PRESS RELEASE I July 10, 2011
QUEZON CITY—Urban poor leaders and relatives light 11 candles and offer flowers to 'Dambana,' the local marker that reminds the residents of Payatas of the tragic event in July 10 that claim the lives of more than 80 people 11 years ago. “We doubt if anyone would be made accountable for the man-made tragedy,” says Carlito Badion, an urban poor leader who lost 11 relatives to the man-made tragedy, now the national vice chairperson of Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap.
“The continuing poverty that drives urban poor to live in danger areas such as the Payatas dampsite could lead to another tragedy unless Aquino do something significant,” he adds
The government says the recent SWS survey showing a slight decrease on self-rated poverty as encouraging. They attribute the decline to its CCT program, a dole-out scheme for the poorest of the poor Filipinos.
“Aquino's CCTs and feeding programs will never answer the widespread poverty,” Badion adds. “Eleven years after the incident, nothing has changed. The thousands of scavengers in dampsite nationwide will remain scavengers in their lifetime unless the government implements the right measures to end the rampant joblessness.”
Annual Tributes
Organized by Kadamay, relatives and urban poor leaders from Metro Manila yearly pay tribute to the victims of the man-made landfill tragedy. “They are not only victims of injustice, but more than that, they are victims of a corrupted society.” Josie Lopez remarks, an urban poor leader from Kadamay-North Triangle, where residents face eviction.
“Instead of giving the urban poor jobs to have decent homes and food on our table, the government is biased against us,” she adds. “We will never forget our call justice for the victims of Payatas Tragedy until the government opens its eyes to the truth, and makes signifcant effort to end poverty.”
Reference: Carlito Badion (09393873736)
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