Urban poor group urges Noynoy: Bust 'housing syndicates', go after Noli

On alleged 'midnight deal' with Smokey Mountain developer
Urban poor group urges Noynoy: Bust 'housing syndicates', go after Noli

NEWS RELEASE
19 July 2010

Reacting to news reports on an alleged 'midnight deal' entered into by Vice President Noli de Castro with the developer of the botched Smokey Mountain housing project, the urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) urged President-elect Noynoy Aquino to bust what they called "housing syndicates" and to go after De Castro, "for the disaster that is Philippine housing".

"This controversy is simply but a manifestation of what we have long been saying...that mass housing in this country is being run like no less than a syndicate," said Carlito Badion, Kadamay vice chair. "The government housing agencies and the private sector collude, to extract as much profits and kickbacks as possible from what is supposed to be a social service especially to the poor. How is this different from any criminal syndicate?"

Badion said this stems from an "inherent flaw" in the government's social housing orientation, in that it is driven by a "profit motive" in the provision of supposedly 'pro-poor' housing. "This is something that Noynoy should change", he said. "Government should not conduct mass housing as though it were a business, which is precisely what got Noli into this mess. Housing for the poor should be a straight-up government service: built from public funds and provided to the poor as a matter of right."

As for De Castro, the group said that Aquino should hold him liable as much as President Arroyo for the missteps of the outgoing administration, and look into serious accusations of corruption involving him as well, such as this one.

"De Castro is a scourge of the poor, one who showed his concern for our plight by calling us 'KSP' and vowing to evict us from our homes if we couldn't feed money to his profiteering housing schemes. We urge Noynoy to not even consider this man to retain his post as housing czar, as De Castro publicly hinted at a few days ago. Instead, he should be prosecuted and made to pay for the crimes of the outgoing administration just as much as Arroyo, especially for the disastrous state of affairs of housing today," said Badion.##

Reference Carlito Badion, Kadamay Vice Chair | 0939.387.3736
For further details, please contact Jon Vincent Marin, Kadamay PIO, at 0910.975.7660.