Urban poor leader hopes intl tribunal could serve justice

(Photo by J. Ellao / Bulatlat.com)

The demolition of homes in North Triangle is among the cases that would be filed against President Aquino in the coming International Peoples Tribunal in Washington DC in July.

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO Bulatlat.com

MANILA September 23, 2010.

That day is forever etched in Estrelieta Bagasbas mind when she and her neighbors claimed EDSA to defend and barricade their homes in Sitio San Roque in Quezon City from the demolition team. Meanwhile, she said, President Benigno Aquino III, who ate a hotdog sandwich in the streets of New York to prove he was different from his luxurious, corrupt predecessor, was quick to react and called for a moratorium on demolition.

But the urban poor leader said Aquino was no different from President Gloria Arroyo. During and after the moratorium was lifted, she added, demolitions continued and even intensified.

The urban poor are among the most-attacked sectors under Aquino. We are treated like dirt, threatened and our homes and livelihood destroyed, Bagasbas told Bulatlat.com.

The demolition of homes in North Triangle is among the cases that would be filed against Aquino in the upcoming International Peoples Tribunal in Washington DC on July 16-17. The IPT was formally announced in a press conference at the University of the Philippines on March 12.

Apart from the demolition of their homes, President Aquino and US President Barack Obama would be tried for other cases of violations of civil-political rights, socio-economic rights, right to self-determination.

There used to be nearly 20,000 families residing in North Triangle, a land owned by the governments National Housing Authority. Their homes, however, were demolished to give way to a Public-Private Partnership project, the Quezon City Central Business District.

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Urban poor leader hopes intl tribunal could serve justice