Why glorify squatting?

Gina Lopez, managing director of the ABS-CBN Foundation, one of the heirs to the Lopez group of companies, and a well-known crusader for children’s welfare, speaks loud and clear to the nation every day, "Our mission is to create a better world for children. The Bantay Bata is our major intervention for children. It is complemented by Bantay Kalikasan, whose main goal is the protection and preservation of our environment. Clean air, clean water and clean land are imperative to give our children a brighter future."

Pollution of the air, land and water can destroy our physical body but the spiritual corruption of the soul is unforgivable, specially the souls of the most vulnerable Filipino citizens – the children, particularly the underprivileged children.

Home Along the Riles and Home Along the Airport – Same Thing !

But why does the ABS-CBN Vice President for government corporate affairs and public relations, Maloli Espinosa-Manalastas, prolong the pollution of both the body and mind of children and squatter residents by insisting on continuing the sitcom, "Home Along the Riles" with "Home Along the Airport" ?

In an interview with Philippine STAR, Manalastas claims that the setting of the new show is not in a squatters’ area. "The show’s setting is in a community near the airport wherein homeowners have ‘titled’ properties," Manalastas said.

In fact, ABS-CBN claimed that this was clearly presented in its pilot episode aired last Aug. 16. The show which stars comedy king Dolphy (as Kevin Kosme), followed the concept of its successful predecessor, "Home Along the Riles," which depicted typical Filipinos living along the railways. For purposes of continuity and familiarity, the new sitcom opted to situate the Kosme family near the airport this time. But the house they moved into has a land title, Manalastas stressed.

"Home Along the Riles" and "Home Along the Airport" is the same thing – A glorification of squatting or illegal possession of somebody else’s property.

There are 12 channels available on regular televisions. Our 3 to 18-year old children are exposed to these from 6 a.m. to midnight. Multiply the number of channels (12) by the number of viewing hours (18) to approximate the number of shows available to our children in a day. Then, multiply this by the days of the week (7). Result: 1512 shows influence and condition the thoughts and behavior of youngsters.

Shall we allow the subliminal messages of immorality, violence and obscenity of locally produced sitcoms to continue polluting the minds of young Filipinos?

It is sad that only the privileged few have access to cable channels such as Discovery Channel, Knowledge Channel, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and the like.

Better For Him To Have A Great Millstone Hung Around His Neck Our Lord Himself declared in the Bible what He thinks of the providers of smut, obscenity and violence:

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come!" (Matthew 18:6-7)

MMDA Tries To Persuade Dolphy, But ...

Filipinos enjoy watching television especially when the program makes them laugh. However, in most Filipino sitcoms, there are subliminal messages that influence the mentality of the television viewers. As a result, instead of improving our lifestyle, we encourage the mediocre and immoral way of living.

I was happy to note the effect that MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando had in the sitcom, Home Along Da Riles. He was able to convince Dolphy and his family to move to another location to set a good example, instead of living along the "riles ng tren" around Metro Manila. (Of course, the ABS-CBN producers of the show had a say in this.)

It is sad, however, that they did not choose a better site to be a model home for the squatters. Instead, they chose to transfer their scene to a home along the airport. Since they want to help our country improve – couldn’t they have chosen a government resettlement area in the suburbs with self-sustaining small industries, landscape or farm business? Why another encouragement of squatter areas? ABS-CBN has bright and positive ideas regularly created by Gina Lopez to lift up the quality of life. Why not glorify instead a lawful resettlement area conditioning the poor residents to be functionally literate?

The "Squatter Preventive" Sydney Zoning Plan

If we have the will, we will find the way. If we follow the rule of law and order, we will find the way. To serve the immigrants from Europe to Australia after World War I and from Asia right after World War II up to the present, the city of Sydney drew a 50-year zoning plan. It would be illegal to add more people into the inner city of Sydney which is an established government and commercial area but not a residential district. Its provision for security, water, electricity and waste disposal are just sufficient for the existing tourist hotels, restaurants, stores, theaters and government offices.

The civilized governance of the city and surrounding suburbs considered its geographical nature. Like Manila, Sydney has a bay with islands (just like Corregidor) which serve today as the Taronga Zoo and the Manly Beach. On the opposite eastern side of the city is Darling Harbor where there are more shops and malls. Beside them are the Maritime and Marine Science Museum. The Darling River may be compared to the Pasig River that winds through Metro Manila. In addition, convention hotels were constructed here alongside a wet and dry market, the Electric Power Museum and the concert hall that fronts Chinatown.

The Sydney zoning plan observes strictly the law and order to preserve the city as a major historical site frequented by tourists. Our Intramuros heritage site near Manila Bay would be their counterpart in our city. This marked the arrival of the first residents – convicts exiled by the British government in the new continent of Australia discovered by explorer James Cook. For the incoming immigrants to live in the perimeter lands outside Sydney including the outlying islands across the bay, lots for affordable homes were provided. Adequate transport which would efficiently bring the additional population in and out of the inner city consisted of: ferry boats in the bay, additional boats around Darling Harbor, as well as efficient railway transport and buses.

To resolve the parking problem no cars are allowed into Sydney except limited buses. Instead the monorail surrounding the city would efficiently drop off people at the City Hall, Chinatown, convention hotels, and Darling Harbor. The historical areas are around the bay like the Rock, the Opera House. It is walking distance from the monorail station.

Half A Millennium Of Encouraging Mendicancy

The legislators who sponsored the bill to decriminalize squatting have betrayed grievously the nation and the poor themselves. Pampering the ignorant to live in squalor and dirt, as well as providing the haven for crimes, violence and drug addiction have increased the number of squatter areas surrounding the healthy and pleasant subdivisions of each major city.

Is it true that a past president himself so encouraged squatting along the railway that he allowed Bliss Homes to be built beside the Makati portion of the railway? Now Speaker Joe de Venecia complains that there are 37,000 squatter families who have to be relocated away from the "riles" before the new Calabarzon train lines can be constructed.

Why do our political leaders resort to false charity instead of moral governance, education and justice? Doesn’t Juan dela Cruz deserve more sincere caring to enable him to live a dignified life?

There are more than 400 squatter areas among the 16 cities and municipalities of Metro Manila. Only 13 of them have been improved with properly lined electrical wires, plumbing pipes, sewer and drainage system and cemented pathways. For the past 20 years, we have established eight OB Montessori Pagsasarili preschools in these "improved zones." To help poor children in the other poor districts would be impossible. The poor cannot be helped to help themselves unless the government addresses first the more fundamental need to train them to work so they can feed and clothe themselves as well as have a roof over their heads.

The First Impression Tourists Get Of A Country Is Its Airport And Its Surroundings

Now, although the MMDA chairman has resolved his problem, the problem has shifted to Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) manager Edgardo Manda, who is now in frenzy since the show may inspire, if not glorify, squatting around the airport.

"Even as we have to view the first episode, it is our presumption that the program takes off from its Home Along the Riles predecessor, which has a squatters’ area as setting. It is here our apprehension lies," Manda said in his letter, urging the network to consider "what ill effects the show can wreak."

"The show could affect MIAA’s efforts to regain some 60 percent of its property from squatters. If there is one thing that will totally negate all our efforts to develop and maintain a world-class airport complex – it is more squatters," Manda concluded, adding that squatter areas make fertile breeding grounds for criminality and incest.

"The culture of honesty we have toiled so hard to infuse among our airport people will come to naught in the single instance of bag-snatching or petty thievery perpetrated by some squatter toughie," Manda added, citing that squatter areas, "being melting pots of some sub-cultures and lairs of underground characters," pose a grave threat to aviation security when located near the airport. "Plant a terrorist with some bomb or missile there and the Sept. 11 scenario assumes a very frightening probability," he concluded.

Mr. Manda reminded, "The first impressions foreign visitor get of a country are of its airport and its immediate environs. With Home Along The Airport, the Department of Tourism’s WOW Philippines! program falls flat on the rusted roofs of the squatters’ colonies."

AMEN, I say to that together with majority of our countrymen.

How Do Squatters Live?

To complement our OB Montessori Pagsasarili preschools, I drew up its twin program – the adult literacy training course for the poor children’s parents, particularly the mothers, half of whom are not employed but are full time housewives. But this made me investigate their living condition by personally visiting my Pagsasarili parents’ homes.

The National Housing Authority has allocated each family a 35 square meter lot only – the size of one room in an average to high average family residence. It was early afternoon when I entered the house of my Pagsasarili teacher in Barrio San Martin in Cubao. The children were sleeping in the middle of the room which looked like the living room. The clothes were kept in boxes piled high along a wall and covered with a curtain. A one-meter wide space along a window was the kitchenette where dirty dishes and pots were left unwashed. She proudly showed me the flush toilet, "Ma’am very few have this." I saw a second hand yellowish toilet bowl.

One of our pupils lived on the second floor of another house. I barely could get into their one room apartment because several people were at the entrance. My parent explained, "They are relatives of my neighbor next door to ours and they come from the province." My parent’s unit had a stereophonic radio and television brought home by her husband who works in Saudi Arabia. There was only one bed. A curtain hid their clothes packed in boxes. The flooring was lopsided that I had to walk slowly towards the "kitchen" where she invited me to have snacks. Apparently, the house was not done by licensed architects, carpenters, electrician, etc.

Accompanied by my Pagsasarili teachers, we toured the rest of Barrio San Martin. Many children used the alleys as their playing area. Some women were doing their laundry by the doorway. Through the window I could see housewives playing "sakla" or mahjong. My teachers pointed to a group of men seated a few yards away by a small sari-sari store, she said, "Be careful, ma’am, the men are beginning to drink."

Twenty Years Of Helping The Poor Help Themselves

My doctoral dissertation is entitled "The Thirty Five Years Reconstruction of the Education of the Filipino Child." I put it together in the graduate school of the University of Adelaide, Australia in agreement with Centro Escolar University where I did my masters and doctoral studies. The condition was that I must defend my doctoral research before the CEU panel of prestigious educators.

My mentor and very close family friend, Dr. George Smolicz directs the Multi Cultural Research Division with the University of Adelaide. Since 1985, George would come yearly to lecture in universities of Manila. Thus, he became familiar with the Montessori work and writing.

During my panel defense, the first question posed by a bureau chief of the Department of Education was "Why use the word reconstruction"? My answer was also interrogative, "Would you rather I use the word revolution"? The panel gave that a thought and so allowed me to use my original title.

Of these thirty-five years, twenty years were spent replicating successfully the production of both the "new child" and the "new teacher" with an affordable version of the Montessori system in the improved squatter areas.