32

 

Plunge­–In Two Reports

 

ZONE ONE TONDO DISTRICT (ZOTO)

 

Tondo district is a part of Metro Manila and has a population of about half a million. ZOTO (Zone One-Tondo) area is situated on the reclaimed area of Manila Bay and is part of the Tondo district. Between 27,000 families live in Zoto as squatters. Known as the largest squatter settlement in Asia, ZOTO is comprised of 8 villages (barrios) namely. It is also said that this squatter set­tlement is the most organized among urban settlements in the region.

 

The Organization

Each of the village under ZOTO has 6 to 8 local organizations with their own elected officers. The Assembly meets every two years to elect new executives.

The organization was formed in October 1974 when a Presidential Decree was issued on the reclamation of the foreshore land for the International Seaport project and the plan to convert the area into an industrial Commercial Centre. Since then despite a great deal of opposition to it, ZOTO has been safe guarding the rights and interests of the people. It has been negotiating with the authorities about matters affecting the people.

I have found the organization very much aware and alert to the problems of its mem­bers. Also they have evolved strategies and tactics on how to go about bringing the problems to the authorities.

But quite often their demands and petitions are ignored, turned down or even when some promises are made, they seldom are fulfilled. Further­more, in response to their claims, authorities impose additional policies which aggravate their situation and conditions rather than improve them.

 

Problems Faced by the People

There are many problems encountered by the residents of ZOTO; the following are the most pressing, according to my source: first, the demolition plan, which is directed by Presidential decree ordering the demolition of houses and relocation of the people to places like Cavite, an agricultural site. The people say that they cannot seek employment there as they are used to farming; if they continue to work in Manila, the greater part of their income will go to transportation alone; and they shall not be able to afford the rent of a new house. Poverty is the common lot of the people. Their income is irregular and not enough for even basic sustenance. A lot of people are unemployed, creating social problems in the area.

High prices of basic commodities was also mentioned. The people who receive very little income cannot cope with the increase in prices of basic commodities. With the little they make and no corresponding in­crease in their wages, their level of living goes down and down. Malnutrition is quite rampant.

The lack of water and the sanitation affect the living conditions of the people. Fresh water is still bought at 50cents a can, which is much for a family living on P10.00 wage, which comes about 2 or 3 times a week.

(Reported by Paul Masta)

Livelihood of the People

Most of the people in Zoto earn their living by fishing, fish-hauling or being stevedores. These workers earn from P10-P15 per day but they work only twice or thrice a week depending upon the sea-vessels if they are stevedores. Fishermen who go out in their little boats are greatly affected by the presence of big Japanese fishing enterprises and the pollution of the waters from the ships that dock in the area. The fish haulers are also affected by the Japanese fishing companies.

The work then of people is quite irregular. Many of the women and some men and children sell vegetables as street hawkers but the income here is low. I was told that about 40-50% of the people in the area are jobless. In some cases, where they have a little space

 

33

 

in their lot, they try to grow some crops like papaya and root crops but this is not much to help them in their daily living. About 40 – 50% of the people here are jobless.

 

Living Conditions

Because the poverty of the people, the living conditions are miserable. Most of the people live in ‘barung – barong’ (shacks) which are built so near to each other that a small space is left for people to walk on. The barung – barung are highly congested – so many people – more than one family – share the very small space.

The surroundings are dirty and smelly. There no proper drainage and the sanitation is terrible. The people suffer from many diseases caused by insanitation but mostly from malnutrition. Many children die of bronchial diseases.  Although there are hospitals nearby many cannot get medical help because they cannot afford even the least fee charged of them.

The poor economic and physical conditions of the people bring about many social problems. Many of the children cannot go to school beyond the grades, if they go to the grades at all. For there is an acute shortage of school space. In each area, there is only me primary school for the eight thousand people living there. This problem plus unemployment leave a great number of people die creating delinquencies among the youth and children and also crime tendencies among the adults.

(Reported by Paul Sisir Sarkar)

 

The Land Question

In many talk with the people, the problem of land title emerged as their principal concern. For underneath all their many grave problems is the insecurity of knowing that they do not possess the land upon which they live. For this means they can be uprooted from this place anytime.

Many people referred to the absentee landlord. In ZOTO 6% of the land is claimed by absentee landlords — people who own the title deeds but are not making use of the lots.

The ZOTO people feel that these people are not really entitled to the land although they have been able to possess a deed to it.

There are mixed feelings about relocation Many of the residents want to remain in the area. But the government should develop the place for the benefit of the residents – which means providing proper streets, drainage, fire houses, police stations, postal services, and other public services. Some are willing to be relocated in Navotas, nearby area and along the coastal area, too, provided the place shall be prepared for them before they move.

All of the people dread the move to places like Carmona and Sapang Palay as they have seen and heard of the misery of those who have been transferred there. Accessibility to jobs is high priority among the people.

The people are reluctant to move into high-rise housing project. They are unwilling to live in condominium, which stretches up to many stories. They would like to have 96 square meters for each household and a house, which is not more than two-storey tall.

 

The People

In the midst of the squalor, proverty and the misery present in the place I was very much touched by the people. Their spirit was remarkable! The sense of community was very marked. Most of the people knew one another by names and I experienced this when I stayed with them for a while.

The people are not only friendly but they have courage and they seem to have a lot of hope. I have been told that during typhoons, most of their shacks are practically sub­merged under water or they are destroyed by the tides. Recently there were many houses demolished by the typhoons. But the people keep on building and rebuilding.

Their community organization has helped them much in gaining some concessions from the government. But most important they have been more conscious of what they can do as an organized body. Talking with some of their leaders, who are women, I

 

34

 

have noticed a certain mark of political awareness as they talked about their rights as Filipinos and human beings to live decently in their own land and their right to speak of truth and justice even when they are threatened.

Those of us who visited the squatters of Tondo are touched by the deep humanity of the people, of the families. They are poor, they possess almost nothing in terms of material wealth but their love and attachment to each other is deep. They are bound to each other. And for me herein lies their strength.

(Reported by Linda Sumilat)

 

BARRIO CAMARIN

Camarin is located on the northeastern sec­tion of Novaliches, Caloocan, Metro Manila. In 1953, Camarin was designated as reloca­tion site for the landless and low-income groups of Greater Manila under the Philippine Housing and Home site Corporation (PHHC) now known as the National Housing Autho­rity (NHA). Under the Magsaysay Administration in 1956, people started coming into the area squatting on abandoned lots and open space and developed the area through their own initiatives since the PHHC gave little attention to its development.

At the time of relocation, families were awarded 240 sq. meters per family with one sq. m. costing P3.90 –P9.30. In 1976, land cost went up to P45.00 per sq. m. The whole amount is payable in 25 years with an interest rate of 2% per annum.

Out of the total population of more than 15,000 people, about 80% of them are indigents and squatters, according to a survey on the community.

Most of the people whom I met were poor. I spent five days with a family who lives in Area A. The father of the family is jobless. There are five children and one was attending the elementary school. Sometimes mother worked as a laundry woman in Manila three times a week and earned around P10.00. The family did not eat rice daily. For substitute, they eat sweet potato, bananas or porridge.

Their house, only 21 sq. m. in area and made from second-hand wood planks, is rented at P25.00 per month.

Another family I met had four children. The father worked as a scavenger with an in­come between P5-P10 a day. Like the first family, they had to pay P25 a month for their house rent. The mother also helped in earning livelihood for the family. According to the mother, she and her husband do not really know how they can change their family economic condition. Before 'Martial Law', her husband worked in a manufacturing company but he was discharged because he was found to be suffering from tuberculosis.

I was able to meet with the community organization members. According to them, they just signed a petition to the government to install electricity in the barrio. This, for them, seemed to be the priority to change their economic condition. The installation and the management is under the Camarin Electricity Community Cooperation. To have electricity in the house, each family had to pay P59.00 per month. This meant that not all the people would have electricity as very few could afford the monthly rate.

After meeting with them, I had a strong feel­ing that the people in that community do not know why they are poor. I had a difficulty of seeing how the installation of the electricity could increase the people's income. And it seems to me that it will be a long time before the people can change their own condition. The barrio is divided into two major areas: Camarin I and Camarin II.

(Reported by Zulfikly Lubis)

 

Camarin covers an area of 166 hectares of which only 92 hectares serve as residential and relocation sites. The rest are rice-fields, places for industrial complex and the rest are idle lands.

Among the people I talked with, I found that high school graduates who work in the two factories in the area get P6.00 a day for casuals and P11.00 for permanent workers without any benefits. Some of the individual

 

35

 

aspirations they expressed were: permanent jobs, salaries according to needs, land of their own, higher education.

As community needs, they listed medical services, better transportation, vocational training for the youth, additional recreational facilities and bigger churches. Workers in the  factories were aspiring for better wages, health and sanitation inside the factories and improved building.

On the whole, the people expressed the strong opinion that there should be improvements in the barrio. And it is long overdue as no change has been done for the last twenty years.

(Reported by Sushil Jacob)

 

NATIONAL HOUSING CORPORATION EMPLOYEES

My assignment was mainly with the National Housing Corporation (NHC) so I had several interviews with both management and workers of the corporation. I also visited briefly two of the housing/resettlement projects of the NHC, Bagong Bayan and Carmona.

The NHC was created and approved under the Security and Exchange Laws. It was established by funds coming from four government institutions: Social Security System, the Government Service and Insur­ance System, the Philippine National Bank and the Development Bank of the Philip­pines. The NHC was created to build low-cost housing for low-income group and the acquisition of land for development into sub-divisions for the housing projects.

The people welcomed with high expectations this program of the government because of their desire to possess their own lot and house.

My talk with the employees and manage­ment of NHC revealed the following. On the economic aspect, the salaries / wages are comparatively lower than those of other government agencies. In fact, even their lower-scale pays are delayed because of the insufficiency of funds. It appeared that outflows exceeded the inflows. The employees also indicated that their union's demand for the 13th month pay has not been fully implemented. Nor the overtime renumeration, which is rightfully theirs for having rendered service during rest days and legal holidays.

There was a strong feeling of insecurity due to temporary or unsure tenure of employ­ment. Generally, there was a sense of frus­tration over the fact that the NHC has be­come a mere construction arm of the National Housing Authority as its primary functions and objectives have been turned over to the latter body.

The inteviewees also referred to the absence of recreational facilities and activities and also library and research programs.

Since they are employed by the corpora­tion which is supposed to take care of houses for low-income groups, the employees felt that they should also benefit from this pro­gram by being granted housing units built specially for employees. They also voiced out their need for cooperative movements to help them in making both ends meet as they find it increasingly difficult to cope with the rising prices of even the most basic of commodities.

My visit in Bagong Bayan brought me in contact with some who live in the houses built for the people there. A house is made of one multi-purpose from which is a dining room during meal time, a kitchen and play­room during daytime, a living room when visitors come and a bedroom at night. But the scene in Carmona was beyond my wildest imagination! Before visiting the area, thought that people who were transferred there were crazy to reject relocation. For what I envisaged as housing settlements would be at least some small bungalows. But upon arriving in Carmona, there were no bungalow neither were there houses. All we saw were big pig pens and others were more mode than pig pens!

(Reported by Patrick McDivith)

 

36

 

UNIVERSITY STUDENT BELT

We stayed at a hostel run by the Methodist Church for women attending university in Manila. I found the facilities there adequate, but by my standard, the girls had little privacy, sleeping in rooms for 4 or 6 people. It was particularly noisy with traffic and people. Meals were average.

In the morning of the first day, we had a dis­cussion with students trying to form a new organization called "National League for Filipino Students". The first Congress was held on 18 September this year. It was attended by 250 delegates from 26 colleges and universities. The second congress, to elect the national leadership, is planned for December.

The NLFS grew out of an alliance of students formed earlier in the year to complain about the increase in tuition fees which ranged from 15 to 250%, e.g. the School of Econo­mics at the University of the Philippines fees rose from P165.00 to P250.00 per semester while at the School of Fisheries they rose from the nominal amount of 50cents to P250. As a result of the boycott of classes by 200,000 students, the Department of Education said that the maximum allow­able increase was 15% unless proof could be provided for a greater increase.

Prior to the imposition of Martial Law in 1972, the student movement had been massive and powerful. Students had the constitutional right to organize. But since '972, the student leaders have disappeared. The situation of students has been very difficult. But the students have been re – organizing drawing inspiration from other sectors of the society such as workers and farmers.

Since September 1977, about 50 students from the University of the Philippines have been detained. Before they are released, they have to sign a statement saying they will not be involved in student activism again. Some students involved in student protests are "blacklisted (not at the University of the Philippines) and those blacklisted have to get a clearance from the military before they can re-enroll.

In the afternoon, we visited a hospital and nursing school. Nursing students have to work three eight-hour days a week in addition to the three days a week when they have lectures. Their work is viewed as the practical part of their course and they are not paid for it. If they miss a day of work and cannot produce a medical certificate saying they were sick, they have to make up 24 hours of work.

The following day we visited the State University and discussed with student leaders the types of things they had been doing and the position of students in their country. They told us: 1.) in September, they had asked the President of the university to resign as he is just a name in the campus. His policies are anti-democratic and anti-student, e.g. in the controversy over the editorship of the student newspaper, the Administration settled the matter. 2.) On 23 September, they marked the fifth year of Martial Law with protest and requested the lifting of Martial Law. 3.) In August, they boycotted classes because of the rise in tuition fees. In this mass action, a good number of the faculty supported them. This had been effective to the extent that refunds and discounts were given according to one's family's income.

On the last day, we were brought to the Philippines International Convention Center where School of Evangelism and School of Writing were being conducted in association with the Billy Graham Crusade. We asked our guide to justify the expense of holding these schools here when many were hungry and homeless in the Philippines. It seemed inconsonant with the Gospel to hold these events in such luxurious surroundings. He told us that the expense of the schools was being met by the Billy Graham Crusade and that it was not funded locally.

Our four days in Manila gave me the begin­ning of an understanding of the life and problems of a Filipino student. The students are beginning to speak again after five years of Martial Law.

(Janice Calvert — Nimalka Fernando)

 

37

 

This report is based on 4-day living in the heart of Metro-Manila. We lodged at the YMCA so we could be easily in contact the students in the university belt. Of the 44 million population of the Philippines, there are 18 million university students. A great number of these are located in the university belt with an area of 4 sq. m. where at least 20 universities and colleges are located.

We visited a nursing school the following day. I was shocked to learn of some facts such as the student nurses having to pay tuition fees and having to work 3-8 hours a day in addition to their 3 days of lectures every week. For the service to the hospital called as practical training, the student nurses do not receive any pay. Thus, they are the free laborers of the hospital for 3 years. In my own country, nursing students do not pay any tuition fees; in fact, they get subsidy and free accommodations.

We also visited a women's university and spent most of our time visiting with the school of social work. The students seem to be very concerned about the suffering of the people as more than 30% of the Filipino people according to their statistics suffer from lack of the basic needs of life: food, shelter, clothing, medical care.

We then went to a protestant Christian university, which has more than 4000 students but the buildings and facilities are not large enough to serve them. So we saw students everywhere — inside the building and on the campus. From our talk with both students and the President of the university, we gathered that there is a gap between staff and students as students are not allowed to take part in the academic committee and the school board.

The last day was spent in talking with stu­dents of an exclusive catholic college, which caters to the elite of society. We found the library and other facilities excellent. Though student union was banned by Martial Law, the school's Association of Student Councils was well organized. But the school author­ities check the student activities quite strictly and there have been cases where faculty staff have been dismissed for speaking against the school and the government.

Based on this four-day exposure, I have dis­covered that largely students are aware of the social problems and the political issues in their country. Some of those I have talked with are not only highly critical but analy­tical. I found the exposure very enlightening and encouraging.

(Yick Kai Tai — Sateen Alam)

 

UP AT LOS BANOS

Views and opinions expressed in this report are based on slide shows shown to us, inter­views with the personnel of the institution, and informal talk with students and staff during our 41/2 days stay on the campus.

Our study-visit to UPLB aimed to see how the institution contributes to the develop­ment of Philippine society. The visit included three separate sections: 1.) Interviews with personnel and tour of UPLB itself, 2.) visit to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and 3.) visit to the South East Asia Region for Cooperation in Agriculture (SEARCA). We also visited in our spare time a nearby fishing village.

To begin our tour of UPLB, we saw a slide-show, giving an outline of how UPLB had developed. UPLB was declared an autono­mous unit by Presidential Decree in late 1972 after the declaration of Martial Law. Among its aim was to try to bring about social change in the agricultural and rural sectors. While this may be a noble aim, it was difficult for us to see evidences as we went on with our study-visit that UPLB was approaching its task in a way that the results of their research reached the bottom levels of the agricultural and rural stratification in Philippine society. In any case, basic problem of land reform has not been solved so how does scientific research at this point resolve this human problem? The impression that we got was that everything was being planned and thought out by the

 

38

 

professors and middle-class students and then given to the farmers. As one staff member aptly put it, "A package of tech­nology that is not adaptable to the farmer's situation". One good example of this was the use of costly and modern electric fences to keep motes out of the rice fields.

From the slide shows and other exhibits around the university, it also seemed that the University was being used to bolster the image of the government. After seeing and discussing the experimental area (about 4,000 hectares) used by the UPLB (much of which was taken from peasants who were then re-settled elsewhere), we saw that UPLB is very much in control of the financiers. The freedom of research is very much influenced by the funders. Some students and faculty staff made the com­ment that a good number of companies give funds for research so they could in turn make use and money out of the results of the research.

The institution also helped in pushing for technology set-ups, which make farmers buy machines manufactured and distributed by foreign companies, mostly American. So while the companies cash in on such a situa­tion, back in the farms, the machines put people out of work.

We interviewed next the heads of offices of the student organization and activities, foreign students and student housing, graduate placement and college of forestry counseling. We found the discussion of responsibilities superficial except with the last office. There was a complete aversion to anything that had to do with Philippine Politics, which really was not surprising given the orientation of the institution.

The Office of Student Organizations and Activities made the final decision as to whether or not a student group could exist and function in the University. There are about 70 student organizations at UPLB. The OSA has photographs of the leaders of each group and a brief description of their aims and functions. Our question as to how a decision was made so a proposed organiza­tion is acceptable or not, was not answered.

The Counselor for one of the colleges was the most open because he was personally known to us. He expressed the view that counseling (which is done by all four sectors) seemed very superficial. There didn't seem to be any long term plan and most of their time was spent in solving intra-fraternity disputes and guides on housing.

We stayed three nights in a student's housing and one night in a staff's housing unit. The latter was comfortable but the former was another matter. The dormitory where we stayed in was owned and run by the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. There were few rooms for 2 persons but most were shared by four students.

The room where we stayed in was approximately 10 x 10 ft. There was absolutely no privacy for the students — not even a curtain around the beds. The beds were the bunk type.

Students had to provide their own beddings. There were two bathrooms, four toilets and 3 urinary bowls for all of the 45 students. The whole building was considered as a fire hazard.

This dormitory however, was deemed to be the best undergraduate dormitory for stu­dents. It has facilities such as a library, table tennis, tables and a basketball court nearby. There was also a small cafeteria downstairs, which provided most daily needs. The business was owned by the students in the dormitory. The rent for each room was P28.00 per person per month.

Student dormitories do not have their own cafeterias, but there are three other, beside the one already mentioned, on the campus. But most of the students prefer to eat in the "turo-turo" restaurants outside the Univer­sity campus.

There are minimal recreational facilities on the campus and services like a post office. But very few socials for the students are organized.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) was next in our itinerary. This is an international organization whose main aim is

 

38

 

to research a new and better methods of growing rice. There are scientists working here coming from many parts of Asia and the USA.

The main thrust of the institution was to modernize rice farms in Asia. This means mechanization and we were informed that by some coincidence the engines of machines promoted are from an American firm.

Indeed, one is impressed by the machines showed us like the fertilizing machine. But when one situates this labor – saving device within the present system of land distribution and ownership, one can. It was also easy to see how a small rice-farmer can identify with IRRI. The organiza­tion has very impressive buildings and with well-manicured lawns kept fresh by clean flowing water. When just around the vicinity where the small farmers are, it is very difficult to have running water let alone a good supply for irrigation. The whole complex is self-contained with a travel bureau, post-office, cafeterias, and comfort­able bus for transport. The spaces between buildings are used as open air aquarium. IRRI is funded by Ford and Rockefeller Foundations and also by the governments of the USA, UK, Japan and Germany.

The last set-up we visited was SEARCA, which is located inside UPLB. This institu­tion caters to graduate students from around Asia. Most of the students are from Thailand and the Philippines. The main area of specialization is agricultural research. The staff interviewed boasted that many of their graduates are now dean or presidents or heads of colleges and other institutions in Asia.

Some concluding notes:

In a plan drawn up for UPLB up to the year 2,000 called Grand Scenario, there are great plans for expansion but student accommoda­tion takes a low priority. It appeared to us that at UPLB, things are being done but not for the people that matter and not in any way touching the oppressed sectors of the community and the society at large.

In both UPLB and SEARCA, the emphasis of success was on the number of post graduates produced and their placement in the higher stratum of Philippine educational system. There have never been any mention of the fate of the students who never made it. This UPLB ‘complex’ seemed to be pervasive so its reputation rested on serving the students so much so that out of 800 freshmen only 25 passed on to the next level.

(Vimal Madhavan and Frans Allolerung)