When you are poor you think of yourself as vulnerable, you consider changes in the landscape of your life that is not of your doing as threatening. Will the changes mean being thrown about again like flotsam and jetsam on one’s native shores? Where to move, where to live and where to find livelihood? Will so-called industrial and commercial development take over, leaving the vulnerable to fend for themselves?
Residents of the Baseco compound inManila
Some 6,000 to 10,000 poor families have been residents of Baseco since 2001. Baseco is 56 hectares in area. In the beginning it was frequently underwater but improvements on the reclaimed site were done. In 2002, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared that the 56 hectares should indeed be for the homes of the poor. That same year, four major fires hit the area which led to the reclamation of five more hectares. This area was divided into lots for about 1,000 families.
Residents of the Baseco compound in
Some 6,000 to 10,000 poor families have been residents of Baseco since 2001. Baseco is 56 hectares in area. In the beginning it was frequently underwater but improvements on the reclaimed site were done. In 2002, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared that the 56 hectares should indeed be for the homes of the poor. That same year, four major fires hit the area which led to the reclamation of five more hectares. This area was divided into lots for about 1,000 families.
In 2004, the President introduced Gawad Kalinga (GK) and Habitat for Humanity, which built about 2,000 row houses. The people were happy with the housing and wished for more homes of that type.
Not long afterwards, a soil test was made and the results supposedly said that Baseco is at risk if a strong earthquake (8 on the Richter scale) hit. The ground on which the homes stood would turn into mud.
In 2007, this risk was brought up again. Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim asked GK and Habitat to stop building.
After that, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) announced that an additional 10 hectares west of Baseco would be reclaimed. The people were worried. Will they be moved out of the 56 hectares and moved to the reclaimed 10 hectares?
Meetings with PRA and a visit from President Arroyo made the residents conclude that the government will indeed reclaim 10 hectares as proposed and the families on the 56 hectares will be moved there. A mini fish port will be built in the area, and 35 of the 56 hectares (the poor’s original home) will be used for commercial purposes.
That is cause for worry. The people have not seen a clear and detailed plan. Here are some of their concerns:
There are between 6,000 and 10,000 families in Baseco. If 3,000 families will be moved to the 10 hectares, where will the rest go? Will the resettlement apply only to the original censused families in 2001?
Will the new units be affordable? A survey by the Ateneo de Manila University’s
The people want homes like those built by Gawad Kalinga and Habitat because, they said, these “encourage the formation of peaceful, neighborly communities.” They want some space for children to play and for old people to sit and watch them, space for daycare centers, chapels, clinics and job training centers. In other words, they want a simple but decent place for human habitation.
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