Don't evict Manila's small-scale vendors for the Pope's visit

TO:              President Benigno Aquino III

CC:              Department of Tourism

Department of Public Service, City of Manila

Elizabeth Espino, Director National Parks Development Committee

Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada, City of Manila

Philippine National Police

Metro Manila Development Authority

UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food

UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing

 

RE:  Concern regarding actions by the government of the Philippines against small-scale vendors in connection with the forthcoming papal visit in January 2015

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned, wish to express our concern regarding purported plans to forcibly remove small-scale vendors working in and around Rizal (Luneta) Park, including Kalaw, Sta. Cruz, Manila City Hall, Padre Faura and Pedro Gil Streets, Manila, in anticipation of the visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines in January 2015.  We are informed that the proposed removal will constitute the latest in an ongoing pattern of State action of harassment, evictions and the confiscation or destruction of property perpetrated against small-scale vendors in recent years.  We are concerned that these measures have resulted in violations of the right to work, right to food, right to an adequate standard of living and adequate housing, among other human rights, and that their rights will be further violated if the proposed removal takes place.

Background

We understand that more than 350 vendors have worked in and around Luneta Park where they have sustained their livelihoods selling food and refreshments to the park’s visitors for years. The vendors depend on their ability to sell their products to the park’s visitors in order to sustain their livelihoods, provide food for their families, and earn sufficient money to ensure their children’s ability to attend school. Following a recent announcement that the vendors will be removed from Luneta Park in time for the visit by the Pope, scheduled for January 15-19, 2015, they have expressed serious fears that they will be rendered destitute and will suffer serious difficulties in obtaining sufficient food for themselves and their families, among other impacts.

We are informed that, after the appointment of a new Director of the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) in 2010, a ‘Zero Vending Policy’ was adopted to ensure that the park does not serve as a market space; even while larger businesspeople enjoyed support in establishing stores owned by corporate food chains in areas of Luneta Park formerly occupied by small-scale vendors. Soon after this policy was adopted, a series of demolition and eviction orders against the Luneta Park vendors allegedly began to be implemented and vendors became subject to ongoing harassment and intimidation which have impeded them from selling their goods, resulting in a substantial drop of already-meager income. The arrests and detention of several vendors and the destruction or confiscation of their property during the removals has likewise compounded these impacts. It is reported that several families are now unable to send their children to school, since they can no longer pay for transport, meals and other costs associated with their children’s education. The removals have reportedly resulted in physical injuries affecting multiple vendors, including pregnant women in some instances.

We are informed that, in response to the continuing impact on their human rights and livelihoods, the vendors have appealed to the authorities of the Philippines on several occasions, including filing a petition in July of 2012 with the Office of the Ombudsman and opening a case at the Regional Trial Court against NPDC officials and policemen involved in evictions 2013, in April of that year; but that these measures have not resolve the threats they are facing.

We wish to recall that the Philippines is party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) since 7 June 1974; the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CAT) since 18 June 1986; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since 23 October 1986 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) since 5 August 1981.  We are concerned that the small-scale  vendors in and around Luneta park face serious risks to a range of human rights recognized in the above-mentioned instruments, including: the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for herself or himself, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions; the right to work and the right to just and favourable conditions of work, including a “decent living for [everyone] and their families” and “safe and healthy working conditions”; the right to non-discrimination, including in the field of work; the right to liberty and security of person; the right to freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to education.  We remind the Philippines that States, in complying with their human rights obligations, must consider the informal sector and note the comments by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) stating that that measures taken to reduce to the fullest extent possible the number of workers outside the formal economy “…must reflect the fact that people living in an informal economy do so for the most part because of the need to survive, rather than as a matter of choice.” The CESCR has also established, in its General Comment 18, that core obligations relating to the right to work under the ICESCR include (a) ensuring the right of access to employment, especially for disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups; (b) to avoid any measure that results in discrimination and unequal treatment in the private and public sectors of disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups  and (c) to adopt and implement a national employment strategy and plan of action based on and addressing the concerns of all workers on the basis of a participatory and transparent process that includes employers’ and workers’ organizations.

Requests

In the context of the imminent risk of violation of the human rights of small-scale vendors in connection with the forthcoming papal visit in January 2015, and the continuing harassment and violations of the human rights mentioned above, we strongly urge the government of the Philippines to:

1.     Respect the human rights of the vendors working in and around Luneta Park by, among other steps, refraining from threatening or carrying out their removal in connection with the forthcoming papal visit

2.     Take urgent steps to identify and address human rights violations experienced by the Luneta Park and other vendors in Manila, including ensuring access to judicial or other appropriate remedy

3.     Ensure that small-scale  vendors working in and around Luneta Park will enjoy the ability to work and sustain their livelihood, free of harassment and interference, and

4.     Engage meaningfully with the Luneta Park, and other area, vendors and their advocates in relation to ongoing negotiations concerning the park’s future development to avoid retrogressive steps and ensure livelihood security.

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