/116485/Cavite-poor-cries-foul-over-demolition-of-fish-pens-in-Manila-Bay
08/27/2008 | 08:47 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Urban poor residents along the coastal towns of Cavite province have threatened to hold protest actions against the demolition of fish pens and cages in Manila Bay by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
In a statement, the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Cavite (Sanagca) said small fishermen in Bacoor, Kawit, Noveleta and Cavite City are bound to lose their livelihood with the ongoing cleaning up of the bayside by the DENR and the provincial government.
It also said that thousands of residents, particularly in Longos village in Bacoor, will also lose their homes if the DENR operation continues.
“We call on the national government to declare a ‘ceasefire’ on all demolitions in the country in general and in Cavite province in particular while the nation is in the midst of an acute economic crisis and the government cannot even provide food and shelter to millions of its people,” the group said.
Sanagca chairperson Tonette Fajanilan said the protests will be in the form of marches and human barricades.
“During these times of crisis it would be very inhuman for government to deny hungry people not only their food but also their shelter,” Fajanilan said.
The DENR and the Cavite provincial government started Wednesday morning to dismantle illegal fish pens and cages dotting the Cavite side of Manila Bay.
Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, who witnessed the start of the clearing operation, said this is in part of the government’s effort to rehabilitate the 1,800-square-kilometer bay. - GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/116485/Cavite-poor-cries-foul-over-demolition-of-fish-pens-in-Manila-Bay
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Caviteños in coastal areas call for “ceasefire” on demolitions
PRESS RELEASE
26 August 2008
Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Cavite
Partido ng Manggagawa-Cavite
Caviteños in coastal areas call for “ceasefire” on demolitions
Facing demolition crews backed by personnel of the Philippine Navy, urban poor residents along coastal towns of Cavite held “die-in protests” and marches. They also set up human barricades calling for a “ceasefire” of planned demolitions in the province.
Thousands of residents in Bacoor, Kawit, Noveleta and Cavite City are bound to lose their homes to the construction of the R-1 or the coastal road extension project. Small fishermen in the area may also lose their livelihood with the consequent cleaning up of the bayside by the DENR and the provincial government.
In Longos Bacoor, as early as eight this morning, local residents under the Balikatan sa Komunidad (BsK) held a die-in protest and formed a human barricade along the coastal road to convey their message for a stop the planned demolitions. In Cavite City, hundreds of residents and fishermen from Canacao Bay gathered at Samonte Park and marched toward the Cavite City hall also demanding for a moratorium on demolitions in the province. They brought with them a casket symbolizing the "death" of their livelihood with the demolition of their houses, baklads and tulos.
“We call on the national government to declare a ‘ceasefire’ on all demolitions in the country in general and in Cavite province in particular while the nation is in the midst of an acute economic crisis and the government cannot even provide food and shelter to millions of its people,” declared the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Cavite (Sanagca).
According to Sanagca chairperson Tonette Fajanilan, some 1,000 families are going to lose homes and livelihood in Barangay Longos in Bacoor while thousands more face the same fate when clearing operations along the coastal road start today for the R-1 project. And these residents have nowhere to go because they were not provided a relocation package that can accommodate them all.
“During these times of crisis it would be very inhuman for government to deny hungry people not only their food but also their shelter,” said Fajanilan who compares their future situation to the bakwets or thousands of people who were displaced by the ongoing war in Mindanao.
Romy Cabugnason, provincial chair of the Partido ng Manggagawa who also joined the protest, blamed both the national and provincial government for pursuing the path of an ‘all-out war’ on the urban poor rather than by negotiations.
“Why can’t the government renounce the use of force and violence in dealing with the urban poor? Does the government want the poor to take up arms like the MILF before it negotiates with them on the demand for humane relocation?” lamented Cabugnason.
Cabugnason said their group is not against development, as they believed that it is only through social progress that the poor can be lifted out of poverty.
“But the government has to make sure that social progress brings social justice to communities. That after being evicted from so-called “danger zones” they are not relocated to ‘death zones’ without services and livelihood; that the poor are provided better communities to live than from where they are now; that development redound to people and not just to business,” Cabugnason concluded. ###
26 August 2008
Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Cavite
Partido ng Manggagawa-Cavite
Caviteños in coastal areas call for “ceasefire” on demolitions
Facing demolition crews backed by personnel of the Philippine Navy, urban poor residents along coastal towns of Cavite held “die-in protests” and marches. They also set up human barricades calling for a “ceasefire” of planned demolitions in the province.
Thousands of residents in Bacoor, Kawit, Noveleta and Cavite City are bound to lose their homes to the construction of the R-1 or the coastal road extension project. Small fishermen in the area may also lose their livelihood with the consequent cleaning up of the bayside by the DENR and the provincial government.
In Longos Bacoor, as early as eight this morning, local residents under the Balikatan sa Komunidad (BsK) held a die-in protest and formed a human barricade along the coastal road to convey their message for a stop the planned demolitions. In Cavite City, hundreds of residents and fishermen from Canacao Bay gathered at Samonte Park and marched toward the Cavite City hall also demanding for a moratorium on demolitions in the province. They brought with them a casket symbolizing the "death" of their livelihood with the demolition of their houses, baklads and tulos.
“We call on the national government to declare a ‘ceasefire’ on all demolitions in the country in general and in Cavite province in particular while the nation is in the midst of an acute economic crisis and the government cannot even provide food and shelter to millions of its people,” declared the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Maralita ng Cavite (Sanagca).
According to Sanagca chairperson Tonette Fajanilan, some 1,000 families are going to lose homes and livelihood in Barangay Longos in Bacoor while thousands more face the same fate when clearing operations along the coastal road start today for the R-1 project. And these residents have nowhere to go because they were not provided a relocation package that can accommodate them all.
“During these times of crisis it would be very inhuman for government to deny hungry people not only their food but also their shelter,” said Fajanilan who compares their future situation to the bakwets or thousands of people who were displaced by the ongoing war in Mindanao.
Romy Cabugnason, provincial chair of the Partido ng Manggagawa who also joined the protest, blamed both the national and provincial government for pursuing the path of an ‘all-out war’ on the urban poor rather than by negotiations.
“Why can’t the government renounce the use of force and violence in dealing with the urban poor? Does the government want the poor to take up arms like the MILF before it negotiates with them on the demand for humane relocation?” lamented Cabugnason.
Cabugnason said their group is not against development, as they believed that it is only through social progress that the poor can be lifted out of poverty.
“But the government has to make sure that social progress brings social justice to communities. That after being evicted from so-called “danger zones” they are not relocated to ‘death zones’ without services and livelihood; that the poor are provided better communities to live than from where they are now; that development redound to people and not just to business,” Cabugnason concluded. ###
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