GMA returns to Smokey Mountain, vows no ‘zoning’

President Arroyo courted yesterday urban poor supporters of her jailed predecessor Joseph Estrada, presenting a P1-million livelihood package, promising that their homes would be repaired, and assuring them they would not be rounded up for joining a siege on Malacañang last May 1.

Braving heavy rains, the President led a medical mission to Smokey Mountain in Tondo, Manila, a former garbage dump that has been converted into a mass housing area for the urban poor.

Unlike in her first visit to the same community last month, when she was heckled, residents gave her a warm welcome yesterday.

"I want to tell you that there are no ‘zonings’ here or in any other part of Manila and the rest of the Phi-lippines," she told the crowd.

The President was referring to reports that police and military have been conducting "zoning operations" or saturation drives in impoverished communities to round up those who joined the assault on Malacañang.

In another development, the Supreme Court voted 8-3 yesterday to junk the petitions of Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Gregorio Honasan and senatorial candidate Panfilo Lacson to declare warrantless arrests illegal on the basis that the government will no longer do so.

The ruling, penned by Justice Jose Melo, was based on the assurance given by the Department of Justice that no warrantless arrests will be made as a consequence of the President’s lifting of the "state of rebellion" in Metro Manila last Sunday.

Mrs. Arroyo also promised Smokey residents she will help to repair dilapidated houses, sewerage and drainage systems in the area within the next 30 days, with contractors to be asked to employ school dropouts for the project.

The reception she got during yesterday’s visit was starkly different from the one she made on her 54th birthday last month, when she was heckled by Smokey Mountain residents.

"I am not blaming you for your anger when I visited you during my birthday. What is important to me is to find out how you feel, and how the government can address your needs," she said.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced yesterday that the government’s suspected opponents, particularly those believed to be responsible for the Malacañang attack, will no longer be arrested without any warrant.

"It is now our policy to proceed with the regular preliminary investigation. There will no longer be warrantless arrests," said Justice Undersecretary Manuel Teehankee.

The President declared a state of rebellion in Metro Manila on May 1, the day Estrada supporters attacked the presidential residence. The declaration allowed the arrest without warrant of anyone suspected of plotting to overthrow the government.

She lifted the declaration last Sunday, after the situation in the metropolis normalized.

The DOJ said it has submitted tapes showing some opposition leaders instigating Estrada supporters to lay siege on Malacañang. The tapes will be used as evidence in the charges of rebellion filed against the leaders.

As this developed, a Manila court ordered yesterday the release of 51 so-called Estrada loyalists arrested last May 1.

Judge Marino dela Cruz, of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 22, issued the order following a lengthy hearing last Wednesday.

Of the 51 ordered to be released, 35 were under the custody of Pampanga Gov. Lito Lapid whom the President appointed as her emissary to the pool.

Some 57 others were charged with rebellion while another 64, charged Wednesday with the same crime, were asked to be released too.

Boy drowns during zoning?

In another development, the opposition Puwersa ng Masa (PnM) party charged the government yesterday with adopting martial law tactics with the alleged continuing zoning operations in Metro Manila.

PnM spokesman Jesus Crispin Remulla said justice must be served to those victimized by the police and the military, particularly the four-year-old boy who reportedly died in Navotas at the height of a zoning operation last Saturday.

"This is a clear disregard of the people’s civil and political rights. These people living in depressed communities, whether they participated in the protest action or not, still have rights which the state must respect," he said.

Four-year-old John Gabriel Damasco, 4, allegedly drowned after eluding lawmen who conducted a raid on their community in Barangay Tagos, Navotas.

Remulla urged the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the incident.

Meanwhile, the head of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) scoffed at the allegation of the PnM that the agency was behind the negative advertising against senatorial candidates of the opposition.

PCSO Chairman Honey Girl de Leon said they never used any centavo of the PCSO’s advertising funds for the so-called "attack ads" against senatorial candidates Miriam Defensor Santiago, Juan Ponce Enrile, Gregorio Honasan and Panfilo Lacson.

"We have our hands full with the problems we inherited from the past PCSO management. Our main concern now is the sustainability of the agency and we cannot afford to be derailed by these issues," she said.

The PnM complained against certain advertisements which "demonized" some of its candidates for allegedly "using" Estrada supporters in the assault on Malacañang. The advertisements were funded by a certain 13-O Movement, a non-government organization.

The PnM has come up with its own similar advertisement to answer the "attack ads," showing Estrada supporters being beaten by the police. The government branded this answer as another attempt to fan the flames of anger of the impoverished supporters of the deposed leader. – Delon Porcalla, Jose Aravilla