http://www.mb.com.ph/node/266200/aquino-urged-
Members of the Task Force Anti-Eviction asked on Saturday the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to help stop illegal evictions by urging President Aquino to put a halt to demolitions.
“Through our peaceful assembly, we are sending a message to the Bishops that they must help the poor push the President to immediately order a halt to demolitions until the government prepares housing solutions including acceptable relocation,” said Urban Poor Associates Deputy Coordinator Teodoro Añana.
“We are in a new phase of governance, we likewise want to retain the good image of the new administration and the Church can help by reminding government of its obligation to follow the provisions of law in matters of demolition,” he added.
The group rallied on Saturday outside the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Paco, Manila, where the 101st Plenary Assembly of the CBCP is currently being held.
In a letter to CBCP president Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar, the group informed the prelates that the old practices of illegal forced evictions, demolitions without relocation and other injustices have started up again.
"Within a day of the President’s inaugural speech, the practices resumed as if nothing had changed,” read the letter.
Evelia Balili, Secretary of Samahang Magkakapitbahay sa Pechayan (SAMASAPE) of North Fairview near Tullahan bridge, confirmed that their 197 members were threatened with demolition a day after the President’s inauguration.
She said that 20 house owners were offered P8,000.00 and asked to sign a waiver that will take away the residents’ right to relocation.
The Task Force Anti-Eviction expressed fear that without the Church intervention, evictions will grow in number and poor people will be left homeless again on the streets.
“This is the right time for the Church to urge the new government to create a government-church-civil society commission that will provide guidelines for the further development of our cities so that the urban poor will have a decent place to live in. In the 1997 Pastoral Statement, the Church stated that the chairperson of this body should be acceptable to the government, the Church, the poor people affected, and the NGOs,” said the group.
It would be recalled that the CBCP issued three pastoral statements about the nation’s housing problems in 1997, 2007, and 2009.
This developed as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Saturday it would ask the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to clear the roads of illegal vendors as part of its efforts to improve road safety standards in the country.
Setting the agenda of the DPWH under his helm, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said he would “ask the DILG to strictly enforce the road increments and the Road Right of Way (RROW) along national roads” as a result of recent road accidents.
Part of its request is to remove “the stores at the end of the roads who occupy easements because they are prone to accidents.”
A vehicular accident involving a container van caught his attention when it avoided the stalls of several vendors along a road bend. “These incidents could have not happened with the proper enforcement (of road safety).”
The DPWH official said the failure of DILG and local government units (LGUs) to clear these road obstructions, then they would have no recourse but to do the job themselves.
At the same time, some P5 billion from the Motor Vehicle Users Charge (MVUC) would be spent by the agency to ensure road safety following the series of road mishaps in Cebu province.
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