MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte would not bow to every wish of the urban group Kadamay especially if it is against the law, Malacañang said.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar made the statement following a protest rally Wednesday by hundreds of urban poor, including Kadamay, calling on the President to issue an executive order (EO) that would award government lands along the Manggahan floodway in Pasig City to them.
Kadamay’s latest demand was made after Duterte awarded them the vacant units they forcibly occupied, meant for soldiers and policemen at a resettlement site in Pandi, Bulacan.
The Palace official stressed that Duterte’s concession in Bulacan does not mean that the President would accede to every wish or demand that Kadamay will make.
“Hindi araw-araw ay pasko para sa Kadamay. Pinabigyan lamang sila ni Pangulong Duterte nang puwersahang okupahin nila ang pabahay para sa sundalo at pulis sa Pandi, Bulacan pero kapag inulit nila ito ay kakasuhan na sila ng gobyerno,” Andanar said. He said this would be especially so if their demand is against the law.
Kadamay is asserting that several Presidential Proclamations have been issued awarding government land along the Maggahan floodway to urban poor families occupying the area.
However, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo revoked the proclamations through Executive Order No. 854 which classified the area as a “danger zone.”
The same EO ordered the relocation of the urban poor families in the area. (PNA)