Makati LGU Exposed As Hawker of Private Capitalists in Guatemala Compound Demolition – GWP REP. EMMI DE JESUS

Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Emmi De Jesus assailed the eviction of families at Guatemala Compound in Makati City to pave the way for a multi-million peso sports complex and barangay hall in the area. The Guatemala residents refused to transfer to Calauan, Laguna because there are no available sources of livelihood in the area.

“The brutality exhibited by local government officials in evicting urban poor families, to pave the way for profit interests in the land, has exposed them as nothing more than hawkers of private capitalists, capable of destroying people’s lives at will in order to ensure that profit interests prevail,” declared GWP Rep De Jesus.

“Urban poor settlers have shown themselves ready to defend their homes with their lives when demolition teams swoop down on their communities. The experiences of violent demolitions in Corazon de Jesus in San Juan, Silverio Compound in Paranaque, and North Triangle in Quezon City teach us that local governments must look at the issue of housing and relocation from the point of view of poor families who are forced to stay in cramped areas around the metropolis because these places are near sources of livelihood that can ensure their survival,” the Gabriela solon further explained.

“Huwag natin silang tingnang basurang masakit sa mata. Ang pangako ng ligtas na pamayanan ay hindi nagsisimula at nagtatapos sa paglilipat lamang sa kanila sa mga relocation sites. Ito ay dapat na nakaugnay sa katiyakan ng ligtas at maayos na pamumuhay at nakabubuhay na trabaho para sa kanila dahil sila man ay mga taong may karapatang katulad ng karapatan ng iba pang mga mamamayan,” Rep. De Jesus emphasized.

The Gabriela solon further explained that the resistance exhibited by the residents of Guatemala street at Day 1 of the demolition is a justified act of protest against the anti-poor policies of the Aquino administration which renders millions of Filipinos jobless and without decent homes.

“All efforts to relocate informal settlers must be done with highest respect for basic human rights and with the recognition of social realities that poverty, landlessness and unemployment led these families to live in these cramped areas. The government must issue a moratorium against all demolitions and relocations in the whole metropolis until they can present a concrete and comprehensive on-site or in-city relocation program for the informal settlers. This has been their long-standing demand that even the late Sec. Jesse Robredo advocated,” concluded Rep. De Jesus. ###