Unwanted ‘neighbors’

Know thy politics as well as your neighbors.

Last Sundayl, June 22, the local Comelec office of Pasig City sent a 12-person contingent to facilitate “Voter’s Registration” for Barangay Kapitolyo. This was a very welcomed service from Comelec as well as from Pasig City hall since I among many have dread the thought of having to go to City Hall and mix it up with thousands of people just to update one’s voter registration. I give praise to the 12-person team who showed a lot of humility, patience and courtesy to many residents who understandably did not appreciate waiting in line on a Sunday morning.

When I received the notice of registration via email, there was an accompanying letter from the Association of Street Homeowners organization. Yes it can be confusing, but essentially residents of Barrio Kapitolyo much like in many other places in Metro Manila, have organized “homeowners associations” covering several streets or one block for better internal management, but not to interfere or subvert the barangay itself. These associations wherever they exist are actually an indication that the residents of certain areas of barangays are dissatisfied, insecure or unhappy about the peace and order or level of police security provided by the barangay for them. Further investigations reveal that the areas where “street homeowners associations” are established are streets or areas where numerous burglaries or petty crimes have occurred. This by itself tells people that the DILG and the PNP are failures and have forced people to take the “law” into their own hands. You could also say that as far as the  middle and upper class are concerned, we live in a “failed state.”

In their letter, what the association of associations wanted to call attention to were the “illegal settlers” within Barangay Kapitolyo who have taken over areas declared by Pasig City and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as “open spaces” to insure environmental balance in urban areas, to insure the free flow of rain water etc.  The authors of the email were understandably upset that non-landowners and non-taxpayers were “taking over the village with their tricycles and tambays and could not even be challenged because the barangay and city hall have legitimized their illegitimacy through voter registrations.

The truth of the matter is Kapitolyo in spite of artificially high real estate values is dotted by “squatters areas,” the sad part is that the “squatters” are not just poor daily wage earners, I know of so many rich homeowners, even some businesses and businessmen who have used a very elite and sophisticated term in place of their act of “squatting”; they call it “Accretion.” In their mind they are simply using unused or “unwanted” land. Never mind that it’s a creek, a natural waterway or designated open space. Someone even told me: “Better that I squat beyond my backyard than let some squatter become my neighbor.f”

So in some cases, it’s the pot calling the kettle black. To make matters worse, I’ve long known that many of the employees of the barangay, many people employed within the barangay, and many people providing street level services within the barangay are mostly the same people living as squatters within the barangay. To top it all, the very people tasked and authorized to provide security as barangay tanods and security officers, those called by the police as “force multipliers” also live in the very “squatter areas” that have become the source of apprehension, suspicion and now complaints.

The issue I believe is not about “squatters” per se but rather Law enforcement, political will and civilian vigilance. The President himself has expressed his knowledge of the situation. P-Noy knows the country needs 3 to 5 times more the number of police officers and that we need better quality officers. But knowing and doing something about it with determination are two different things. Why do the government and Congress even the PNP continue to TOLERATE the deficiency? Who are making a profit from the shortage? Our lack of police officers is no longer an oversight, it is no longer criminal negligence, it is willful intent and endangerment of the public.

The continued promotion of illegal settlers being converted to “voters” can easily be remedied by legislation, but until WE the people make an outcry for a law stating: You cannot vote where you are not a landowner, homeowner or actual tenant-resident with a valid contract registered with the BIR! If the DENR cannot stop squatting or accretions, perhaps it’s time to bring those responsible or irresponsible to the Ombudsman. Only then will people pay attention.

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Other members of the Senate are trying their best to get people to see that they are actually doing their jobs. Among those are Senators Allan Peter Cayetano who never throws away an opportunity for an interview short or otherwise and Sonny Angara who on the other hand has focused on promoting his pet bills. One such bill being proposed by Sonny Angara is a tax break of around P40,000 for parents who are sending at least 2 of their children through college. Without doubt the proposed bill just like the lower tax rates also being proposed in Congress will catch peoples attention and will likely draw admiration and support from struggling parents on fixed incomes.

The question is: Do the authors/legislators submitting such bills have the track record of seeing their vision through or are we going to see more and more “press release materials” that look and sound good with media hype but never takes off from the floor? Sorry if I sound cynical or doubt the sincerity or intent of guys like Sonny Angara (which I don’t for now) but people also need to be reminded of the many false promises and false hopes generated by savvy Congressmen and Senators who have proposed “populist bills” knowing they will never become law. I certainly want to see the day when parents get tax breaks for the heavy financial burden of sending children through college and the lower tax bracket that everyone can afford to pay without exemptions or cheating.

What I don’t want is to be fooled by our very own representatives whom we voted for and hoped in.