Progress means change
SERVANT LEADER Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual
‘Build, Build, Build” is the main program of the duterte administration and many are excited to see new roads, bridges and railways here in Metro Manila. they say we are in the “golden age of infrastructure” under President duterte with all the infrustracture projects they are implementing (some of which was originally started by the previous Aquino administration, like the extention of the light Rail transit and Metro Rail transit).
Nonetheless, what’s not being tackled are the families whose houses are directly affected by these projects. For example, how many of us are even aware that 11,000 families in Metro Manila need to be relocated to give way to the South Rail Project, a commuter train from Manila to Calamba, laguna? This is in connection with the long haul train project that would connect to Matnog Sorsogon. It’s estimated that 100,000 families will be affected by the project, mostly informal settlers.
Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources warned that 300,000 informal settlers within the vicinity of Manila Bay are set for relocation. The objective is to restore the beauty of Manila Bay, which, unfortunately, has become a big dump site of waste that are washed ashore during typhoons. Also, the increase in human population contributed in the contamination of water with high levels of bacteria. Again, the poor is the center of attack in Metro Manila, allegedly for irresponsible acts of improper waste disposal. This problem should be a responsibility shared by all communities around the bay, including people living in Rizal, Bulacan and Pampanga. Residents living near Manila Bay should not shoulder all the blame. we are not saying they are not irresponsibly throwing their own garbage, but is relocation the solution for this? Can’t we say it’s also a garbage collection and segregation problem?
Some quarters, in fact, said this has something to do with the reclamation project in Manila Bay where casinos, hotels and other establishments will be built. Unfortunately, the poor will not benefit from this, just like what happened in Pasay City.
It’s no longer new to us that every election time we hear different infrastructure projects being “promised ” by politicians to the urban poor. Unfortunately, once elected, politicians stop caring for these povertystricken people. No wonder they are the first to suffer and sent elsewhere for relocation when their areas are slated for development.
This kind of practice is what Pope Francis call the “economy of exclusion and inequality.” The Pope said: “The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of His love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.”
My dear brothers and sisters, let us not be blinded with all the developments we see. Yes, we want progress, but we also want balance in how society treats the poor so they will not be displaced and feel underprivileged given the circumstances they are in.
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