Manila Archbishop leads Mass for the urban poor in Baseco

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Manila Archbishop leads Mass for the urban poor in Baseco

19 October 2008. Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales went to the Port Area this morning and lead a Mass in Baseco to pray and show that the Church is one with the urban poor community’s struggle for a better life.

Hundreds of Manila’s urban poor settlers attended the Mass held in the Baseco covered court. The poor wanted Cardinal Rosales to come and say the Mass and the Manila Archbishop welcomed the rare opportunity.

Rosales’ visit delighted the Baseco community. “Sana ay maging socialized housing ang Baseco at di na baguhin pa. Naging maayos na ang buhay namin. Kami ay natutuwa dahil nandito si Cardinal at siya ay sumusuporta sa aming kahilingan. Sana ay pakinggan ito ni Presidente Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,” said Jeorgie Tenolete, president of Kabalikat sa Pagpapaunlad ng Baseco, a people’s organization.

Baseco residents have the problem of land tenure insecurity: they fear they can be removed from their homes at any time and for insufficient reasons. The 10,000 families in Baseco fear they will be evicted due to the government’s reclamation project and sent 50-80 kilometers away to remote and jobless areas.

The land was proclaimed for them by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2002. They believe powerful and well-connected businessmen want the strategic area for commercial purposes.

The government cites a 2004 soil analysis that predicts the soil in Baseco will liquefy if there is a strong earthquake nearby. The study concludes that no homes are safe and all the homes must be removed. This is because the reclamation done in Baseco by the government used garbage instead of good soil and rocks, the analysis states.

A cloud of secrecy covers the government’s real plans, according to Urban Poor Associates (UPA), a housing rights NGO. “The residents should be told what the plan is, and if there is no plan then government should put that in writing and continue instead to upgrade the area as the proclamation states,” the UPA said in a press statement.

UPA invited the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) to attend the Mass in Baseco. However, PRA officials could not attend the Mass due to “some unavoidable circumstances.”

In a letter sent to UPA, PRA General Manager and CEO Andrea Domingo informed that the PRA is presently complying with the directive of President Arroyo to reclaim 10 hectares at the bayfront of the Baseco area. “Upon completion of the reclamation works, PRA will turn over to the agency that will undertake its development as site for socialized housing. Beyond this PRA will no longer have any participation in the project,” the letter read.

“We’re asking the President to issue the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) that will lay down the processes and steps leading to the families’ ownership of the land and to convene the Project Inter-Agency Committee,” said Ted Añana, UPA deputy coordinator. -30-

MEDIA ADVISORY: CARDINAL ROSALES IN BASECO

Attention: News Editor, News Desk, Reporters and Photojournalists

MEDIA ADVISORY

CARDINAL ROSALES IN BASECO

We wish to invite you at a Holy Mass with Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales in the Baseco urban poor area on Sunday, October 19 at 9:00 AM. The Mass will be held in the covered court in Baseco, near the Baranggay Hall.

The poor face the problems of most Manila families – high prices, poor services, etc. – but in addition they have the problem of land tenure insecurity: they fear they can be removed from their homes at any time and for insufficient reasons. The 10,000 families in Baseco fear they will be evicted due to the government’s reclamation project and sent 50-80 kilometers away to remote and jobless areas.

Your support is needed if there are to be solutions to these problems. Please come and pray with the Cardinal and the poor and show that we are all one with their struggle for a better life.

We are also inviting poor people from Parola, Navotas and other parts of Tondo.

Date: October 19, 2008 (Sunday)

Time: 9:00 AM

Venue: Covered Court, Baseco Compound, Port Area, Manila

MEDIA ADVISORY: Running Priest in Baseco for U.N. Run

Attention: News Editor, News Desk, Reporters and Photojournalists

MEDIA ADVISORY

Running Priest in Baseco for U.N. Run

Fr. Robert Reyes, the running priest, will stage a run in Baseco, Port Area in Manila tomorrow (Tuesday) morning 10:00 AM starting at the Herminigildo Atienza Elementary School to publicise a petition which the people will send to the United Nations (UN). The petition will concern the eviction of 7,000 to 10,000 families living in Baseco.

The land was proclaimed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2002. On the basis of that proclamation, aided by the Gawad Kalinga (GK) and Habitat for Humanity (HfH), the people invested in their homes. But now they are told to vacate the 56 hectares because the reclamation done by the government between 2002 and 2004 was poorly done. With the result, the land will liquify if there is a strong earthquake, the government says.

It is estimated well over a hundred million pesos was spent for the reclamation, according to Urban Poor Associates (UPA), a housing rights NGO.

After the run, there will be a brief prayer service. The people of Baseco will also sign a banner with the words “United Nations Housing Rights, please help us. We want to stay here in our homes. We don’t want to move out.”

Date: July 29, 2008 (Tuesday)

Time: 10:00 AM

Venue: Baseco, Port Area, Manila

190-Hectare Reclamation Project Raises Fears Among Baseco Residents

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02 June 2008. Mail brigades have been launched for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to see the fear some 10,000 families have of being evicted because of the government’s plan to move them from the land proclaimed for them at the Bataan Shipyard and Engineering Company (Baseco) Compound at the Port Area in Manila.

Baseco residents have filed to Malacañang everyday since May 13 to bring the letters the people are writing everyday to the president appealing for help.

On May 13 President Arroyo led the groundbreaking ceremony of the Baseco Reclamation Expansion Project. Phase 1 of the reclamation project is a 10-hectare reclamation project, costing P252 million, to be a socialized housing project for 3,000 families. The reclamation project to be undertaken by Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) is located outside the existing 56-hectare Baseco compound that was proclaimed for the 6,000-8,000 resident families in 2002.

The Master plan shows that Phase 2 of the reclamation project, making a total area of 180.14 hectares, includes an oil depot area, dumping ground, anchorage area, buffer zone/inland channel and 135-hectares of saleable lots.

In the letters, the residents thank President Arroyo for having proclaimed Baseco as a socialized housing, but say that up to now no documents have been issued pertaining to the land titles in the reclamation that guarantee security of tenure.

The government says it will reclaim the 10 hectares as proposed and move families there from the 56 hectares. The government will then develop 35 hectares of the 56 hectares proclaimed for commercial purposes.

Urban Poor Associates (UPA), in a press statement, noted that the residents are afraid of the reclamation project due to the following points:

- There are plans for 3,000 families. What will happen to all the other families?

- It is not clear who the beneficiaries are. Will it be only families censused in 2001? What of the other thousands of families living there now? (The City of Manila had conducted a survey in 2001 with 6,000 families.)

- Will the 3,000 units be affordable?

- Will the 2,000 houses of Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity built a short time ago with private donations of P60 million remain or will they be removed?

- Who is the main stakeholder in this huge venture? Where will financing come from?

- Does the fact that the land is proclaimed limit what uses can be made of it? If it was proclaimed for homes, can it be used for commerce?

According to UPA, a housing rights NGO, the Land Proclamation program of the government, 2001-2004 set aside government lands for the homes of the poor. Some 200,000 families lived on these lands and benefited. However, there have been few proclamations after the 2004 presidential elections. Some of the proclamations are being amended or radically changed; and finally, there has been no follow-up upgrading and titling program in these areas which means the fear of forced eviction is ever present. ###

Manila's informal settlers wary about reclamation project