Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Defend Job Philippines about planned eviction of vendors from the Luneta Park in the wake of impending Papal visit to the capital city. The threat is not a new one (previous hunger alert), however the current eviction follows an amicable settlement between the vendors and the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) last year in which the vendors had been allowed to have their stalls in a corner of the park. . The AHRC strongly denounces the planned eviction that will expose many vendors and their families to hunger because of livelihood loss and requests the authorities to stop the planned eviction.
CASE NARRATIVE:
The NPDC has served an eviction notice on the vendors that draw their livelihood from vending in and around Rizal (Luneta) Park (including Kalaw, Sta. Cruz, Manila City Hall, Padre Faura and Pedro Gil Streets) which is a continuation of past persecution. The clearing is scheduled to start on 10 January, 2015.
The notice was served in anticipation of the impending Papal visit to the country in which the Pope would have a mass at the grandstand inside the park at 3 pm on January 18. The Presidential Security Group will take over the park to ensure the safety of the Pope during the Papal visit. However, despite the stated purpose, the real intent seems to be to enforce the Zero Vending Policy. The eviction drive will affect the vendors not only in Luneta Park but also those in nearby areas such as Kalaw St., Padre Faura St., Pedro Gil St., Sta. Cruz and Manila City hall. Worryingly, the eviction drive does not make any mention of rehabilitation.
Elizabeth Espino, the director of the NPDC formally announced the eviction notice on 22 October 2014 in a meeting with the vendors organised under the banner of People’s Democratic Hawkers’ and Vendors’ Alliance (PDHVA). After the meeting, Danilo Depositar of the PDHVA was called to Manila Hotel by Col. Juan Manuel Macapas of the Philippine National Police and the National Parks Development Committee Trading Committee representative for another meeting on 25 December 2014. Col. Macapas reiterated the massive eviction drive against the vendors in that meeting.
The persecution of the vendors is not new as they have been evicted from the park repeatedly, most recently when they were forcibly evicted by a police action on 27 February 2013. That event resulted in physical violence against vendors and confiscation of their wares, tactics that were condemned both nationally and internationally for serious violations of human rights. The protests forced the NPDC and other authorities to make a task force to investigate into the accusations of the vendors. Though the task force did not end in a concrete agreement, the vendors were allowed to sell temporarily in one part of the park, they were promised that their demands will be listened to and accommodated into the Rizal Park Development Plan, and the then NPDC Director Villegas was forced to resign in the wake of discovery of “irregularities” in her work which included overpricing flagpoles. .
However, the new director has reneged on most of the promises made to vendors. She, instead, conducted a series of public consultations merely to announce that the Rizal Park would be developed as an eco-tourism area and would have no space for the vendors. Strangely, the eco-tourism area will be allowed to have big food chains operating within, making the whole idea suspect. Every eviction drive has been hard on the vendors with many of them not being able to return to their livelihood opportunities. This one seems to be even tougher and could end in a permanent removal.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities mentioned below demanding immediate intervention for ensuring that the eviction drive against the vendors is called off immediately. You may also demand that the government keep a vigil on such actions which threaten the livelihood and food security of the marginalised sections of the country.
The AHRC is writing separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food as well as to the Apostolic nuncio to the Philippines seeking their intervention.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
PHILIPPINES: Immediately stop the planned eviction drive against Luneta vendors.
Name of the victims: Vendors in and around Luneta Park
Alleged Perpetrators: Personnel of the Police and NPDC
Date and Time of the incident: ongoing
Place of incident: Metro Manila, Philippines
I am writing to you with grave concern regarding continuing the persecution of the vendors that draw their livelihood from vending in and around Rizal (Luneta) Park including Kalaw, Sta. Cruz, Manila City Hall, Padre Faura and Pedro Gil Streets. The NPDC has served an eviction notice on these as a continuation of past persecution. The clearing is scheduled to start on 10 January 2015, so immediate action is necessary.
The notice was served in anticipation of the impending Papal visit to the country in which the Pope would have a mass at the grandstand inside the park at 3 pm on January 18. The Presidential Security Group will take over the park to ensure the safety of the Pope during the Papal visit. However, despite the stated purpose, the real intent seems to be to enforce the Zero Vending Policy. The eviction drive will affect the vendors not only in Luneta Park but also those in nearby areas such as Kalaw St., Padre Faura St., Pedro Gil St., Sta. Cruz and Manila City hall. Worryingly, the eviction drive does not make any mention of rehabilitation.
Elizabeth Espino, the director of the NPDC formally announced the eviction notice on 22 October 2014 in a meeting with the vendors organised under the banner of People's Democratic Hawkers' and Vendors' Alliance (PDHVA). After the meeting, Danilo Depositar of the PDHVA was called to Manila Hotel by Col. Juan Manuel Macapas of the Philippine National Police and the National Parks Development Committee Trading Committee representative for another meeting on 25 December 2014. Col. Macapas reiterated the massive eviction drive against the vendors in that meeting.
The persecution of the vendors is not new as they have been evicted from the park repeatedly, most recently when they were forcibly evicted by a police action on 27 February 2013. That event resulted in physical violence against vendors and confiscation of their wares, tactics that were condemned both nationally and internationally for serious violations of human rights. The protests forced the NPDC and other authorities to make a task force to investigate into the accusations of the vendors. Though the task force did not end in a concrete agreement, the vendors were allowed to sell temporarily in one part of the park, they were promised that their demands will be listened to and accommodated into the Rizal Park Development Plan, and the then NPDC Director Villegas was forced to resign in the wake of discovery of "irregularities" in her work which included overpricing flagpoles. .
However, the new director has reneged on most of the promises made to vendors. She, instead, conducted a series of public consultations merely to announce that the Rizal Park would be developed as an eco-tourism area and would have no space for the vendors. Strangely, the eco-tourism area will be allowed to have big food chains operating within, making the whole idea suspect. Every eviction drive has been hard on the vendors with many of them not being able to return to their livelihood opportunities. This one seems to be even tougher and could end in a permanent removal.
I am aware that the vendors have continuously appealed to the authorities against the violations of their human rights. They filed a petition in July of 2012 with the Office of the Ombudsman, and they lodged a case at the Regional Trial Court against NPDC officials and policemen involved in evictions 2013. However, none of these measures have ended the continuous persecution.
I would like to humbly remind you that the Philippines is a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) since 7 June 1974; the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CAT) since 18 June 1986; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since 23 October 1986 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) since 5 August 1981. I am afraid that proposed eviction drive would violate many of the rights enshrined in these international instruments together with those guaranteed to them by the constitution of the country.
I, therefore, urge you to ensure that:
- The eviction notice served on the vendors in and around Luneta Park is immediately revoked,
- The zero vending policy and the continued harassment of vendors under the same is stopped,
- Genuine livelihood projects for the vendors and their families are devised in consultation with their representatives,
- The legitimate demands and concerns of the vendors are accommodated in Park's future development and regressive anti-poor measures are abandoned, and
- Those guilty of the violations of the human rights of the vendors are prosecuted.
Sincerely,
_______
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Benigno Aquino III
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
2. Ms. Loretta Ann Rosales
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: chair.rosales.chr@gmail.com
3. Corazon Juliano-Soliman
Secretary, Department of Social, Welfare and Development
Constitution Hills, Batasan Pambansa Complex,
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel/Fax: +63 (2) 931-81-91
4. Elizabeth H. Espino
Director
National Parks Development Committee
NPDC Compound
1. M Kalaw St, Rizal Park, Ermita
Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +633027119
Email: info@nationalparks.ph
5.Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr
Secretary,
Department of Tourism
T.F. Valencia Circle
T.M. Kalaw St., Rizal Park
Manila.
PHILIPPINES
Email: webmaster@tourism.gov.ph
Email: info@nationalparks.ph
Hunger Alerts Programme
Right to Food Programme (foodjustice@ahrc.asia)
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
