CLOSE to 1,000 members of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap stormed on Friday the National Housing Authority central office on Elliptical Road, Quezon City to demand their rights over some 5,000 idle housing units in Pandi, Bulacan.
“We will fight until the end. We will stand by our principle not to leave the place. Those who occupied the idle units will not leave. This is their last chance in their life to own a decent house,” Kadamay chairperson Gloria Arellano told reporters.
They will not give up on fighting the eviction, she said.
“Yes, we will fight them. We have no choice but to fight them. We have the right to the government’s housing program. We all know that the money used to build the units came from the people, and not from the government itself. We have long been asking for a shelter program, to no avail,” she added.
Arellano said their members will continue to occupy other idle housing units not only in Bulacan, but in other parts of the country.
Kilusang Mayo Uno, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Makabayan, Gabriela and Anakpawis members joined the Kadamay members to protest the lack of housing programs for the poor, blaming corruption in the government.
Tension gripped the protest rally when the placard-bearing protesters noticed the presence of intelligence officers in the area and destroyed the NHA’s signage.