An interview with renowned urban poor activist Naynay Mameng

(Ed. note: 78-year-old Carmen “Naynay Mameng” Deunida is an urban poor activist from the Philippines and the National Chairperson of the KADAMAY (Kalipunan ug Damayang—an alliance organization fighting for the rights of poor people living in urban areas in that country. The following interview was conducted by staff members of the Asian Human Rights Commission when Naynay visited the AHRC office in Hong Kong to discuss her work and also the present catastrophic situation in the Philippines.

AHRC: On behalf of all of us at AHRC, we thank you for being with us today and agreeing to talk to us about your work. Firstly, please tell us about your work and also the circumstances under which you carryout your work in the Philippines?

Naynay: I am much honoured to be invited here to be with you and to share all our experiences especially regarding the political killings and other human rights violations that are taking place in the Philippines today. My name is Carmen Deunida. I am also known as Naynay Mameng and am the National Chairperson of KADAMAY (Kalipunan ug Damayang) an alliance organization for urban poor people in the Philippines. This organization was established in 1987. One of the most serious calamities faced by the urban poor in the Philippines is the demolition of their houses. These people are totally against these demolitions. And I am sad to say there in the course of demolishing their shanties, the police and military use a considerable amount of violence and brutality perpetrated on these poor folk.

It must be understood that when the police and the military demolish their shanties, these people not only lose their homes, but also their entire livelihoods. And sometimes they lose their lives too. So far there have been 744 victims of human rights violations and state brutality—many of them related to the demolitions. Also, these figures only reflect the number of people killed before I came to Hong Kong. I hear there have been more killings thereafter.

We all know that the right to work is a basic human right. At the same time, I believe, people also have the right to fight for their welfare. But in the Philippines, it is very difficult for people to organize a mass rally in support of their rights and welfare because it is very difficult to obtain a permit from the Mayor or other municipal authorities to do so. And even if people succeeded in obtaining a permit to hold a protest rally, the permit is often not recognized by the police. So they are continuously harassed. Sometimes the police even use extreme forms of force to disperse the people.

Sometimes, even when people obtain permits and hold protest rallies we have witnessed the police using water cannons and baton charging the people. They simply do not allow the people to conduct their peaceful rallies. Earlier I mentioned the number of people who have been killed. But those who have been abducted and disappeared too have to be taken into account. Now all human rights activists and others who support the struggles of ordinary people, are also targeted. Their lives are put in grave danger. As a result, many are now afraid to join rallies organized by human rights or other groups in their area. People are also afraid to join these protest rallies because they know members of the military infiltrate their community and live among them in order to identify those who participate in these activities. And those who continue to participate are targeted to be killed abducted or disappeared.

And I must reiterate that many people have been killed, especially those who live long the railroads. Actually people put up their shanties along the railroads because it is cheaper and also because it is convenient for them to pursue their livelihoods from there. They are reluctant to be relocated to a remote area because then they would lose their livelihoods. So many people who have been forcibly relocated from the railroads to the provinces of Bulacan and South Leyte have been killed by the military because they refused to go and also tried to prevent their houses being demolished. On the other hand, the government is adamant to demolish the shanties because it wants to hand over the lands to rich people in the area as well as to foreign investors to construct big buildings and for various investment and development projects.

Most killings are carried out by military personnel who ride motorbikes wearing civilian clothing and facemasks. They do not wear their uniforms because this way they can conceal their identities while living among the community. Then they slowly identify those who participate in protest rallies and kill them.

Now I would like to tell you about what happened at the 10^th anniversary meeting for victims of political killings in Southern Philippines. When we were travelling for the meeting our cars were followed by two motorcycles. One had two men riding on it while the other had one rider. After sometime it became quite obvious that they were following us. Now after the meeting—which I attended as Chairperson—I again travelled by car and later took a taxi to the airport. All along I noticed that my vehicle was being closely followed by a motorcycle. Then when my baggage was being checked in at the airport, I once again noticed the motorcycle rider standing nearby. So I decided to confront him and asked, “why are you following me?” He quickly denied he was following me and said it was only a coincidence that he was there at that particular moment. I demanded to see his identity card but he did not show it to me. I insisted I knew he was from the military and that he was following me with the intention of killing me. He merely said, “sorry”. I said if he was going to kill me was it all going to be ok if he said 'sorry'. He did not reply and instead quickly walked away. So this is the sad state of affairs in my country.

There is no respect for human rights in the Philippines, one of the main reasons being that the government is openly permitting human rights violations to occur. Even during the last general elections it was the government that was in the forefront violating the rights of the people.

AHRC: What is the major contention of the people against the government? And how has the government contributed to the problem?

Naynay: Many Filipino people are protesting the human rights violations. The main problem is that the Philippines government has allocated a large portion of its budget to the military instead of the upliftment of the poor. It is pathetic that the state has allocated so much money to the military—to stop the resistance of the people.

AHRC: How did you arrive at a death toll of 744? Does this only include those who were killed trying to resist the demolition of their houses?

Naynay: I obtained this figure from the records of KARAPATAN—the alliance of human rights groups in the Philippine. It includes those killed resisting the demolitions. However these killings have not been officially recorded and no police investigations have been conducted in to the killings so far.

AHRC: What is the legal process involved regarding demolition of houses?

Naynay: The process of demolition is completely arbitrary. The government orders the demolition. The police and army simply go to that particular area and carryout the demolition. They do not show any official order or document from the government authorizing the demolition. The lands belong to the government and the residents know this. But the government does not want the poor people to use these lands. Instead what it wants is to chase the poor people away and give the lands to rich corporations and foreign investors for various development projects.

We have reliable information that most of the demolitions are taking place under the instructions and supervision of the Vice President. Apparently he has personally ordered and supervised the police and army to demolish the shanties. I have some video documentaries showing the Vice President Manuel Noli De Castro leading a demolishing campaign. He can clearly be seen giving orders to the police for the demolition.

Therefore, there was no need for legal documents because the Vice President had personally given orders and was personally present to see the demolition through. He said the land was needed to carryout out improvement work on the Philippine National Railway—in accordance with an agreement signed between the Philippines and China. Actually there are two agreement regarding the National Railroad Development project entered into separately wit (South) Korea and China. But it is rather obvious that the Philippines government has decided to develop the National Railway not for the welfare of the poor and marginalized but for the benefit of the government as well as the rich and powerful.

AHRC: What are the alternatives if any, offered by the government to resettle these displaced poor people?

Naynay: All what the government offered was to resettle the people in an extremely remote area of the province. But the government did not provide any water or electricity. Neither were there adequate sanitation facilities—there was only one toilet for about fifty families. But the biggest problem was that people did not have jobs. Besides, the land given to them had earlier been a fish farm so the area was very muddy. There was also no hospital in the area. So if people contract dengue fever, which is the most common illness in the Philippines, they will die.

AHRC: What action are people in the community taking for negotiating with the government about the demolishing and displacing caused and also for obtaining compensation for their loss?

Naynay: Through their leaders, the residents are trying to negotiate with government officials regarding their hardships. They have even organised themselves to hold demonstrations. But there has been no response from the government, which does not seem interested in addressing their problems. The people have also not received any compensation so far.

AHRC: When did the demolitions start? And how long ago did the killings begin?

Naynay: The demolitions started around 2000 and continued until 2006. All the killings I mentioned before took place during this time. These were recorded by our leaders and submitted to KARAPATAN as well as to the area police. But to date, as far as I am aware, no action has been taken to investigate the killings.

AHRC: What kind of solidarity exists among the victims' families?

Naynay: The victims have been made aware of the actual reasons why the government wants to demolish their shanties. They now understand why it is so important that they unit in fighting for their rights, their lost homes and their livelihoods. So now, the victims have organized themselves to fight for their rights even in the law courts. They also promptly come forward and join in rallies and demonstrations agitating for their cause.

AHRC: Do you know the name of the Korean company involved in this project, which has led to these demolitions?

Naynay: Actually I do not know which particular Korean Company is involved in the National Railway Development Project. I only know that there is an agreement between both the Korean and Chinese Governments and the Philippines Government. The agreement includes a specific timeframe for completing the project. So if this timeframe is not followed in accordance with the agreement, it would result in a breach of contract by the Philippines Government.

AHRC: As an international organization, if we have a copy of the agreement or any other valid documentary evidence regarding this signed agreement, we would be able to voice our views directly to the Philippine Government as well as the Korean and Chinese Governments. This would be a very effective campaign for the benefit of the victims. This is especially because as you said, even thought your organization and others have held protest rallies and made representations to Philippine government officials, they have just turned a blind eye. So if we join together with other international organizations and make representations directly to your Philippine Government as well as the Korean and Chinese Governments, I am sure we will get a positive result and at least some sort of consideration would be shown to the plight of your people. Even in Korea there are various organizations and groups who take up similar human rights issues. So if we are able to get this information across to these groups in Korea, I am sure they too will take a initiative in their own country to fight for your people's rights. Wouldn't this be an effective way of obtaining justice for your people?

Naynay: Yes. When I get back, I will send you copies of these documents.

AHRC: We at AHRC do really appreciate your courage in leading this struggle for the people in your country. I just want to ask, why do you think the government together with the police and the military are trying to kill activists who are raising the cause of poor people in the Philippines?

Naynay: The government is afraid, that if this kind of campaign continues, it would expose to the outside world, the true nature of the government. The government is worried that the massive corruption, election frauds, and other nefarious activities committed by the leaders would get exposed to the public and the outside world.

So the government thinks the only way to stop people criticizing and speaking against it is to kill the activists who are responsible for rallying the people to protest against the government. This is also the main reason for killing the Opposition leaders. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo she might be ousted from power. So now the President is pushing to change our country’s supreme Constitution in order to continue in power. She knows that once ousted, all her crimes will be exposed. She does not want this to happen. So, to safeguard herself and her interests she is allowing the killings to continue.

The President’s desire to stay in power is so great that when an impeachment motion was moved against her in the legislature, she managed to defeat it by offering free tax benefits to members of the legislative.

AHRC: Earlier, you mentioned the incident about a motorcyclist following you to the airport. It seems you are being monitored closely and that your life might be in danger. What would happen to your activism and your work if some harm was to come to you?

Naynay: Actually, I am not afraid of being killed. I am prepared to sacrifice my life for the sake of all the suffering people in the Philippines. For example, I was the guest speaker during the Unity Congress meeting held recently. I am proud to say that during my address, I publicly challenged the government on the killings taking place in the country. And I told them; I am even willing to be killed, on the condition that they stop killing all other activists.

AHRC: Now to a personal question—when and why did you first get involved in this type of work?

Naynay: I have been a human rights activist since 1970. I remember even when I was young, I had many questions: Why were there so many poor people in our country? What was the reason for this kind of mass poverty? And why wasn’t anyone doing anything to eliminate this problem? In an attempt to find the answers I joined a church group. But I did not find the answers I was looking for. So I became a human rights activist.

Also in about 1970, my son belonged to a youth organization. They held all their meetings at my home. I attended these meetings—despite the fact that I was much older to them—and listened to what these young people were talking about of what was taking place in the Philippines. Gradually I got interested in the activities of the group. Later I joined their group—despite being much older to them and the mother of my son—and discussed various issues with them. Since then, I have actively got involved in all their activities. Then in 1998, I formed my organization and became chairperson of it.

AHRC: Do you try and reach out for assistance from other members in your community—those who might not be considered typically ‘poor’?

Naynay: We have tried to reach out to community members who are not typically considered ‘urban poor’. At the inception, we specifically explained to them why we formed our organization and what our activities were. Thereafter, some of them did join us.

Now, poor people in our community as well as others are all concerned about the happenings in the country. We receive a lot of encouragement to go on with our work. In fact our supporters are now increasing because they disapprove of what the government is doing. But one of the main problems is that most people are reluctant to publicly join in our activities because they are afraid of being targeted. Nonetheless many express their support to us.

AHRC: Thank you very much for enlightening us on what is happening in the Philippines and about your work. We wish you good luck.

Naynay: Thank you too—for affording me this opportunity and also for agreeing to help us in our struggles.