#epalwatch: Stop construction on a historical site in Krus na Ligas, UP Diliman

BREAKING NEWS!!! From Mae Paner October 29, 2012

“Dr. Maris Diokno of the National Historical Institute (NHI) has ordered na ipatigil ang construction ng Belmonte Barangay Hall sa Plaza Sta. Inez sa Krus na Ligas! Mabuhay po kayo sa inyong mabilis na pagtugon! Yahoo! Please share this great news!”

Yahoo! Whoopee! Hooray! To everyone who put their hand to the plow and helped with the empowering of the Krus na Ligas Community (because empowering is what our movement is ALL ABOUT!) Mabuhay kayo and THANK YOU for all your hard work! Maraming salamat!!!

Source: from facebook.com/nomoreepal

via facebook.com/nomoreepal

The NO MORE EPAL MOVEMENT strongly supports the community of Barangay Krus na Ligas in UP Diliman, Quezon City, in their resistance against the intent of their Barangay Captain Julian Santos to construct a building right on Plaza Sta. Ines in front of their parish church. The construction plan, backed by Quezon City Councilor Vincent Belmonte, is being pushed down the throats of the Krus na Ligas residents, who value their plaza as the only public space available in their barangay.

The Barangay Chairman intends to push through with this completely unpopular plan despite:

– The significance of the plaza and church to the history of nation-building—not only to local history;

– The congested character of the Barangay, which makes the plaza their irreplaceable, non-negotiable common open space;

– The clear public rejection of impunity on the part of the Barangay leader; o The obvious lack of merit of a construction project in a barangay that already has an under-utilized barangay hall;

– The shadow of doubt hovering over the Barangay Chairman, who owns a construction company—a company, moreover, that has accepted part of a barangay construction project, in clear dismissal of conflict of interest considerations; and

– The community’s arguments against this exercise of impunity by their local leader.

The NO MORE EPAL MOVEMENT recognizes this fight of the Krus na Ligas community against their local leader, as a clear example of trapo leadership. It is a leadership that cares little for their own constituency’s interests and aspirations.

The Barangay Captain of Krus na Ligas, Julian Santos, and his enabler Councilor Vincent Belmonte, demonstrate in their deafness to the calls of this Quezon City community, their idea that leaders can do anything they please. They think they are entitled to autocratic powers. They think their ideas and actions are above public debate.

The NO MORE EPAL MOVEMENT believes that this kind of impunity is of the same wicked spirit as using public funds to plaster their mugs and names all over public space.

Constructing a 2-storey building on a plaza built in a place that the National Historical Institute has marked as the site where Andres Bonifacio and his Katipunan cohorts would retreat from Balintawak—this desecration of a space held in the heart of nationalists, among them, the Krus na Ligas residents—this spits on community honor and right to well-being.

The NO MORE EPAL MOVEMENT encourages all right-thinking citizens to join with the Krus na Ligas residents in persuading Barangay Captain Julian Santos and Quezon City Councilor Vincent Belmonte to have a change of heart.