Urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY) took to the streets on March 21 and staged the annual ‘Kalbaryo ng Mamamayan,’ a Lenten-themed protest depicting the hardships faced by the urban poor.
“Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), commercialized housing and corporate urban planning have ravaged our communities and lives,” said KADAMAY National Chairperson Bea Arellano in a statement.
The presidency of Benigno Aquino III saw the rise of forced and violent demolitions. Large urban poor communities that were placed under PPP were torn down. Among the first was Sitio San Roque in Quezon City in September 2010 to give way to the Quezon City Central Business District (QCCBD), a P 22-billion PPP project the Aquino government awarded to Ayala Land Corporation. Aquino took his oath of office in June 2010.
Before assembling at Plaza Miranda, KADAMAY trooped to the Quezon City Hall to protest the QCCBD Development Plan.
According to KADAMAY, the said plan would displace 1.3 million residents in Quezon City as it aims to implement a ‘Zero ISF (Informer Settler Families)” policy.
Government neglect in relocation sites
“Almost three years has passed and still we don’t have water,” lamented Rene Collado, a resident of a government relocation site in Kasiglahan Village at Montalban, Rizal.
Originally from Sitio San Roque, Collado’s home was demolished in January 2014.
Collado resorted to paying for water from neighboring communities.
“We pay P700 pesos a month for water alone,” said Collado.
He further added that a big chunk of his salary as a security guard gets spent on basic utilities.
“On top of that, we need to pay for our homes at the relocation site,” said Collado.
According to Collado, residents of Kasiglahan Village are obliged to pay gradually increasing rates for their homes.
In a report by Bulatlat, residents of Kasiglahan village need to pay the National Housing Authority P140,000 in 13 years for each housing unit in the relocation site.
Workers push for National Minimum Wage
Workers from Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) also joined the Kalbaryo ng Mamamayan.
“Filipino workers have been bearing the cross of low wages for such a long time already,” lamented Jerome Adonis, KMU Secretary General.
“We are pushing for a national minimum wage of P750. The wage increase will provide some relief to our workers who are constantly burdened by soaring prices of commodities,” said Adonis.
Adonis further added that KMU challenges candidates to take a stand on the proposed national minimum wage, but all have remained silent on the issue of wage increase.
Adonis remains skeptical if poll winners would hike workers’ wages upon victory as the May 9 national elections draw near.
“Regardless of who wins in the upcoming 2016 elections, KMU believes that our demand for better wages will not be approved immediately. We would still have to fight for it,” he added.
Jesus Christ as urban poor
The visual centerpiece of the protest was a large 15-foot sculpture crafted by renowned multimedia artist Toym Imao.
The sculpture draws inspiration from the slum areas in Manila. The materials used are commonly found in urban poor dwellings: scrap metal, galvanized sheets and wood.
The body of an emaciated Jesus Christ is depicted nailed to the slum dwelling fashioned into a cross. A few inches above, an angry head ominously looms above the nailed figure.
The annual Kalbaryo ng Mamamayan protest led by KADAMAY is an imitation of the traditional pasyon held during the Lenten season, but one that laments and protests the sufferings of the urban poor. Skits, dances and songs were performed every “station” or stop within the rally. This cultural form of protest dates back to the 1980s.
The urban poor protest may be traced as far back as the March 17, 1970 “Poor People’s March” led by the Movement for a Democractic Philippines towards the end of the First Quarter Storm. The period was a prelude to heightening state fascism and the eventual declaration of Martial Law by then-president Ferdinand Marcos.
