PRAISE the Lord that what might turn out to be an impasse ended up with informal settlers who occupied a low-cost housing area intended for police and military personnel vacated the area last week, a day after they started a camp-out.
Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay)-Negros Occidental secretary-general Ereneo Luminos said the National Housing Authority failed to come up a win-win solution to address their concern after a dialog. “Before our meeting, they already have a decision to evict us in the housing project area and give us an ultimatum to vacate the area by 3 p.m.”
The NHA insisted that the informal settlers cannot occupy the housing units that were awarded to the uniformed personnel at Barangay Felisa in Bacolod City.
These are mediation language between two or three parties in conflict.
For win-win solutions, parties on the opposite sides of the conflict should work together in collaboration. Both parties should come out of the dialog negotiation completely satisfied with compromise agreements based on a synergy of ideas, beliefs, and feelings, not a solution imposed by one party on the other.
Stephen Covey, in his famous “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” describes win/win as a “frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions.
Win-win means agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial, mutually satisfying. With a win-win solution, all parties feel good about the decision and feel committed to the action plan. Win-win sees life as a cooperative, NOT A COMPETITIVE ARENA.”
The problem with Kadamay’s concept of win-win is that they focused on their benefits by stepping on the human rights of the police and military personnel, the intended beneficiary for the low-cost housing project in Felisa.
Ciudad Felisa has a total of 1,498 units. Of the number, 45 percent of the units were awarded to the members of the AFP, another 45 percent to the members of the PNP and the remaining 10 percent were awarded to the members of the BJMP, BFP, and the BuCor.
Instead of an interest-based solution that should have been the basis for a win-win solution, they elevated the conflict to rights-based.
The intended beneficiaries have as much right to adequate housing as Kadamay members, a human right guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), of which the Philippine state is a signatory.
I agree with NHA Architect Susana Nonato, head of the project implementation team of the Armed Forces of the AFP-PNP housing project, “if there is a housing need in Bacolod City, we can repackage them for our future projects, but not now because these are all intended for uniformed personnel. They should vacate the area because they cannot occupy the housing units.”
There is such a thing as competing or prior rights after all.
For his part, Mayor Evelio Leonardia assured Kadamay that the City Government has enough relocation site for the informal settlers that were ejected through court order or those who are living in danger zone, then relocated to the Progreso Village in Barangay Vista Alegre.
Kadamay should follow up the city mayor on their human rights demand.
(bqsanc@yahoo.com )