PHILIPPINES: Vendors of the Luneta Park forcibly evicted 

Dear friends,

The vendors of the Luneta Park were forcibly evicted by the National Parks Development Committee on 27 February 2013. The NPDC moved in the park with a huge contingent of police personnel and SWAT teams and ordered the vendors out. Though the vendors and some support groups strived to resist the order but faced with threats of violence and confiscation of their goods they had no choice other than moving out.

The vendors, led by People’s Democratic Hawkers’ and Vendors’ Alliance (PDHVA), moved out of the Park and have been temporarily putting up near National Museum in the close proximity of the Park. The vendors have been living under continuous threat of eviction for more than a week and now, having been finally evicted, face an uncertain future with serious threats to their food security.

Though the NPDC had attributed the eviction to the beautification programme for attracting more tourists, the AHRC has been told that the real reason behind the eviction is NPDC’s plans of binging in big food chains owned by private companies inside the park.

As addressed in the previous hunger alert, the Manila Police has served a notice of eviction on them through the Ermita Police Station. The notice informs them about the imminent eviction of them from all areas of the Luneto Park on 22 February while also telling them that the police would assist the National Parks Development Authority in the endeavour.

Most of the vendors have been living and vending their wares in the park for more than 15 years while some have spent even 30 years in park. Organised under the People’s Democratic Hawkers’ and Vendors’ Alliance (PDHVA), the vendors have approached the authorities innumerable times for getting their legitimate rights. The authorities, however, have been relentless in their persecution especially in the Phase 2, 3 and 4 inside the Park. Many of the vendors even live inside the park and sleep in their carts as their meager incomes do not allow them to afford renting a house and commute to the park daily. Forced eviction will force them into destitution.

The vendors has been hounded and arrested in the past at the behest of the NPDC. The situation remained unchanged even after 2004 when the Department of Tourism has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the vendors’ representatives and granted them the rights selling their wares inside the park while continuing with the negotiations. The vendors were also given a moving cart in exchange for them agreeing to keep the Park clean and orderly. The organised livelihood programme would have contributed to maintain the historical and cultural heritage of the Park but it was revoked unilaterally by the new NPDC director Juliet Vegas when she took charge. She ordered eviction of the vendors and demolition of their carts inside the park and led to huge chaos. Many vendors had to flee the Park.

The vendors led by PDHVA successfully resisted the assault and forced the NPDC to revoke a demolition order in first quarter of 2011. Further negotiations between the authorities and the vendors resulted in NPDC promising them better place in exchange for their former vending places while also asserting that it did not want the Park to look like a market. The authorities, however, surprised the vendors by going back on its promise and setting up tents in their former vending places for rent every Friday and Monday.

The director of NPDC issued another verbal order with no statutory backing ordering the vendors to pay a rent of 300 Pesos in phase 4 and 200 Pesos in phase 2. NPDC rationalized its order by arguing that they wanted to recover their expenses in setting up tents which they had rented out to big business including Retail Chains. The coming of these stores in the Park adversely affected the already dwindling income of the vendors who were now also forced to pay the unaffordable rents.

The NPDC delivered another blow to the vendors in Feburary 2012 by going back on its promise of giving them alternative space and asserted that it wanted to turn Luneta Park into a Zero Vending Zone. The vendors then approached the Department of Tourism which asked the NPDC to resolve the problem of the vendors but NPDC Director Juliet Villegas ignored the recommendation.

NPDC, instead of following the recommendation, upped the ante against the vendors and has been harassing and threatening them ever since. It forcibly evicted 15 vendors on February 6, 2012 inside the Halamanang Pilipino followed by another eviction of vendors and confiscation of their goods and personal belongings on February 15, 2012. The authorities launched another attack on the vendors on March 27, 2012 when more than 20 security person confiscated all the goods and personal belongings of the vendors while also physically assaulting them. They reportedly punched a pregnant vendor and brutally attacked the others.

The illegality of the attack is betrayed by the fact that vendors approached city mayor and got their confiscated goods released.

To assuage the vendors, officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development approached them and asked them to fill up forms to work as street sweepers and immediately vacate their vending spaces. The employment offered, however was just for 3 months, leaving the vendors, dependent on daily earnings, with no choice other than refusing to accept it. The current assault continues the cycle of violence and intimidation against them and exposes them to hunger.

Please express your concern and anger against the eviction of the vendors despite large-scale resentment against the same.

The AHRC is communicating separately to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the right to adequate food and on the right to health respectively seeking an intervention in the case.