The law must be enforced by the State. But, in its enforcement, the government must not lose sight of its goal to help the poor, even when they have violated the law.
In Pandi, Bulacan, thousands of homeless people, upon the instigation of the leftist group Kadamay, descended on a government housing project intended for low-income state workers and occupied what they said were “abandoned” homes. There is simply no excusing the action, which seems to highlight the failure of government through the years to solve the lack of housing for the poorest of the poor and which, at the same time, has also embarrassed the Duterte administration.
The National Housing Authority, which developed the project, has come out with public announcements denouncing the takeover. But, in a marked change from the usual policy of letting policemen and other enforcers bust up a few heads and throw the rabble-rousers out of property that they have no legal right to, the NHA has only been giving eviction notices and setting deadlines for the homeless folk to vacate the premises.
In yet another departure from the usual, the Department of Social Welfare and Development has arrived at the scene to distribute food packs to the “occupiers.” Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, who took responsibility for the order to give food, explained that her job is to come to the aid of Filipinos in crisis situations, adding that she cannot discriminate between people in places hit by natural calamities and the poor people in Pandi who have taken the extreme measure of grabbing houses that they do not own.
President Rodrigo Duterte, before he left this week for a two-nation tour, took the perfectly legal position that the Pandi squatters will be evicted, using force, if necessary. But a closer reading of his statements on the matter last Monday revealed that he was probably torn between his own well-known populist leanings and his lawyerly adherence to what the statute books say.
“I will give some but not all,” Duterte said. “Let’s resolve this through a dialog. Don’t do this because there will be anarchy.”
There has so far been no forced eviction, another giveaway that despite Duterte’s tough stance, his people are deferring to him before they act. And after his initial pronouncements on the matter, Duterte has not made any further comment from Myanmar and Thailand.
A more calculating politician would clandestinely order subordinates to do the job of evicting the Pandi squatters, making sure that the trail does not lead directly to Malacañang. At the same time, any other president would immediately slap down an action like that of Taguiwalo’s, which can be interpreted as putting the president in the spot or even attempting to steal his thunder.
The people in Manila can continue to make political noise about the various impeachment proceedings that are underway. But I think Duterte’s eventual decision on the Pandi situation will be more important and will have consequences that are farther-reaching than all of the current static from the usual politician-suspects.
* * *
Speaking of instigators, a leftist congressman with supposed Cabinet aspirations is reportedly hijacking a Congress investigation to further his personal ambition. Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate has decided to jump into the House investigation into alleged corruption in the Energy Regulatory Commission that led to the purported suicide of a top agency official by filing a resolution to include “midnight deals” made with distribution utilities.
The ongoing House probe into the death of ERC Director Francisco “Jun” Villa Jr. is already covered by three resolutions filed separately by Congressmen Bernadette Herrera-Dy, Christopher Belmonte and Wes Gatchalian. Villa reportedly committed suicide because he could not stomach the corruption in the procurement of services from ERC suppliers on the behest of Chairman Jose Vicente Salazar.
Villa was chairman of the bids and awards committee of ERC at the time of his death and was in charge of internal supply contracts for the agency’s various administrative requirements. But Zarate has decided, willy-nilly, to convert the House investigation into a probe of alleged midnight deals involving power supply procurement deals.
Villa was never involved in power-supply negotiations. In fact, in his purported suicide note, he pointed out that he was being forced to agree to pay for the services of a supplier of audio-visual presentations for ERC.
Sources at the House and the ERC say Zarate seems hell-bent on repurposing the Villa probe in order to get the attention of President Rodrigo Duterte and to snag the post of environment and natural resources secretary currently held by the controversial, beleaguered and bypassed Gina Lopez.
How that will work out for Zarate is unclear, these same sources say, because Zarate has opposed Duterte on practically all policy matters, such as the death penalty draft law, the burial of the late President Ferdinand Marcos and the peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines.