A deceptive bait.
That was how labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno described the P18,000 which Interior Undersecretary Francisco Fernandez proposed to give each family living along Metro Manila’s waterways so they can rent elsewhere for 12 months, when the government will supposedly be able to find a place where they can be resettled permanently.
KMU said that while urban poor families won’t easily earn P18,000, the amount is too meager even for renting houses and won’t cover additional expenses caused by being uprooted from the families’ sources of livelihood.
The labor center said the monetary offer is a bait which aims to entice urban poor families to leave their houses even as the government has no concrete plan to create permanent resettlements for them.
“This deceptive bait and the scheme of which it forms part highlight the Aquino government’s extremely low regard for the urban poor. It is clear that the government’s goal is merely to remove the urban poor from where they live, not to improve their situation,” said Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson.
“Even the families living along Metro Manila’s esteros do not wish to live there. The problem is that the government does not give them genuine options amidst the lack of decent jobs, decent housing and affordable social services,” he added.
“In-city relocation should be constructed first before urban poor families are asked to leave their houses. Without the construction of in-city relocation, the government is simply trying to dupe urban poor families into leaving their houses,” he said.
KMU also condemned Fernandez for saying that “it’s cheaper” for the government to give urban poor families P18,000 each than to fund relief, rescue, rehabilitation and evacutation programs when it floods during typhoons.
“Policies on the urban poor should primarily be about what’s good for the urban poor, not what’s cheap for the government. The government will never find a solution to the problems of the urban poor if it weighs options on the basis of what’s cheap,” Labog said.
“The government should think beyond giving money to the poor or shelling out money during typhoons. The urban poor are calling for decent jobs, decent housing, and affordable social services,” he added.
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