(Mounting calls to 'replace the gov't' not too distant) Kadamay supports retired colonel's statement

NEWS RELEASE I July 18, 2011

QUEZON CITY—In a statement yesterday, militant urban poor group Kadamay shared the same sentiments with retired marine officer Generoso Mariano, former deputy chief of the Naval Reserve Command, in his call to 'replace the government' for its futility in addressing the widespread poverty and hunger among its populace.

The urban poor group has been early to describe Aquino's poverty alleviation program as futile, and has been contesting the validity of recent surveys saying there are slight improvements in the country's hunger and poverty data. These are familiar to Mariano video statements that circulated on social networking sites and military headquarters on Saturday.

Kadamay lambasted the government's poverty containment effort through its Cash Conditional Transfer (CCT) program. “It is but a dole-out scheme to show that Aquino is doing something.”

“In fact, Aquino does nothing to control oil price increases by the big oil companies, the main factor behind price hikes of basic commodities. Aquino gives a measly P22.00 cost of living allowance that does not even compensate for these price hikes. Social services are widely privatized thanks to Aquino's Public-Private Partnership program.” 

These are the statements of Kadamay national secretary-general Gloria Arellano giving concrete examples to Mariano's criticisms of the Aquino administration.

“Where are the jobs? Aquino's community-driven development which is nothing but small livelihood projects will never in the long-run solve the problem of unemployment. And who is the country's most notorious landgrabber?” Arellano added referring to Aquino's silence on the distribution of Hacienda Luisita.

'Replace the government'
The group criticised the palace for mocking Mariano's statement as mere political propaganda facilitated by the past administration. In an interview over radio dzRB, Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said “Mariano can now start working for [Arroyo] when he retires.”

While it is very easy for the administration to dismiss Mariano's call as another gimmick, mounting calls for replacing the administration will soon be a fact that the Aquino administration has to deal with.

"It should be a challenge for Aquino to go through a serious assessment of its economic policies and stop fooling the people when he has no real solutions to real issues of the people . 'A hungry mob is an angry mob'," warned the militant urban poor group. 

Aquino's ouster
Aquino's first year in office is one of the worst years for the urban poor and for the millions of Filipinos that went hungry, lost their homes and lands, and were forced to leave the country to look for jobs in order for their families to survive.

"His first year has never been different from Arroyo's. His anti-poverty centerpiece that is CCT is just a continuation of  the past administration's program that never had any real assessment as basis for its expansion," Arellano said.

“If Aquino remains deaf and blind to the needs of the Filipino people and continues to tread the same direction he took during his first year in office, Kadamay will never hesitate to call for his ouster in no time. After all, we do not need a president that represents the landlord-comprador clan and perpetuates the same bad system that he conveniently criticizes but in fact perpetuates," Arellano ended.

REFERENCE: Gloria Arellano, Kadamay National Sec-Gen (0921.3927457)