ENG 208: Discourse Analysis

Francis B. Tatel Dr. Maria Lorena Santos

____________________________________________________________________________

The Kadamay Exodus: A Resistance to Socio-Economic Hegemony

Introduction

The concepts of silence and silencing have been usually employed by discourse

analysts, pragmatists, political scientists, social psychologists, and cultural critics to refer to the

forms and processes involving social and political control (Jaworski 279). According to

Thiesmeyer, where there is discourse, silencing takes place. Thus, she defined silencing as a

way of using language to limit, remove or undermine the legitimacy of another use of language

(2). She explained that silencing comes in various forms such as unwanted silencing, complied-

in silencing, even unrealised or self-imposed silencing. Moreover, she claimed, Silencing has

been linked to relationships of authority and power in categories such as gender, class, sexuality,

race, postcolonial relations, or government intervention in citizens lives. Silencing has thus been

represented as part of a process that gives rise to or contributes to social hierarchies

(Thiesmeyer ibid).

In times of conflict, the media is one of the most potent tools to achieve silencing. Since

this institution conveys its own interest while characterizing the struggles between majority-

minority groups in conflict, it reflects the forces of domination and resistance in society

(Lambertus 233.) In fact, it has been observed from studies that the media cast an us against

them ideas that support the outlooks of powerful sources of news and attune to prevailing

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mainstream news structure when they cover stories of discord (Lambertus ibid.). In this

discourse analysis, I attempted to show that while the news article from the Philippine Star tries

to silence other discourses that are pro-Kadamay, the news account from the Philippine Daily

Inquirer attempts to resist this effort of silencing through various linguistic devices and

strategies.

Analytical Framework

The analytical framework I used in this discourse analysis has been developed by Sarah

Lambertus. This particular discourse analytical tool aims to unravel subtle yet systematic

strategies of silencing that occurs in the two texts. This framework comprises three general

dimensions for analysis: 1) relevance structures, 2) linguistic structures, and 3) thematic

structures. The analysis of relevance structure tracks the news hierarchy of important and

relevant information, and the status of media sources. The analysis of linguistic structures

comprises lexical choices, syntactic structures, and in/direct speech. The analysis of thematic

structures, which summarizes the topics covered and provides the highest level of abstraction

with other structural elements in the news story, aims to give an evaluation of the dominant

themes in the two news narratives. Furthermore, I will supplement my analysis and interpretation

of in/direct speech by using the table for The Rhetoric of Worthy Versus Unworthy Victims from

Samia Bazzis CDA framework, which is a version of CDA that is specifically designed to

analyze politically sensitive language in times of conflicts.

Context of the NHA Housing Take-Over by the Kadamay

Some 6,000 families that belong in the group Kadamay (Kalipunan ng Damayang

Mahihirap or Federation of Mutual Aid for the Poor) and other informal settlers occupied idle

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housing units of the National Housing Authority (NHA) in Pandi, Bulacan on March 8, 2017

(Pasion 1). Kadamay said this was to protest against the failure of the Duterte administration and

the housing authorities to provide shelters in the area. Of these housing units, 538 were awarded

specifically to Philippine National Police personnel. Following this movement, another group of

families composed of 500-1,000 members, occupied other housing units in Bulacan on March

13. Three days after, on March 16, 160 housing applications from families who occupied the idle

units in Pandi was processed by the NHA officials. On March 20, Kadamay members picketed at

the front gates of the NHA in Quezon City to protest the eviction notices against the occupancy

on idle housing units. Three days later, on March 23, The NHA issued eviction notices to

Kadamay members who occupied the units. About 1,000 Kadamay members again gathered at

NHA office on March 24 to demand their rights over 5,000 idle housing units.

On March 27, the NHA announced a plan, to expel 20,000 illegal dwellers, but withdrew

the orders after Kadamay agreed to undergo a validation process. In a dialog, the two parties

came to an agreement that any units left unclaimed after the May 30 deadline would be

transferred to the informal settlers. On April 4, Duterte announced that members of Kadamay

may now live in the housing units, provided they do not drive away the police and soldiers who

currently dwell there.

1. The Philippine Star

Relevance Structures

Relevance structures traces the hierarchy of important and relevant information in the

news. The headline and lead-in contain what subjectively is deemed as the most significant facts

(van Dijk 87), while other details are subsequently arranged in an order of descending

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importance (Lambertus 243). The headline of the news story from the Philippine Star runs thus:

Duterte says Kadamay being used for anarchical activities, which the author elaborates in the

lead by stating when and in what context the President uttered the accusation. Since the text

producer fully knows that readers just assume that the headline and the lead contain the most

important information in a news article, he placed the accusation issue in the headline and in the

lead, giving the reader the false impression that the whole news account will be all about Duterte

accusing the Kadamay as being involved in anarchical activities and explaining how it is such.

However, looking into the rest of the article, it will be noticed that the following paragraphs talk

about the President urging the legitimate beneficiaries to give the houses to the Kadamay and

promising them that he would build them bigger and better houses. The speech act of accusation

is hardly mentioned in these paragraphs. The last four paragraphs dont even have any direct

bearing to the Kadamay issue. It is all about buying new arms and ammunitions and the order of

not surrendering to enemies when captured. The author knows that information best remembered

are those mentioned in the headline and lead of the text (van Dijk 166). Hence, this strategic

relevance structure suggests the social position of the journalist (but not necessarily the whole

editorial board or the newspaper as it is labeled to be politically independent). This particular

headline proves what Lambertus asserted, which is that when a minority group offers resistance

to hegemonic forces, the media characterize the actions of the minority as a threat and bring this

to the larger societys attention (235). Certainly, this is a strategy to emphasize the accusation

issue than other comparatively relevant issues in the news article. Ultimately, this could be

construed as an attempt to silence other discourses about Kadamay.

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Linguistic Structures

The analysis of lexical selection, syntactic structures, and direct speech choice of the

Philippine Star news article present another level of understanding the characterizations of the

event as an anarchical activity and the Kadamay members as the enemy.

For instance, the headline Duterte says Kadamay being used for anarchical activities

attributes not only agency role and responsibility to the President, but also emphasizes that the

accusation originated in the highest political leader in the country himself. It strengthens the

effect of the label anarchical activities.

Lexical choices by the author suggest a chaotic time with his use of words and phrases

such as reiterated his call for soldiers and policemen, five M60 (machine gun, to bolster

soldiers sense of security and vigilance. Similarly, phrases such as illegally occupied, forcibly

occupied, gago, nang-aagaw, and violent confrontations construct the Kadamays identity as a

dangerous group. Likewise, the use of the word enemies in the last segment of the news article,

without clear context of who they are, gives the reader the sense that it refers to the Kadamay

members instead of to the members of Communist Party of the Philippines-National Peoples

Army and other similarly hostile freedom-fighters. This lexical choices are powerful because the

mental representation that readers naturally create of a certain unfamiliar group for their future

reference is strongly influenced by the certain attributes repetitively associated with the group by

the media (Lambertus 236). Generally, the authors lexical choices paint a vivid imagery that

would most likely prevent counter-perspectives, such as that the act of taking over the units was

not as terrifying as suggested, or that the Kadamay members are not dangerous citizens. This is

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typical of the media because news stories about minorities are a major source of stereotyping

(Lambertus 235).

Regarding in/direct speech analysis, it would be observed that the authors chosen direct

quotations from President Dutertes speech are mostly about the soldiers and the policemens

loss of houses, the Presidents sympathy to them, and his request to them to be understanding of

and compassionate to Kadamay. This portrays the beneficiaries as worthy victims as they

received detailed and emotional sympathy and more quotations by witnesses or officials. On the

contrary, the Kadamay members are subtly categorized as perpetrators. (See Appendix A: The

Rhetoric of Worthy Versus Unworthy Victims.) Schrter claimed that it is typical for societies

to have discourses about minorities in which the minorities themselves are hardly ever heard

(4).

Summarily, the lexical choice and syntactic structure deprive the readers from obtaining the

accurate knowledge about the Kadamay, while the chosen direct quotations from the Presidents

speech can overpower the illocutionary power of the Kadamays voice and other discourses

supportive of the urban poor group. This is evidently a form of silencing because the media

attempted to filter the potential knowledge to be gained by the readers from the news. This is one

of the forms of silencing (Thiesmeyer 3; 177).

Thematic Structure

The thematic structure of news article performs an important role in comprehension and

memorization (van Dijk 31) as it defines the most important information of a text (van Dijk 72).

Psychological research has shown that macrostructures like topics and titles are important in the

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effective interpretation, storage and recall of information since readers usually recall topical

information better than supporting details (van Dijk and Kintsch 12, 52).

The Philippine Star headline Duterte says Kadamay being used for anarchical

activities suggests that the news was mostly about the urban poor group Kadamay and their

being a potential national threat to the government. This begins the series of themes in the news

article. Kadamay members are portrayed as citizens organizing themselves, as resisting against

the authorities, as people with problems, and as people with low rationale. In other words,

Kadamay members who occupied the NHA housing units in Bulacan are implied as thieves.

Psychologically speaking, once the readers have created a biased model of the issue being the

influence of the dominant thematic structure and stylistic technique of news discourse, the model

will stick to the readers minds which will influence the reproduction of information in later

conversations, stories, or arguments. One instance that can serve as exemplar is the news article

written by Christine O. Avendao on the April 26, 2017 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

which bears the headline: Kadamay Members Hurt by Thieves Label. Two Kadamay members

who are not involved in the occupancy activities were unfairly called thieves just because they

were members of Kadamay (Avendao A7). This proves that people tend to have a more acute

recollection of negative events or acts of minority group members such as Kadamay members

(van Dijk 207).

On the other hand, the intended beneficiaries of the rushed housing units, who are the

soldiers, policemen, and firemen, are depicted as pitiable victims of the unlawful occupancy; as

generous people who have high rationality; and as citizens who are the priorities of the

government. This appearance of partiality is no surprise because news worthiness is influenced

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by the ideology of the elite institutions such as the police and the government, which have access

to news production (van Dijk 30).

Integrating the two contrastive themes about government and Kadamay, the overarching

theme Us versus Others becomes conspicuous. As proven by time, during socio-political

conflicts between superior and inferior sectors in any society, the press is not likely to present

news stories that support the marginalized groups outlook (Lambertus 236). Therefore, it is

perceivable that the media, as Van Dijk (1987b), Fairclough (1989), and Parenti (1993) argued,

is not a good mediator between dominant and subordinate groups because the press serves not

only as receiver but also as transmitter of duress to conform to hegemony (Lambertus 235).

2. The Philippine Daily Inquirer

Relevance Structures

The news article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer has all of the main schematic

categories ordered by communicative importance. First, there is the headline; next, a brief

summary; and then a lead with a proper summary. The information that the Kadamay inquired of

the National Housing Authority about the social housing projects budget is suggested to be of

prime importance compared with other information in the news story; hence, it can be read in the

headline. This headline is supported by the brief summary, which states the Kadamays terms of

condition if the government will not be able to explain what happened to the budget for free

housing projects. Elaborating the brief summary is the lead, which gives a temporal detail on the

Kadamays assertion of staying.

The next paragraph talks further about the inquiry into the missing budget, while the

succeeding paragraph tells about the Kadamays demand for an explanation for the rush in the

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construction of the housing units and their low occupancy. Highlighting the Kadamays set of

inquiries into various government activities suggests that the questioning is of prime importance

in the entire news story, or maybe even in the whole socio-political issue. The second half of the

news article talks about the agreement between the Kadamay and NHA, which is that the group

will undergo a validation process to determine whether its members would be eligible to own the

houses. Therefore, the authors decision of emphasizing the Kadamays questioning of the

missing fund by putting it in the headline and lead could be construed as a subtle attempt to resist

silencing.

Linguistic Structures

The analysis of lexical selection, syntactic structures, and direct speech choice of the

Philippine Star news article present the Kadamay as a minority group that needs much assistance

and not persecution.

The preference of the interrogative form Where is P50-B shelter fund? Kadamay asks

NHA as the syntactical structure in the headline not only attributes voice to Kadamay but also

entitles them the status of a legitimate group who deserves the right to inquire into the housing

project budget, which was legally appropriated to the people of their socio-economic condition.

In a news release that was published on July 26, 2016, it was stated that President Duterte, in his

first State of the Nation Address, laid out his policy for demolition and resettlement of urban

poor communities. His assertion that relocation sites would be immediately constructed was

welcomed by Kadamay. However, this statement appears to be forgotten because informal

settlers in Quezon City, Cebu, Batangas and Davao have been tossed aside to the gutters in

favor of big business and the interests of local government authorities.

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 Lexical choices by the author such as urban poor group and people whoare poor to

refer to Kadamay suggest weakness and helplessness on the part of the Kadamay members. This

linguistic effect is further strengthened by the use of the more emotionally associated word

families, which has been used five times across the text. This is in stark contrast with the use of

the pejorative term illegal dwellers, which was used only once. Similarly, the taking over of

housing units done by Kabayan members, which President Duterte labeled as anarchical is

euphemistically referred to in this news account as occupation of idle low-cost houses and

keep[ing] [housing] units for freephrases that do not bear the negative connotations of

lawlessness and civil disobedience. Despite the fact the media have a track record of promoting

a deficit or threatening image of minorities to mainstream society, (Lambertus 235) surely, this

is not the case in this particular news article. Clearly, this could be interpreted as resistance to

silencing because the language used here somehow undermines the legitimacy of the use of

language by the producer of the other news article.

Regarding direct speech analysis, it would be observed that the authorities, whose

statements are directly reported, are the Kadamay chair, Gloria Arellanos and Anakpawis

Representative Ariel Casilaos. Anakpawis is one political party that is allied with Kadamay.

Together with Kilusang Mayo Uno, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Makabayan and Gabriela,

Anakpawis joined Kadamay in protesting the lack of housing programs for the poor. Not a single

statement from NHA is quoted by the author. This is an obvious strategy to resist silencing by

the dominant group and to create social distance between them and the general readership. The

news narrative emphasizes the message that the Kadamay members are the real victims and not

the policemen, soldiers, and firemen as the other text proposes. As the table for The Rhetoric of

Worthy Versus Unworthy Victims shows, some of the characteristics of worthy victims are that

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they receive more quotations by witnesses or officials, receive human right group supports that

assert condemnation of the acts of their enemies, and receive assertions of outrage against

their enemy. For example, when President Duterte characterized Kadamays occupancy of the

NHA housing units as anarchy, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and JP Rosos, the

national spokesperson of League of Filipino Students (LFS) criticized the President by telling

him that what Kadamay did was not anarchy at all. Moreover, Kadamay Chairperson Gloria

Arellano admonished the PNP by characterizing it as fear-mongering in its response to

Kadamays action.

Thematic Structure

The headline Where is P50-B shelter fund? Kadamay asks NHA serves as the Philippine

Daily Inquirers summary that the news was about Kadamays inquiry into issue of housing

projects budget appropriated to the urban poor legally. The brief summary right below this

headline serves the purpose of justifying the prolongation of the Kadamay members sojourn in

the housing units that were intentionally constructed for the soldiers, the police, and firemen. The

Kadamay members are portrayed as citizens ignored by the government and thus do not receive

much attention. This is the overarching theme of this news article. Yet, they are also portrayed as

a group resistant to socio-political hegemony. Another dominant theme expressed in the text is

that the government is generally corrupt; it cannot be trusted with large amount of money.

Moreover, in one of van Dijks analysis of newspaper headlines, it was found out that the

actions of the authorities such as expulsion, refusing asylum, reception, housing, and limiting

costs are the most frequently expressed topics or themes (230). However, this is clearly not the

case in the news article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Clearly, through the strategic use of

thematic structure, a certain form of resistance to silencing operates in the text.

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Summary

Applying the analytical framework developed by Sarah Lambertus, this discourse

analysis unraveled silencing and resistance to silencing in two news articles about the Kadamay

issue that were taken from two national newspapers: the Philippine Star and the Philippine Daily

Inquirer. A careful and systematic investigation of three general dimensions, namely; 1)

relevance structures, 2) linguistic structures, and 3) thematic structures, revealed that fact the

chosen article from the Philippine Star used the abovementioned discourse devices to silence

other news discourses that support Kadamay. On the contrary, the same careful and systematic

linguistic inquiry revealed the fact that the selected news article from the Philippine Daily

Inquirer utilized the same discursive devices to resist the subtle attempt to silence this urban

poor group.

Conclusion

The investigation of the news discourse and the contextual factors that contribute to

conforming or resisting the silencing of minority group protesters provides an opportunity to

understand the complex relations between media, powerful sources such as the police and the

government and the minority groups within a specific socio-political context. Unknown to a

large number of general readers, there is a prevalence of silencing in print media especially

during times of socio-political conflict. This is usually accomplished by the media through

filtering certain kinds of information that go out to the public. Pragmatically speaking, since this

study tests media theories against a real-life situation, it will improve our understanding of media

and minority representation which, in turn, may result in meaningful social reform.

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Works Cited:

Avendao, Christine O. Kadamay Members Hurt by Thieves Label. Philippine Daily

Inquirer. Wednesday. 26 April 2017, daily ed.: A7. Print.

Bazzi, Samia. Arab News and Conflict: A Multidisciplinary Discourse Study. Amsterdam: John

Benjamins, 2009. Bookzzorg. Web.12 May 2017.

Jaworski, Adam. Political silencing: A view from Laurie Andersons performance art. Ed.

Schroter, Melanie. Silence and Concealment in Political Discourse. Amsterdam: John

Benjamins, 2013. Bookzzorg. Web.12 May 2017.

Lambertus, Sandra. News discourse of Aboriginal resistance in Canada. Ed. Lynn Thiesmeyer.

Discourse and Silencing: Representation and the Language of Displacement.

Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2003. Bookzzorg. Web.12 May 2017.

Reyes-Estrope, Carmela. Where is 50-B Shelter Fund? Kadamay Asks. Philippine Daily

Inquirer. Thursday. 30 March 2017, daily ed.: A14. Print.

Romero, Alexis. Duterte says Kadamay Being Used for Anarchical Activities. Philippine

Star. Friday. 7 April 2017 . <philstar.com.>

Van Dijk, Teun A. Macrostructures: An Interdisciplinary Study of Global Structures in

Discourse, Interaction, and Cognition. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1980.

http://www.discourses.org. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.

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Van Dijk, Teun A. News analysis: Case studies of International and National News in the Press.

New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1988. http://www.discourses.org.. Web. 6

Dec. 2016.

Van Dijk (1988). News as Discourse. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1988.

http://www.discourses.org. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.

Van Dijk and Kintsch (1983). Strategies of Discourse Comprehension. London: Acadamic Press,

1983. Scribd. Web. 6 Dec. 2016

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Appendix A
The Rhetoric of Worthy Versus Unworthy Victims
by Samia Bazzi
The worthy victims
receive detailed and emotional sympathy
receive adequate international condemnation
and apologetics from world leaders over their
killings
not receive condemnation if their actions are
violent
receive more quotations by witnesses or
officials
receive assertions of outrage against their
enemy
receive technical and full details of the type of
destruction inicted on them
receive human right group supports that assert
condemnation of the acts of their enemies
receive prevalent moving images
receive a politeness strategy from the text
producers and editors
the worthy fighters who fall as victims receive
strong reasons for retaliating against their
enemy
those seen as the innocent victims receive
expanded representations of very clear causes
for hostilities committed against them
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The unworthy victims
dont receive emotional details, nor sympathy,
they are an object of hostility
dont receive international condemnation nor
apologetics over their killings
receive condemnation for their violent actions
receive the least quotations and only to serve
the editorial stance
dont receive assertions of outrage against their
enemy
dont receive technical nor full details on the
destruction inicted upon them unless it serves
as a victorious language against them
dont receive human right group support that
condemn the wrong doings of their enemies
dont receive emotional images but images that
could serve a victorious claim over them and
their wrong acts
receive revengeful language or on the record
statements from the text producer/ editor
the unworthy fighters who fall as victims do not
receive good reasons for their violent actions,
except for the reason that they are stereotyped
as terrorists
their innocent victims fall as a result from their
own leaders/fighters aggression
Appendix B

Text 1

Duterte says Kadamay being used for 'anarchical' activities

By Alexis Romero (philstar.com) | Updated April 6, 2017 6:19pm

(1) President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday accused members of urban poor group Kalipunan ng
Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) of involvement in "anarchical activities" as he vowed to
prevent any effort to occupy other government housing projects.

(2) Speaking to troopers of the Western Command in Palawan, Duterte reiterated his call for
soldiers and policemen to let go of the housing units illegally occupied by Kadamay to avoid
violent confrontations.

(3) "I would want to make first the report that your housing units were seized by poor people like
us. But those are the guys used by the Left and they are into such anarchical activities and I
cannot force them to leave because some of the awardees (of housing units) were policemen and
soldiers," Duterte said.

(4) The accusation was despite having earlier allowed the settlers to have the housing units.
Kadamay argued that the units remained unoccupied due to inefficient government processing.

(5) "I said if this thing continues and the soldiers and policemen stop them, some people may get
killed. So I urge you as your president, let's just give it to them, to the Kadamay. And do not
worry because I will build you a better one," he added.

Better housing for troops, cops

(6) Duterte said the houses to be provided to soldiers and policemen would have access to
electricity and water, utilities that he said are lacking in the houses seized by the urban poor
group.

(7) "Do not feel bad. After all, the houses were given to our fellow Filipinos who are also poor.
That is your consolation. But it doesn't mean to say that the government, I, have forgotten you,"
the president said.

(8) "You will have new, better houses. The faucets have water and you have electricityHayaan
mo iyong mga gagonang-aagaw, kandila lang iyong kanila (Just let those fools be, those who
seize houses. They only have candles)," he added.

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(9) Kadamay members forcibly occupied close to 6,000 housing units in Bulacan last month as
they decried the alleged failure of the government to implement an effective housing program for
the poor. Members of the group said they only occupied houses that have remained idle for five
years.

(10) Duterte vowed to make sure that Kadamay would not be able to occupy other housing
projects. "Anarchy? Hanggang diyan lang 'yan sa Bulacan (It will only happen in Bulacan),"
Duterte said.

(11) "They won't be able to repeat it next time. I will build housesand I will have them
guarded with five M60 (machine gun) and bazooka. Unang entrada pa lang bitawan mo na (we
will use them upon their first entry)," he said in jest.

New pistols
(12) In the same speech, Duterte said he would buy 30,000 Glock 30 caliber .45 pistols to bolster
soldiers' "sense of security and vigilance." He said the pistols may be delivered within the year.

(14) He reiterated his advice for soldiers not to allow themselves to be captured by enemies.

(15) "Magsurrender ka, bababuyin ka lang, gawain kang t******** (If you surrender, they will
dishonor you, turn you into fools) or you'll be treated like a pig only to be executed just like
the Marine before," Duterte said.

(16) "Kasi 'pagka nagkaubusan na ng tropa pati bala, ilagay mo na lang 'yan sa ulo, tapos
ganonin mo 'yung kalaban mo. F*** you (If you run out of troops or bullets, just point the gun
at your head, tell your enemy 'f*** you') You might as well die with dignity.

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Appendix B

Text 2

Where is P50-B shelter fund? Kadamay asks NHA

Urban poor group wants fee housing if government cant explain missing money
By Carmela Reyes-Estrope (April 26, 2017)

CITY OF MALOLOSThe urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay),

which led the occupation of idle low-cost houses in Bulacan province three weeks ago, on
Wednesday said its members would keep these units for free unless the National Housing
Authority (NHA) could explain how the P50 billion for housing projects was spent.

Gloria Arellano, Kadamay chair, said they were told during a Monday dialog that only a
small percentage of that amount went to the NHA. The rest of the funds went to agencies that
oversee poverty alleviation such as the Presidential Commission on Urban Poor and the National
Anti-Poverty Commission.

Kadamay also sought an explanation as to why the housing projects were rushed but had
remained unoccupied by their intended beneficiaries, most of them soldiers, policemen and
firemen.

On Monday, the NHA was scheduled to evict 20, 000 illegal dwellers from 5, 262 houses
at Villa Elise and Pandi Heights 1 in Barangay Cacarong Matanda, Pandi Village 2 and Pandi
Residences 3 in Barangay Mapulang Lupa, and Villa Louise in Barangay Siling Bata and Padre
Pio in Barangay Cacarong Bata, all in Pandi town. Some families also occupied units at San Jose
del Monte City.

But the NHA withdrew the eviction orders after Kadamay agreed to undergo a validation
process to determine whether its members would be eligible to own the houses, according to
Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao.

Casilao, who took part in the dialog, between Kadamay and the NHA, also said Kadamay
had agreed to avail of housing loans provided the NHA could relax some of its requirements.

But Arellano said Kadamay and the NHA had yet to agree on payment terms pending the
completion of the validation.

Only the 324 families [who occupied houses] in Villa Elise with whom the NHA
initially had talkapparently agreed to pay the houses they occupied through loans. But that is
not the position of Kadamay, she said.

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 The NHA has scheduled the start of validation on April 3. It will be joined by teams from
the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of the Interior and Local
Government.

Some families who occupied the houses on March 8 were unable to acquire units and
tried to take over other housing sites in Bustos town.

The problem with housing has been festering for so long but the people who occupied
the idle houses are poor and would not be able to pay for them. We really intend to pursue free
housing for them, Arellano said.

The P50-billion allotment was for families living near [Metro] Manila waterways, so
why havent many squatters and urban poor been given houses today? she said. These housing
projects were rushedbut the units were too small, measuring 22 square meters. That is why
beneficiaries like policemen declined offers to stay there.

The NHA has given the beneficiaries until May 30 to signify if they want to avail of the
low-cost houses in Bulacan. Otherwise, the houses will be forfeited and given to families who
are eligible under government housing rules, it said.

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