Rody lets Kadamay keep Bulacan housing units

MANILA, Philippines - They are poor and they can have the state-built houses they illegally occupied.

President Duterte yesterday allowed members of an urban poor group to keep houses meant for policemen and soldiers in Bulacan.

The President, saying he wanted to avert violent confrontation, urged the legitimate beneficiaries to let go of the housing units seized by the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay).

Duterte vowed to provide more comfortable and spacious housing units to the uniformed personnel, as he asked them to understand the behavior of those who occupied their houses.

“I will look into the matter seriously and I will ask you soldiers and the policemen, let go of those houses. Just give it to them. They are just poor,” Duterte said during the Army’s 120th anniversary in Fort Bonifacio.

“But I promise you, I will look for another land nearby or adjacent or maybe contiguous to that area there and I will build better houses. They will have access to water and electricity by the time you occupy them,” he added.  

Duterte said he does not want to force the issue “because it would somehow result in clashes and to think our sin is just being poor.”

Members of Kadamay forcibly occupied close to 6,000 housing units in Bulacan last month as they complained about the supposed failure of the government to provide the poor decent houses.

The militant urban poor group justified the move by saying the houses, which were intended for policemen and soldiers, were unoccupied.

Duterte appeared to console the beneficiaries who lost their houses, saying the housing units were not well built and do not have electricity and water anyway.

“There are many dynamics there. There is no water and they are not well built. Those were not during my time but I have asked the National Housing Authority (NHA) to look for a suitable land and I will replace them in equal numbers,” he said.

Duterte appealed to the soldiers and policemen not to bother the Kadamay members who occupied their units.

“Do not bother the people there. They are resisting. And their only sin is just really that they are poor like us,” he said.

Duterte said “something could go awfully wrong” if policemen and soldiers clash with the Kadamay members over the housing units.

“If possible do not be offended. Take it with an open mind. I myself as your President, am urging you,” he said.

“Let us not wage a fight against our own people. They are just poor, just understand them.”

Duterte said the NHA has assured him of enough funds for the construction of new housing units.

“Just let them be. The Filipinos have seen the behavior of some but as I said, their only sin is they are only poor just like us. Just the same, I’m making you the commitment, I guarantee, you’ll have yours,” the President said.

“They will be better and there will be no problems because I will personally go there to supervise your housing project. And hopefully by December, let us pray that everything goes well, you can transfer to the new house,” he added.

Duterte, however, warned the Kadamay members who occupied houses not to harm the policemen and soldiers in the area.

“To the Kadamay, do not evict the soldiers or policemen who are already there. Eventually they will be removed and transferred into new houses that are better than the ones you seized,” he said.

“Do not harm the soldiers and policemen. If you do, I will evict you all from the houses. Do not create trouble, avoid chaos and we will try to solve what ails this country.”

Duterte said he has directed the Government Service Insurance System to study the possibility of having a housing loan program that will complement the soldier’s ability to pay.

“I believe that soldiers will be more confident to perform their mandate knowing that their loved ones are secure and well-sheltered,” he said.

In the same speech, Duterte asked the Army to continue assisting the government in its crackdown on illegal drugs.

“It is not only the acts of chaos and terror that you must end. I trust that the Philippine Army and all branches of the military will continue to help us in our drive against illegal drugs,” the President said.