THE UNFORTUNATE, violent face-off between the furious Mayor Inday Sara Duterte and the hapless sheriff, Abe Andres, could have been avoided had there been a national moratorium in force and effect. Violent confrontations between informal settlers and demolition teams usually happen whenever an eviction or demolition order is enforced either by the court or by the government itself. And in many instances a hapless sheriff, who has no personal discretion at all to either withhold or press on with the order, ends up being the object of ire of furious residents or, in this recent case in Davao, of a raging mayor’s fist.
As a party of ordinary laborers, we cannot help but sympathize with sheriff Andres for the humiliating experience he suffered in the hands of Mayor Inday Sara. Yet we also recognize the mayor’s firm resolve to address a problem of her constituents and prevent an outbreak of violence. Minus the disposition for brutality, all local officials should have the kind of social instinct that Mayor Inday has.
Together with other groups under the Kampanya para sa Makataong Pamumuhay (KAMP), we have been urging the Aquino administration, since last year, to declare a moratorium on demolitions, evictions and foreclosures of informal settlers’ houses, for as long as a new comprehensive housing policy is not in place.
If the masang Pinoy is really his boss, President Aquino should have the political will of Mayor Inday Sara. In fact, he does not need a fist or a gun to stop violent demolitions; he just needs a pen to sign an executive order declaring the moratorium.
Just recently, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay and Local Government Secretary Jessie Robredo traded heated words after violence flared up during the demolition of houses at the Laperal compound in Guadalupe. Several other demolition operations have also ended up in violence and resulted eventually in the massive displacement of the informal settlers in Metro Manila.
—JUDY ANN MIRANDA, secretary-general, Partido ng Manggagawa, 114 Legaspi St., Brgy. Marilag, Proj. 4, Quezon City