Street dwellers allegedly told to hide during ASEAN Summit

Street dwellers in some areas in Metro Manila were allegedly told to hide during the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings if they did not want to be taken away by social workers.

Forty-eight-year-old Dondon Sebastian, one of the street dwellers staying along Maria Orosa Avenue in Manila, said they were asked by unidentified men on November 10 to hide from the delegates of the ASEAN Summit, according to a report on Unang Balita by Victoria Tulad on Wednesday.

He said the men who were not in uniform and did not show their IDs threatened to arrest them if they will not steer away from the streets during the ASEAN Summit.

Sebastian is based in Zamboanga but moved to Manila to try his luck working as a construction worker.

"Siyempre matatakot din kami kasi siyempre sa lugar din natin na kailangan malinis 'yung ano, hindi makita na ganito lang, pakalat-kalat, ganon na rin 'yon. Okay na rin 'yon, para iwas sa mga bisita rin. Nakakahiya eh," he said.

Another street dweller identified as Lloyd Celabrado, who usually stays in Rizal Park, said they were also told the same thing.

He added that they were threatened that they will be taken by personnel of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and will be brought to Manila Boystown Complex in Marikina City or the Manila Reception and Action Center in Ermita.

Celabrado, 32, said they were left with no choice but to sleep along the sidewalk of Kalaw Avenue along with other homeless families.

He said they will be able to go back to Rizal Park on Thursday as world leaders and delegates of the ASEAN Summit have mostly left the country by then.

"Ayaw nilang ipakita sa buong mundo kung anong kalagayan ng mga tao dito sa lansangan, kung anong nangyayari sa lansangan, kung gaano karami ang mga naghihirap. Pagkakataon ang ASEAN Summit para pagbigyan nila kung anong solusyon ba na dapat gawin ng gobyerno," Celebrado said.

DSWD officer-in-charge Emmanuel Leyco, meanwhile, denied that they ordered street dwellers to hide during the ASEAN Summit.

"For the record, DSWD did and will not order 'street dwellers' to hide," he told GMA News Online in a text message. "DSWD's programs for street dwellers may be inadequate to cover everybody but we will never order them to hide."

"Instead, we will continue to find ways to enhance our programs," Leyco added.

Last month, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) spokesperson Celine Pialago said that "rescuing" street children was a part of its preparation for the ASEAN Summit.

Ambassador Marciano Paynor Jr., director general for operations of the ASEAN 2017 National Organizing Council, earlier said that taking homeless people off the streets for the ASEAN Summit could also be viewed as a security measure.

In 2015, the DSWD was criticized for allegedly "hiding" homeless families in a resort in Batangas one day before Pope Francis arrived in the country for a papal visit.

Former DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman denied the allegation, saying that the agency has been helping street dwellers well before the said event.

Meanwhile, the MMDA said Roxas Boulevard will remain closed for motorists until 2 p.m. Wednesday. —Marlly Rome Bondoc/KG/KBK, GMA News