A few minutes later, a teargas was fired at a portion of the community that was not included in the demolition. Residents, many women and children, ran for air. Soon afterward, the police started to break the barricades facing St. John the Baptist church and eventually the other protest center near the Pinaglabanan Shrine. The police doused the residents water cannon.

The residents fought back using slingshots, stones, bottles and even plastic bags filled with human feces, called “T-bombs” or “tae bombs.”  The police then fired a canister of teargas to the residents, forcing them to leave their barricades. Members of the media were also caught in the crossfire.

Eleven residents were arrested during the demolition. The charges against them, according to Police Inspector Danilo Anselmo, would vary. About 40, were injured, including a baby who reportedly developed an infection after being suffocated by fumes from the teargas.

Blaming the Left

In a press conference by Ejercito and his father, the congressman said that right after the construction of the city hall sometime next year, a medium-rise housing facility within San Juan would be the government’s next priority. Informal settlers, even those who have already been relocated elsewhere, may have the opportunity to return to San Juan if they wanted to as the said facility, which he estimates may cover up to five hectares, can accommodate as many as 2,000 families.

The residents put up barricades. (Photo by Kodao Production)

Ejercito said they needed to prioritize the new city hall because the old one has become “too congested.”

Despite the purported efforts of the local government unit to follow all legal procedures, Ejercito blamed the violence that erupted during the demolition on the presence of “non-resident activists” who he said agitated the residents. He showed to the press rifle grenades, slingshots, knives, among others, which he said were brought in by the activists and were proof, according to him, that they do not have other business in Corazon de Jesus aside from causing trouble.

Estrada, Ejercito’s father, even branded the non-residents as “professional squatters.”

“I do not know why they (activists) have to come here. It is a good thing that half of the residents chose to volunteer (to leave for the relocation site). Half of them chose to believe hearsay,” said Estrada, who was ousted in 2001 through a “people power” revolt due to massive corruption during his two years in power.

But activists defended the residents. “(The) residents were merely defending their rights. They do not need the Left to defend their lives and homes. In every demolition, the poor will fight,” Kabataan Rep. Raymond Palatino told Bulatlat.com.”It is his family (Ejercitos) who are responsible for the violence because they called for the demolition.”

Kabataan Rep. Mong Palatino: “The residents were capable enough to fight for their right.” (Photo by Kodao Production)

On accusations that it was the activists that brought the grenades and canisters of teargas, Palatino said they “are not stupid” to bring such since “these can hurt and even kill us.” He added in his blog that if the activists had really wanted to cause trouble, “why didn’t the activists throw the grenade at the police?”

Ejercito, Palatino said, should not be surprised to see machetes and icepicks since these can be found in any household. “Was he expecting that residents would be holding pictures of Erap (Estrada) while they are demolishing their homes?” he said.

He added that Ejercito should not belittle the capacity of the poor to fight for themselves because they can think and can plan ways to pursue their struggle. “The poor will fight with or without the support of activists when their life and livelihood are at stake,”  he said, citing last year’s violent demolition of urban-poor homes in Taguig and in New Manila that were not supported by activists.

If there was anyone who provoked the violence, Palatino said, it was the Ejercito family who, in the first place, denied the residents of their homes. He said the Ejercitos should be thankful that activists were present at that time to guide the residents, saying that they were even prepared in terms of legal struggle, as the demolition could have turned more violent.

Palatino said by using “red scare,” Ejercito was avoiding responsibility for what happened. “The (Ejercitos) have been in San Juan for a long time but cheap in-city housing projects has not been given to residents of Corazon de Jesus,” he said

Struggle Continues

On the same day of the demolition, Ricky Carandang, President Benigno S. Aquino III’s secretary for Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning, said the president had already ordered the Department of the Interior and Local Government to investigate.

The residents endured water cannons and tear gas. (Photo by Kodao Production)

The demolition, Carandang said, proceeded after San Juan Mayor Guia Gomez spoke with Aquino and assured him that it would be a voluntary relocation. “Obviously, something went wrong. So the President is now ordering an investigation,” Carandang said.

But some residents blame the Aquino administration itself for what happened.

“While these battles are waged under the pretext of local government projects, they are within the Aquino regime’s callous and brutal anti-poor mindset,” Roger Soluta, secretary general of the Kilusang Mayo Uno, said in a statement.  Apart from the Corazon de Jesus demolition, Soluta cited the demolition of urban-poor communities in Old Manila and North Triangle, Quezon City, as well as the crackdown on kuliglig drivers, and sidewalk vendors. “These are flashpoints of Aquino’s war against the urban poor,” he said.

 Save as PDF