'RAY, itself, is the problem'
Urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) lambasted the Aquino administration's rehabilitation program called Recovery Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) calling it 'essentially anti-people, pro-capitalist, and both a deceptive and defective scheme in aiding the fast recovery of thousands of survivors of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) especially in Tacloban City which is considered the Ground Zero after the devastation.'
Carlito Badion, Kadamay national secretary-general said, "With its evident failure to quickly rehabilitate Tacloban and its people from the devastation, the RAY, under the slogan of “Build Back Better,” is to be primarily blamed for what many have witnessed in Tacloban City a year after the tragedy--a glaringly sad picture which Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery Panfilo Lacson has pointed at the below par action of City Mayor Alfred Romualdez who 'hijacked' the rehabilitation efforts."
In the past months, Aquino government's RAY has met the resistance of thousands of urban poor in Tacloban City and other Yolanda-affected areas who declines to follow the anti-poor policies what it has been pushing like the “no build zones” and “no dwelling zones” to get rid of the urban poor in coastal areas which serves as source of their livelihood to favor corporate interests.
"The RAY, itself, is the problem. Truly, how will Yolanda survivors, especially those who are living in coastal areas, recover if they are stripped of their only means of subsistence?" asked Badion.
"Even if the P6-billion pesos is entirely used to facilitate RAY, and not for political patronage by the Aquino government and its cohorts which what actually happened, the full rehabilitation of Tacloban City and its people is very far from reality. The plan is only doomed to fail," Badion said.
Kadamay-Tacloban said, "An estimated 10.8 million people will be displaced by the no build zones in Yolanda-afflicted areas. There is no regional masterplan to help determine what the people really need, while corporations have already started their own agenda of recovery and reconstruction work to serve their profit-driven interests.”
"With go signal from Malacanang, corporate vultures have come home to roost in the name of Build Back Better," said Joel Abano, spokesperson of Kadamay Tacloban.
According to urban poor leader, the Aquino government hypocritically imposed the “no build zones” and “no dwelling zones” in the name of safety for the affected communities, while encouraging corporations to take advantage of the vacated locations to build their businesses.
“The urban poor in Tacloban are being exiled to distant relocation sites and forced to live in substandard housing. They are also uprooted from their means of livelihood, because many are fisherfolk and vendors whose sources of income are near the coastal communities. Meanwhile, nine giant corporations have committed to rehabilitate and reconstruct 16 of 24 development areas, including Tacloban City. The country’s richest families like Gokongwei, Zobel-Ayala, Aboitiz, Pangilinan, Gaisano, and others own these corporations. These families have interests in property development and real estate.”
Abano added that corporate interests because of its vital importance to the region eye the city. “For example, Manuel Pangilinan's Metro Pacific Holdings adopted Tacloban City because it is seeking to expand its interests in property development. Enrique Razon is also investing in the city, the major transport hub of Eastern Visayas, because of his interests in ports and storage, as well resorts and casinos located near international seaports and on reclaimed land. The Executive Director of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery is also Danilo Antonio, the chief operating officer of Eton Properties, the real estate holding of tycoon Lucio Tan.”
“We denounce the Aquino government's favors to its big business cronies at the expense of the urban poor. If the Aquino government is declaring war on the urban poor, we have no other choice but to defend our homes and livelihood. It is also not only the interests of the urban poor at stake here, but of the people as a whole, who have to contend with their lives being ran by greedy corporations encouraged by privatization and other neoliberal policies," added Abano.
Meanwhile, Kadamay called on the urban poor in Tacloban City and other survivors of Yolanda "to fight with all their anger and disgust of the Aquino government, to fail RAY and demand for genuine people-centered rehabilitation program."
"As we start to rebuild our communities from scratch, we should let the Aquino administration know through our militant assertion of our rights such as the popular land occupation efforts in no build zones and no dwelling zones that our intention is for a city that accommodates the poor rather than big businesses," Badion.
"There is nothing for the vultures to feed on but the quintessentially corrupt, anti-poor, and fascist leader in Malacanang," said the leader. ###
Urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) lambasted the Aquino administration's rehabilitation program called Recovery Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) calling it 'essentially anti-people, pro-capitalist, and both a deceptive and defective scheme in aiding the fast recovery of thousands of survivors of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) especially in Tacloban City which is considered the Ground Zero after the devastation.'
Carlito Badion, Kadamay national secretary-general said, "With its evident failure to quickly rehabilitate Tacloban and its people from the devastation, the RAY, under the slogan of “Build Back Better,” is to be primarily blamed for what many have witnessed in Tacloban City a year after the tragedy--a glaringly sad picture which Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery Panfilo Lacson has pointed at the below par action of City Mayor Alfred Romualdez who 'hijacked' the rehabilitation efforts."
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In the past months, Aquino government's RAY has met the resistance of thousands of urban poor in Tacloban City and other Yolanda-affected areas who declines to follow the anti-poor policies what it has been pushing like the “no build zones” and “no dwelling zones” to get rid of the urban poor in coastal areas which serves as source of their livelihood to favor corporate interests.
"The RAY, itself, is the problem. Truly, how will Yolanda survivors, especially those who are living in coastal areas, recover if they are stripped of their only means of subsistence?" asked Badion.
"Even if the P6-billion pesos is entirely used to facilitate RAY, and not for political patronage by the Aquino government and its cohorts which what actually happened, the full rehabilitation of Tacloban City and its people is very far from reality. The plan is only doomed to fail," Badion said.
Kadamay-Tacloban said, "An estimated 10.8 million people will be displaced by the no build zones in Yolanda-afflicted areas. There is no regional masterplan to help determine what the people really need, while corporations have already started their own agenda of recovery and reconstruction work to serve their profit-driven interests.”
"With go signal from Malacanang, corporate vultures have come home to roost in the name of Build Back Better," said Joel Abano, spokesperson of Kadamay Tacloban.
According to urban poor leader, the Aquino government hypocritically imposed the “no build zones” and “no dwelling zones” in the name of safety for the affected communities, while encouraging corporations to take advantage of the vacated locations to build their businesses.
“The urban poor in Tacloban are being exiled to distant relocation sites and forced to live in substandard housing. They are also uprooted from their means of livelihood, because many are fisherfolk and vendors whose sources of income are near the coastal communities. Meanwhile, nine giant corporations have committed to rehabilitate and reconstruct 16 of 24 development areas, including Tacloban City. The country’s richest families like Gokongwei, Zobel-Ayala, Aboitiz, Pangilinan, Gaisano, and others own these corporations. These families have interests in property development and real estate.”
Abano added that corporate interests because of its vital importance to the region eye the city. “For example, Manuel Pangilinan's Metro Pacific Holdings adopted Tacloban City because it is seeking to expand its interests in property development. Enrique Razon is also investing in the city, the major transport hub of Eastern Visayas, because of his interests in ports and storage, as well resorts and casinos located near international seaports and on reclaimed land. The Executive Director of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery is also Danilo Antonio, the chief operating officer of Eton Properties, the real estate holding of tycoon Lucio Tan.”
“We denounce the Aquino government's favors to its big business cronies at the expense of the urban poor. If the Aquino government is declaring war on the urban poor, we have no other choice but to defend our homes and livelihood. It is also not only the interests of the urban poor at stake here, but of the people as a whole, who have to contend with their lives being ran by greedy corporations encouraged by privatization and other neoliberal policies," added Abano.
Meanwhile, Kadamay called on the urban poor in Tacloban City and other survivors of Yolanda "to fight with all their anger and disgust of the Aquino government, to fail RAY and demand for genuine people-centered rehabilitation program."
"As we start to rebuild our communities from scratch, we should let the Aquino administration know through our militant assertion of our rights such as the popular land occupation efforts in no build zones and no dwelling zones that our intention is for a city that accommodates the poor rather than big businesses," Badion.
"There is nothing for the vultures to feed on but the quintessentially corrupt, anti-poor, and fascist leader in Malacanang," said the leader. ###
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