Cardinal, auxiliaries call for gov’t policies, action
to address urban poor’s housing needs
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales and his auxiliaries, Bishops Bernardino Cortez and Broderick Pabillo, are calling on government to address the “structure of sin” that lies at the root of the housing problems of the poor in the metropolis.
In a pastoral letter released on November 11, 2009 to the clergy, religious women, heads of schools and mandated organizations in the Archdiocese of Manila, the three Church leaders said that this “structure of sin” involves land values that far beyond the reach of the poor and many in the middleclass; low taxes on unused land; the use of vast amount of land for shopping malls, upscale residential subdivisions and golf courses. The letter will be circulated among parishioners, students and members of lay organizations in the archdiocese.
In the rehabilitation and rebuilding that follow the destruction wrought by typhoon Ondoy, a deep restructuring of society is necessary, beginning with the government’s urban land policy, they said. To this end they call for the following actions:
- Urban land reform so that the poor may have the possibility to have security of tenure in our cities where their livelihood is found.
- A moratorium on demolition of the dwellings of the poor if there is no humane relocation for them as our present laws require. Humane relocation would include accessible places of work for them.
- A follow through of the processes to allot public lands to the poor in the areas that have been given to them by presidential declarations. Let the public lands declared by the President be developed and effectively be made available to the poor.
- Legislations to raise taxes on properties that are idle, or to altogether expropriate them. The right to private property should not be given priority but the common good.
- The swift implementation of the Clean Air Act and other environmental laws by disallowing heavy and highly pollutive industries within our cities which are densely residential and commercial. The zoning ordinances of the cities should be reviewed. Heavy industries, and not the poor, should be relocated outside of our cities. If this is done, more people will move out of our cities to work in these industries.
- In re-settling the poor and rehabilitating our cities priority should be given to the employment of the people. Informal settlers have grown in number because of lack of employment possibilities in places outside the metropolis. The “squatting” problem is not primarily a problem of housing; it is a problem of employment.
- Let us not blame the poor in the waterways for the flooding of our cities. Let us look beyond: the unabated logging in Sierra Madre and Mt. Banahaw, mining ventures in our mountains, haphazard collection and unplanned disposal of our garbage, irresponsible city planning and development of subdivisions, just to name a few. Together let us take a hard look at our present practices and have the political will to reform them. In truth we can say that the government officials and the rich have more to do with the destruction of our environment that aggravated the recent flood than the poor!
The Cardinal and the bishops said that the spirit of bayanihan and damayan that was remarkably shown by the people in the aftermath of the devastating typhoons point to the people’s capability for working together to the point of sacrifice.
The many cries for reform, they said, should be heeded but only deeper reforms can address and improve the situation in the cities. “Only when the needs of the least in our society are addressed will our society achieve true and lasting development,” they said. ###
Please refer:
Peachy E. Yamsuan
Archdiocesan Office of Communications
5273962
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