WANTED help for Victims of Typhoon Ondoy or Ketsana

Community Orgamizers Multiversity (CO Mu;tiversity) http://comultiversity.org.ph/ serves as the headquarter for the relief and operations for members of the Urban Poor Alliance a network of peoples organizations or communities concerned on housing rights. These communities whose houses are located along rivers banks of Pasig or esteros of Manila were badly affected by typhoon Ondoy or Ketsana.

Some of the urban poor communities that CO Multiversity worked with especially KV1 Action Group were relocated in Kasiglahan Village, Montalban, Rizal also called Erap City, a place known as catch basin for floods. Here is a quote about the environment situation of the place:

The environment and Erap City

KV1 is part of the 2,500-hectare Erap City project, according to the executive summary of the Home Insurance Guarantee Corporation. Touted as the “first ever well-planned socialized housing city undertaken in the country,” Erap City is developed by the New San Jose Builders, reportedly the developer of ousted President Joseph Estrada’s grand Boracay mansions.

KV1 sits on the San Jose Flood Plains. Its development already affected the villages of San Jose, San Isidro, Puray, and Macabud which are near the critical watershed areas of Angat-Ipo, La Mesa, and Marikina.

Several NGOs say that the housing construction already caused the denudation of forests and leveling of mountains in the area. The Bunga, Gabi, Lilid and Palapad creeks have been choked and filled. There is great possibility of soil erosion, siltation, contamination of rivers, and flash floods affecting not only Montalban, but also the cities of Marikina, Pasig and Rizal province in the future.

Aside from flash floods, maps from the Philippine Volcanology and Seismology show that Barangays Macabud and San Jose are found in the upper block of the West Marikina Valley Fault lines. The area is prone to surface rupture in the event of earthquakes, which makes the lives of residents in greater danger.

Inside almost every household in the community is posted the image of the bleeding and dying Christ nailed to the cross. It might as well stand as a grim reminder of how the ousted president popularized himself as the “poor man’s savior” and peddled the lie that his projects for the poor – such as Erap City – would make them happier for the rest of their lives. Nobody knows happiness in this city. #

Source : http://www.bulatlat.com/archive1/009erap_city.htm


Previous post about KV1 and their advocacy for water:


http://comultiversity.blogspot.com/2008/09/struggle-for-water-that-benefited.html



For those who would like to donate cash you can send it through:

Acct Name: CO Multiversity
Peso Acct No: 1991-00-3122
US Dollar No: 1994-00-7234
Bank Name: BPI (Bank of the Philippine Island)
Branch: Kalayaan, Diliman Quezon City




For other initiatives to help the typhoon victims please refer to these links:

http://www.changepoliticsmovement.net/2009/09/28/ngos-help-for-victims-of-typhoon-ondoy/


http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tAyGMVpnzlSwFKMXRMe5hxQ&output=html


http://www.thesingleparenttalks.com/2009/09/philippines-flood.html


http://www.google.com.ph/landing/typhoon-ondoy.html

http://blog.friendster.com/2009/09/friendster-supports-relief-operations-in-the-aftermath-of-typhoon-ketsana-in-the-philippines/