by Analyn Borbe
A house in Kasiglahan Village 1 that was never occupied by relocatees. Photo taken in 2011
My name is Analyn Romero Borbe, 31 years old, single mother of three cute children: two boys and one girl. I am the eldest among four children of Oscar and Gloriosa Borbe, who are both from Bicol. My father was born in Tabaco, Albay while my mother’s hometown is Arroyo, Masbate which is also where I was born. As a child, I had a great dream and that is to become a lawyer.
My father worked as a construction worker in San Juan, Metro Manila (now San Juan City) for former Mayor (and incidentally former Philippine president) Joseph Estrada’s municipal projects called “Pagawaing Bayan ni Erap.” These projects included the construction of the Municipal Trial Court (MTC), Police Station, Public Market, Fire Station, among others. My father also served as caretaker and took care of the maintenance of one of the barracks behind the MTC and the Philippine National Police. That barrack became our house from 1982 until we were relocated to Kasiglahan Village 1, San Jose, Rodriguez, Rizal in 1999.
November 2, 1999 is a date that is still vivid in my mind. Memories of the demolition still haunt me until now. While carrying my month-old child, I saw how the demolition team destroyed dwellings including the house that we lived in for so many years. I cried the whole time while constantly reminding myself to be strong and accept the fact that we did not own the land. But we are Filipinos too and we believed that we have the right to live in this country. Thus we asked the local government for resettlement. The local government led by its former mayor Jinggoy Estrada (son of Joseph Estrada, and now a senator) offered relocation sites in Laguna and in Montalban. We chose to relocate in Montalban as it is nearer the city. I was 19 years old then – perhaps very young yet so much aware of my responsibilities as a mother as well as the eldest child in the family.
My family belonged to the first batch of families that resettled in Kasiglahan, which was actually not yet ready for relocation at that time. It lacked even the most basic services and all of us suffered. The PhP5000 and food assistance provided by the LGU lasted only a month. The market was very far from the relocation site that transportation would cost a lot. We fetched non-potable water from a well (which was also far from our house). Since water was not safe to drink, a lot of us got sick. I myself suffered from amoebiasis. Luckily, I was able to buy cheap Chinese medicine from a peddler – the medicine plus a lot of faith made me well.
We starved the following month. Since I was breastfeeding my child, I needed nutritious food. Thus, we would get kangkong (water spinach) and catch halaan (freshwater clams) in small ponds and streams nearby. Read more…
