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CO School
:
Case
Study
1)
CO
and Housing
Rights - ZOTO
2)
CO and Women
3)
CO
and Child Labor
CO and Housing Rights
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ZOTO
CASE STUDIES
WHAT DO YOU
THINK?
[The
Zone One Tondo Organization is still the most famous of all urban poor people¡¯s
organizations in Asia. The following is from an interview with Trining Herrera,
the long time ZOTO president, recalling ZOTO¡¯s actions. What do
you think? ZOTO is good but not perfect. Are the tactics wise or not from an
organizers point of view? What are their good and bad aspects? ]
Over
the years we tackled many issues. There was one with the San Miguel Company,
asking them to move
back their fence. They were a big national company and were still grabbing land
from us, when we were already so crowded. Nobody really owned the land. We made
a big thing out of this. The company is careful about its image. For example,
they sponsor church activities and broadcasts. We held processions, going
around with a loud speaker denouncing the company. They didn¡¯t
like it. One of our leaders got very angry because he was working with San
Miguel and was reprimanded by his boss for what we did. We won that issue,
because the fence was moved backwards and they gave us light.
Then there
was our run-in with Cardinal Rufino Santos which landed us in jail for
Christmas.
We
interrupted the cardinal's midnight mass, because he refused to help us as the
pope had instructed him. We were arrested, but later the case was dropped.
Another big
problem was the international port, which the government planned to build with
foreign loans. We researched on that and got files from the Bureau of Public
Works. Germany
was one of the main funders. It happened a German reporter from Der Spiegel
was interviewing us. We told the reporter about the issue, how the government
was trying to hide the whole thing and report to the donors that the new port
would not affect families. We showed him a map and explained how the project would affect thousands.
We asked Germany not to treat us like Jews. This worried our government, and
German officials came to see us. To press further, we held a demonstration in
front of the
German Embassy along Roxas Boulevard.
These
actions helped us. Germany required the Philippine government to provide
acceptable relocation for all people affected by the port construction or they
wouldn't give the money promised.
Once we
walked 12 km from the ZOTO office to Ayala Avenue in Makati, demonstrating
against the Cement Association of the Philippines (CAP) which was seeking to
lease seven-hectares in our area. The
association refused to talk, so we started "Operation Hello"In the
Philippines then if you called a number and, when the other party answered, you
put your phone down, without hanging up, their phone couldn't work anymore. We
started calling the CAP. We'd say ¡°Hello, this is ZOTO, then lay our phones quietly
down. After a few days when they couldn't do any business, they began to talk
to us.
Of all the
mobilizations there were some which the people enjoyed and remember most. There
was a demonstration of 3,000 ZOTO people against House Bill 3370 that would
transform the Tondo area into a resort area. It sounds strange, but that was
what the bill wanted. We went to Congress, which was nearby then, and demanded
that the congressmen come out to talk to us. They did.
There was a
demonstration of thousands of us at Malacanang for three days one August. The
people pushed through until we reached the gates of the palace. The problem
then was the implementing of a census done in our area. The results showed the
people demanded the subdivision of the land into lots of 96 square meters per
family. This was modified to 'As Is Where Is', when we realized there wasn't
enough land to give everyone 96 sq. m. Our preferences were disregarded by the
government, so we went to Malacanang.
ZOTO also
joined a month-long rally of farmers held at the Agrifina Circle. The farmers
wanted land reform and we felt we had a common struggle, so we joined them.
To pressure
Cardinal Santos. we decided we'd all go and open up accounts in the hank he
owned, Monte de Piedad in the Santa Cruz area. About 100 of us went. We each
asked for bank hooks arid when we had them, deposited a peso each. We came hack
the next day and withdrew 50 centavos. We always asked a lot of questions, such
as, 'Is this hank insured? What will happen if our savings are mishandled.¡± The bank
people
hated to see us. We weren't able to budge the cardinal, but in time we got
interested in other matters.
Martial Law
Our first
mass action after Martial Law was on February 13, 1973 when we sent a letter to
Malacanang containing our proposed scheme for a solution to the Tondo
squatters problem. We pointed to the Dagatdagatan area as a viable site for
in-city relocation. This had been discussed with officials sent by the
president. In late January, rumors circulated that there would be a demolition
in our area, so we sent a letter to the president asking for a dialog with him
concerning the Tondo problem. On the same day a barricade was set up by us
around the whole Slip Zero.
In November
the government started cleaning the Pasig River in connection with a beautification
project of Imelda Marcos. Part of our area was demolished, so we had a confrontation
with the Coast Guard.
When the
Coast Guard said that they could not stop the demolition, because the orders
came from higher authorities, we marched to Malacanang. More than a thousand
people joined
us. No placards. We were just walking. This was the first demonstration anywhere in the
country under Martial Law. Upon reaching the MacArthur bridge in Quiapo, we saw
the military
had positioned themselves at the foot of the bridge and were talking to us over
loudspeakers. General Prospero Olivas wanted to talk with us but we refused
until we
had an assurance that the demolition would stop. When reports reaches us that
the demolition had really stopped, we decided to disperse. The leaders
proceeded to Camp Panopio to talk with officials involved. There are many
things more I could say. I've grown old in people's organizing. I don't regret
it. I always meet old ZOTO members who tell me, "we loved ZOTO." That makes me
happy. I feel the people think that way about ZOTO because it was their
organization. We, the people, made the decisions. That was our strength.
Mass Based or Highly Committed?
Denis Murphy
If David
Balondo ng Tondo¡±, a recent film about a founder of the Zone One Tondo
Organization (ZOTO), were true to life, it could have introduced a useful
discussion on the roles of ideology and political parties in people's
organization.
The movie
was a disaster, however. Chronicle reviewer Manny Espinola gave it his lowest
possible rating, Don't bother. It dealt with murder, prostitutes and agimat rather than people's problems.
In such a
discussion Balondo could have represented the leaders in ZOTO who wanted their
organization to steer clear of political parties and so-called national issues.
They wanted it to stay close to the concrete, everyday issues of the people,
such as, housing, in-city relocation, jobs.
Other
leaders were sympathetic to the underground and sought to place ZOTO within a
wider revolutionary movement. As a result they encouraged the urban poor to
become involved in May Day rallies, human rights mobilizations and protest
marches against the United States military bases, for example.Balondo
said in an interview with the writer that for a long time he believed Marcos
was basically good and would solve the people's problems if lie knew them.
Later, when we saw through Marcos, Balondo still believed in the democratic
capitalist system, though he knew as well as anyone that it needed improvement.
Others in
ZOTO saw little hope in that system, but had a vision of an alternate society
that could be brought about by basic revolution. The actions of the two groups
of leaders flowed logically from their underlying political positions.
In the
Balondo view the people's organization exists primarily for the here arid now good of the members. It works for
housing, land, water, light, peace and order, whatever the people want. It aims
to get the members
a seat at society's bargaining table. It is autonomous and independent.
In the
other view the people's organization is an instrument of a political party,
seeking radical structural changes. It is not independent. It is supposed to
subordinate its concrete issues to the overall national goals of the party. This
may seem a harsh judgment, but I believe it is substantially true in fact.
The damage
is done when the two approaches are at work at the same time in a people's
organization. This is a sure recipe for catastrophe. Infiltration
in this context is the attempt by political parties to take over a
non-political people's organization. If the attempt succeeds, the results are
usually not attractive. ZOTO was not so active or widespread after it became
increasingly political in the mid- 1970s.
Infiltration
leads to fights between leaders and provides outsiders wonderful opportunities
to divide the poor.
Political
linkages introduced into previously non political people¡¯s organizations have
bred divisions also in other countries. In Buenos Aires the restoration of democracy in 1982 after years of
military rule occasioned the return of old rivalries among political parties in
slum areas. As a result people's organizations that had held together against
the military began to split up.
Several
advantages and disadvantages are claimed for the two approaches, but I think
two points are especially evident and important: the nature of the issues the
organizations tackle, and the matter of dedication.
The more
local and concrete issues are, the more people will be interested in supporting
them. Water taps as an issue in an area where people have to pay large sums of money for water
trucked in will be of interest to everyone in the community, except the water
haulers. So will anti demolition actions in an area threatened with demolition.
All people, whatever their politics or level of awareness, are interested in
water and security.
On the
other hand riot all will be interested in demonstrating against the bases, or a
welga ng bayan, which doesn't mean of course that these actions aren't
worthwhile, just that they don't have the same mass appeal as water, or land
security.
In general
independent people's organizations stick to local issues, while party linked
groups emphasize broader issues. This need not be so. Smart political
organizations ought to advocate concrete issues. Some set out to do so, but
their heart is not in this approach. It's a tactic rather than a credo. They
are in their hearts more interested in the national situation, in broad
political campaigns, in winning control of coalitions, etc. Still, all
independent peoples groups join some national movements, and all political
groups have some local issues.
Independent
groups are in the political line of the late Senator Jose Diokno.
The KPMP (Katipunang Painbansa ng mga Magsasaka sa
Pilipinas), the Central Luzon peasant
organization of the 1930s out of which grew the HUK guerillas and the post
warrebels, was more an independent movement than one directed by a political party, at
least in the beginning. It fought for concrete issues - fair harvest sharing practices, off season
loans, land security, rights to gleaning. There was little interest in larger,
so called national issues. It was only in the late
1940s that ideology played a role. No people's
movement in Philippine history has attracted a greater percent of followers in
its areas of operation. KPMP had rallies of over 50,000 farmers in provincial
towns and cities and was able to organize province wide rent strikes. In some
villages 80%-90% of the farmers were members.
It can be
argued that KPMP was an independent people's organization and was only
minimally influenced later in its career by the communist or socialist parties.
ZOTO in its
best days, 1970-1975, was oriented to concrete issues and had a large percent
of the community as members. After 1975 when it became more overtly political and
national- minded, its total membership sank, according to several old members.
Obviously,
concrete issues are not the only variable, but they are very important in
building a mass base.
Concrete
issues may be all that most peasants and urban poor people can work for
enthusiastically Caution, playing it safe, a fear of everything that threatens basic subsistence are
attitudes bred into the hearts of peasants. It's not likely they'll take risks
for goals that do not directly touch their lives.Interest in
national issues may more often be found instead among the educated.
Ideology-Motivation
A people's
organization that is subordinate to a political party usually has its freedom
limited in matters of issue selection, but it may gain by sharing in the larger
party's high motivation and long term commitment.
Ordinarily
people who commit themselves to revolution or radical change are highly dedicated people and
permanently involved. Such dedication filters down through the ranks and gives
the politically linked people's organization a toughness that non-linked groups
may not have.
Ordinary
social workers and organizers associated with non- political people's
organizations aren't usually expected to have such revolutionary dedication.
Much of the
dedication conies from faith in their party's wisdom, right thinking and
inevitable victory, It also comes from viewing their party's success in other
areas or in the past.
The Lava
brothers are often maligned by newer generations of Marxists, but one of them,
Jesus, gave a good example of revolutionary dedication in
the 1950s when the HUK
movement was crushed and most members were surrendering. Lava and Casto
Alejandrino told their friends they were convinced that in due course another
revolutionary situation would develop and they must be prepared for it and keep
alive the spirit of revolution no matter how few their numbers had become.
¡°Revolutionaries don't surrender', they said. They kept fighting till Alejandrino was captured in
1960 and Lava in 1964.
Heroic
commitment and long range goals attract many of the best young people, so
frequently the party-linked people's organization has a higher quality of
organizer. But this is not always true, and in fact it may be only true at
certain times, such as, the early 1970s when many young people around the world
saw themselves in revolutionary situations. It is claimed that
political parties also have a wisdom which provides correct guidance to
people's organizations that might otherwise lose their way. This may be true,
but I haven't seen many examples of such wisdom.
The matter
comes down to a basic choice: will the organization be mass based or will it sacrifice numbers of people
for die continuity, including the long range goals, a political party
can offer? You can't realistically have both. Politically linked groups may
have more coherence, but the independent groups give themselves more thoroughly
to concrete issues and have a better chance of a mass following.
Politically
linked groups are often more stabile than independent groups but they are at
the party's mercy as to funding, staffing, priorities and even existence.
It seems wrong for either side to
claim more. Ordinary poor people in an independent group will in time, by
simply coming into confrontation with government and other representatives of
power, become aware of society's deeper problems as they affect them. They will
make alliances and take political action of one sort of another. They will not,
however,
be under the tutelage of a political party.
Independent
groups shouldn't be complacent. Initial successes can give way to long periods
of doubts and even stagnation when high dedication among the organizers amid
leaders is needed for survival. It can't simply be taken for granted that all organizers
have such motivation. It's also very useful in hard times to have a tradition
of success to look back upon. Signs indicate that poor people may be tired of
political organizing, so independent groups with the ability to pick up local
issues, including livelihood projects, may be in for a period of growth.
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