BAYAN-ST
BAGONG ALYANSANG MAKABAYAN-SOUTHERN TAGALOG
c/o 306 Brgy. Maahas, Los Banos, Laguna Tel # (02)4018843
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PRESS RELEASE REFERENCE: Arman Albarillo
January 21, 2008 Secretary General, BAYAN-ST

Southern Tagalog urban poor condemn NHA for displacing, deceiving families

Southern Tagalog urban poor today called on the National Housing Authority (NHA) to stop demolishing homes and deceiving families into the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) which has left thousands of families in the region homeless. The protesters, led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Southern Tagalog (BAYAN-ST) and Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap-Southern Tagalog (KADAMAY-ST), said the NHA serves as the Arroyo government’s main instrument in massive displacements in the Southern Tagalog.

The protesters, mostly living along railroad tracks and other target areas for demolition and in relocation sites such as the Southville Housing Project in Cabuyao, Laguna, said the NHA is only hasty in ensuring that communities are speedily removed without concern whether the displaced families are relocated to decent homes with basic services available.

“Amid the rising cost of oil, basic commodities and services, the urban poor are being pushed deeper into the graveyard of poverty. With the implementation of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), these demolitions are expected to escalate because this will only bring more development projects that disregard the interests of the urban poor,” Arman Albarillo, secretary general of BAYAN-ST, said.

BAYAN-ST and KADAMAY-ST have already held a dialogue with the NHA last November only to be told that the NHA would still continue the demolitions.

Thousands of urban poor in Southern Tagalog will lose their homes due to various so-called development projects under Project CALABARZON such as the Coastal Road II project in Cavite, the international port in Batangas City, and the Southrail Project which runs from San Pedro, Laguna to Quezon. Several projects are already underway, already displacing thousands of families.

Residents of the Southville Housing Project in Cabuyao, Laguna shared their plight at the relocation site. They said there were no water and electricity when they were relocated and their houses were still incomplete. Many of the houses are still incomplete while at least ten families already face eviction because they failed to pay for 3 months the P150 monthly payment under the CMP. Southville is also far from any livelihood and beside a dumpsite which has led to several outbreaks of such as dengue.

The protesters symbolically padlocked the NHA office in Quezon City to show that it is useless in genuinely providing housing to the poor.

“It is clear that the NHA and the Arroyo government has no interest in providing basic services for the urban poor such as housing. Military are even deployed in communities along railroads and other urban poor areas in order to stop the people from airing their concerns and fighting for their democratic rights,” Adel Tolentino, secretary general of KADAMAY-ST, said.###
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