On demolition and our poor
"When we demolish urban poor homes without providing them adequate relocation, we not only destroy structures but we destroy families; we destroy lives, their jobs, and their children's future."
Alvin Dizon posted this in his FB recently.
He went on to explain further – "We have to take care of the weak. Social justice is about giving preferential treatment for the poor which compels us to think first of the needs of those who are most vulnerable. No less than the Philippine Constitution under Article XIII on Social Justice and Human Rights Section 10 provides that "Urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwellings demolished, except in accordance with law and in a just and humane manner. No resettlement of urban and rural dwellers shall be undertaken without adequate consultation with them and the communities where they are to be relocated."
Even before he was councilor, Alvin has always worked for and with Cebu City's urban poor. Even when he was still a student, he had committed to serve the poor. This proposed ordinance to stop demolitions is not an election gimmick, not a vote-getting show. We first met Alvin out in the poor communities, decades back. His resolution to stop demolition of urban poor homes comes from his decades of service and commitment to our city's poor. This write-up is also not an endorsement of any candidate. Today's article intends to clarify the proposed ordinance so that the public will understand the urgency to protect the poor, especially the families and the children whose homes will be demolished.
The "Proposed Ordinance aims to declare a moratorium on eviction and demolition of the dwelling of urban poor families in public lands within the City of Cebu for a period of one year." The moratorium is intended to give the city government time to identify, secure, acquire and prepare adequate relocation for the informal settler families"
According to Alvin, in a communication he shared, "since being elected as city councilor in 2010, I have repeatedly and consistently advocated, pushed and fought for the respect, promotion and protection of urban poor rights. I remain firm in my conviction that the city government must continue to sincerely serve and prioritize the urban poor not because they comprise more than 60 percent of our population but because they are those who need our services the most.
Last year, the Cebu City Government initiated two major demolitions of urban poor dwellings in Ma. Cristina Extension Street in Barangay Capitol and Doña Pepang Cemetery in Barangay Tejero. The demolition were conducted despite the lack of proper relocation site, for the affected urban poor families. Furthermore, the requirements provided under Section 28 of Republic Act 7279 were also disregarded which is a clear blatant violation of urban poor rights."
Alvin clarifies, "First, the moratorium is intended to give the city government time to identify, secure, acquire and prepare adequate relocation for the informal settler families. This is not to curtail the LGU's power to demolish but rather, the temporary prohibition is intended to strengthen the capacity of the LGU to demolish. When the LGU has a ready and adequate relocation, it will be much easier to relocate families since there are sites which they can immediately transfer to. During the one year ban, the ordinance proposes the following measures which the city government must undertake:
a) Construct four medium rise buildings in the Lorega socialized housing site. two buildings care off NHA loan, two buildings care off city funds. Is this possible? Yes. NHA already granted the loan. The city is mandated to allocate at least 100 million per year for socialized housing or use the contributions from balanced housing compliance. Thus, fund allocation will not be a problem. There are existing building plans and cost estimates which can be used to fast track the preparation of plans. Also, building a four-storey building will not take a year especially if the city will use pre-fabricated concrete.
b) Purchase at least three lots to serve as resettlement sites. The LHB already identified priorities for lot acquisition as early as 2013. The guidelines are already provided under CO 2383. Also, there are existing funds for lot acquisition since 2012 which has not been fully used. The city can buy more lots when needed. The ordinance only requires that at least three lots be purchased within the one-year moratorium.
c) To prevent new illegal settlers or professional squatters, DWUP and the barangays will conduct survey and tagging of all households within the covered area. The city government can coordinate with NHA or PCUP to use their methodology for survey and tagging." (To be continued)
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