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

Cardinal Rosales marks feast of the Holy Family with the poor

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Cardinal Rosales marks feast of the Holy Family with the poor

30 December 2007. Instead of the usual mass at the Manila Cathedral, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales today chose to join hundreds of poor Metro Manila families as the Catholic Church commemorates the feast of the Holy Family.

The first Sunday after Christmas, on the liturgical calendar, celebrates the Holy Family. Pope Leo XIII instituted this feast in 1892, encouraging societies honoring the Holy Family to be established everywhere.

Urban Poor Associates (UPA), an NGO working with the poor families, invited Cardinal Rosales to visit shanties of poor families and say Mass in a vacant lot along Osmeña Highway, next to a community along Paco Estero in Barangay 734, Manila.

“Ayon sa ebanghelyo ngayon, ang Banal na Pamilya, sina Jesus, Jose at Maria ay dumanas ng paglilipat-lipat, ng kahirapan, ng pagod, gutom, at banta sa kanilang buhay. Ito ay kahalintulad na karanasan para sa marami sa ating maralitang pamilya,” said Ted Añana, UPA deputy coordinator.

Añana recalled how a violent demolition hurt scores of residents living under the Osmeña Bridge and displaced some 54 urban poor families. “Dito mismo sa lugar na ito naganap ang matinding mga pahirap at pagsubok sa mga maralitang pamilya. Noong nakaraang Pebrero ng taong ito dumagsa dito sa lugar na ito ang halos 200 na mga demolisyon crew ng Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) kasama ang mga pulis at mga armadong sibilyan. Nakiusap tayo, nilabas natin ang ating mga imahen ng Santo Niño at iba pang banal na estatwa. Ngunit habang nagaganap ang isang pag-uusap sa pagitan ng ilang mga opisyales ng pamahalaan at mga lider natin biglang naganap ang demolisyon. Naging marahas ang demolisyon dahil di man lang binigyan ng panahon ang mga tao upang makapaghakot ng mga gamit.”

Facing a “cloudy” new year due to fear of massive forced evictions, various people’s organizations wrote a letter to the Cardinal asking him to arrange a meeting with the President.

“Marami sa amin na naninirahan sa mga estero at tabing riles ang nakatanggap na ng abiso na pagdating ng bagong taon, sisimulan na ang malawakang demolisyon ng aming mga tahanan. Kami po ay hindi tutol sa mga proyekto ng ating pamahalaan na may kaugnayan sa pagpapaunlad ng ating bansa. Ang aming kahilingan ay sundin ang batas ukol sa demolisyon at makataong relokasyon. Napatunayan sa mga demolisyon nitong taong ito at mga nakaraang taon na hindi po ito sinusunod ng ating pamahalaan,” the poor people told the Cardinal.

“Kaya kami po ay muling humihingi sa inyong tulong. Kung maari po sana, magpatawag po kayo ng isang pulong kay Pangulong Gloria Macapagal Arroyo na ang pag-uusapan ay ang isyu ng demolisyon at relokasyon. At kung maaari’y, mangyari ito sa buwan ng Enero,” the letter read.

Lack of adequate housing highlights a key concern for Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) this year in a Pastoral Statement. "Any person or family that, without any direct fault on his or her own, does not have suitable housing is the victim of an injustice.” -30-


Feast of Holy Family marked today with mass