AS RESIDENTS BARRICADE VS. DEMOLITION:JUNK QC-CBD, AQUINO TOLD
Submitted by courage_phil on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 03:22.
QUEZON CITY---Government employees, urban poor and youth leaders united under the CONTRA-CBD Alliance today expressed support for the residents of Sitio San Roque, Brgy. Pag-asa, North Triangle, Quezon City; who barricaded their community in defense of the impending demolition of the said area. Sitio San Roque is currently subject to demolition operations in line with the implementation of the controversial Quezon City Central Business District (QC-CBD) Project. Approximately 9,000 households are set to be evicted tomorrow, August 31, following a recent announcement by City Administrator Victor Endriga.
Santiago Dasmariñas Jr., lead convenor of the CONTRA-CBD alliance, expressed support for the affected residents. “The leaders and members of the CONTRA-CBD alliance join the residents of Sitio San Roque in opposing the impending demolition and forced relocation imposed upon them by the Quezon City government. We believe that the relocation program will result in greater destitution for the residents. As it is, affected residents are offered relocation sites in far-flung places like Montalban. However, the question remains, what will happen to their livelihood? Experience has proven that majority of the relocatees eventually made their way back to San Roque, primarily due to the lack of sustainable sources of livelihood and the inaccessibility of social services like healthcare and education in Montalban. It is the State’s responsibility to ensure the well-being of its constituents, particularly the underprivileged and marginalized sectors in society. Done amidst starvation wages and soaring prices of basic commodities and services, the demolition of urban poor communities will undoubtedly be an added burden to the residents who are already struggling to survive.”
“We challenge the Aquino administration to immediately scrap the anti-people QC-CBD Project which aims to dislocate QC-based government offices and demolish urban poor communities in order to make way for a P22-billion business venture that will only benefit multinational and foreign corporations. If Aquino is sincere in declaring “kayo ang boss ko”, he should prioritize the urban poor residents who will be disenfranchised due to the implementation of the QC-CBD project. We call upon all concerned organizations and individuals to unite and struggle against the implementation of the QC-CBD Project.” Dasmariñas asserted. ###
PRESS RELEASE
for August 31, 2011
Reference: Santiago Dasmariñas Jr., CONTRA-CBD Lead Convenor