11a) Nicolas (2013)
11a) Nicolas (2013)
11a) Nicolas (2013)
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Philippine Sociological Review
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GERALD M. NICOLAS
From Confrontation to
Collaboration:
A Durkheimian Turn in the
Claim-making of an Urban
Poor Movement?
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Even in mobilization activities, UP- ALL members write on their placards specific proposals to the
government on how to address their limited access to formal housing. (Photo by Gerald M. Nicolas)
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inspired popular movements in instigating social change.
Marxist Despite inspired concepts shiftsinpopular
Despite shifts in ofandthestrategies
the discourse movementsof civilclasssociety
discourse contradictions in and instigating strategies and exploitation of social civil change. society have
(in which popular movements form a subset) since the Marcos regime,
conflict perspective remains the ideological bedrock of activists,
including those opposing demolition of urban poor settlements. The
discourse of such groups broadcasted in mainstream media has been
replete with rancor (" Gobyerno , inutil /"), indictment (" Gobyerno , tutá
ng 'Kano!") and refusal to engage in dialogue or cooperation (" Ibagsak
ang rehimenl").
The claim-making of one urban poor movement, however, suggests
that downplaying class antagonism and advancing interdependence
among "unequal" classes can also produce solutions to issues of security
of tenure -a concern besetting more than a quarter of the urban population
in Philippine cities. This innovation in discourse finds resonance with the
theories, analyses, and concepts of Emile Durkheim, a sociologist whose
ideas are often interpreted in opposition to Marx (Gane 1992:1).
This paper aims to present the analytical potency of a Durkheimian
framework in examining how an urban poor movement articulates its
interests and vision for progress and social justice. Durkheim's sociological
framework based on the division of labor and solidarity have been largely
discredited and ignored in favor of Marxist and even Weberian models
based on conflict (Grusky and Galescu 2005:322-25). In this article, I
argue that Durkheim's sociological theory is useful in providing a fresh
optic to understand the language and practice of contemporary urban
issues. I illustrate this argument through the case of Manila's Urban Poor
Alliance (UP-ALL).
This article begins by revisiting Durkheim's concept of solidarity.
It aims to shed light to some misconceptions about Durkheim's alleged
conservatism by identifying some of his "progressive" insights about
social justice. In the second section, a review of UP-ALL's landmark
Gerald M. Nicolas works at the John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social
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documents that reflect a deviation from the confrontational language
popular movements usually employ is presented. It is argued that relative
to other prominent urban poor groups, UP-ALL's claim-making takes
a perspective based on consensus rather than conflict. By emphasizing
the indispensable contribution of informal settlers in the sustainability
of cities, the group's agenda finds affinity in a Durkheimian vision of
organic solidarity. The article concludes with a cautious proposition for
civil society groups to explore a paradigm shift in claim-making from
one that incites confrontation between the sector and the government,
to one that encourages collaboration and partnership. A rereading of the
select theories of Durkheim serves as a good starting point.
suffer. Poverty is, above all, relative, and in any case can be given many
different values, even a sacred value. Poverty does not of itself equal misery,
just as wealth does not guarantee happiness. This idea was given great scope
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in theory, as it led to the thesis that human progress is not motivated by desire
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Manifestations of functional differentiation are nowhere more
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in contrast, insisted that the division of labor is not inherently exploitative
but has "pathological" forms. Mutual interdependence deviates from its
"normal" function when it fails to produce social solidarity and prevents
the individual from improving one's situation. Durkheim identified several
pathological forms of the division of labor and it is through these categories
where one can extrapolate Durkheim's account of poverty and inequality.
One pathological form is the anomic division of labor. In such
state, different units of society fail to coordinate their functions with
one another and, in the process, become isolated by their increasingly
specialized functions. Once isolated, they see themselves as separated
from their highly specialized task, as in the case of a worker who feels
his labor is reduced to a machine (Besnard 2005:71). This concept comes
close to Marx's alienation, which, as applied to describe the relationship
of wageworkers and their capitalist employers during his time, conveyed
estrangement by the former from the means of production. Because for
Marx, it is through labor that human nature is expressed, the experience
of alienation that capitalism engenders limits a person from achieving his
or her potential.
Another abnormal form is forced division of labor. This results from
the mismatch between the person's abilities and capacities and one's
occupation. Durkheim would attribute the absence of a "good fit" to the
problem of inequality. For example, without equal access to educational
opportunities, individuals are relegated to jobs unsuitable to their interests
and skill sets. This compromises the smooth functioning of social life
because individuals tend to be unproductive members of society (Jones
1986).This is the basis for Durkheim's account of inequality:
If one class in society is obliged, in order to live, to take any price for
its services, while another class can pass over this situation, because of the
resources already at its disposal, resources that, however, are not necessarily
the result of some social superiority, the latter group has an unjust advantage
over the former with respect to the law (Durkheim in Ritzer and Goodman
2004:319).
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bring about a decline of public morality (Durkheim [1893] 1984:xxxiv).
Consequently, Durkheim proposes that inequality be overcome:
Based on this, it can be argued that Durkheim does not value social
order for social order's sake but because a society built on cooperation and
mutual interdependence is the realization of an equal and just society1.
If Durkheim's concept of the pathological is an anomic condition
where division of labor malfunctions, what then is his vision of social
justice? Durkheim did not consider material well-being as an indicator of
justice. Gane ( 1 992:9) points out: "in contrast to Marx who looked towards
a technical solution to the problem of scarcity conceived as resolved in a
society based on material abundance (communism), [Durkheim] saw the
moral and political question of relative abundance and relative scarcity
as a permanent one." Thus, "the fundamental theoretical point is that
socialism is not to be reached through technical or economic measures,
or through class struggle" but a "question of moral agents" rather than
money or force (Gane 1992:137). As Durkheim puts it:
The task of the most advanced societies is, then, a work of justice... Just
as the idea of lower societies was to create or maintain as intense a common
life as possible, in which the individual was absorbed, so our ideal is to make
2004:174).
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problems cut across social classes and cannot be reduced to antagonisms
based on economic modes of production. Even in a Marxist utopia where
economic inequalities have vanished, it remains imperative for individuals
to generate consensus on shared moral standards. Otherwise, new forms
of antagonisms inevitably emerge, compromising social cohesion.
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particularly when relating to the government. Rather than confronting
government power primarily with conflict-charged discourse and practice,
the Urban Poor Alliance (UP-ALL) conveys its agenda and demands in
a language that finds resonance in Durkheim's ideas on solidarity and
social justice presented in the previous section.
UP-ALL is a loose network of people's organizations and NGOs
advocating housing reforms. It was formed in 2005 by national
federations of urban poor groups, community organizations, and NGOs2.
It is a "loose" movement in the sense that there is no set of officers or a
definite structure. Its members are located in key cities in Metro Manila,
the Bicol Region, Visayas, and Mindanao. According to its advocacy
poster, UP- ALL "provides venue for participative collaboration between
POs and NGOs to discuss issues and solutions, and to analyze challenges
confronting the sector." With an "evidence-based agenda that underscore
the basic concerns of the urban poor sector," the alliance engagesthe
government on issues such as prevention of forced evictions, improvement
of resettlement sites, allocation of lands for low-income housing inside
the city, and institutionalization of social protection policies and programs
that will facilitate access to jobs and basic services by the poor.
In pursuing its agenda, UP- ALL had to deal with the public's
unfavorable perceptions of informal settlers, among them are the claims
that the urban poor are not engaged in productive work and that they have
no contribution in the taxes paid to government. The alliance's national
2 The alliance was initially composed of a small group of NGO and civil
society networks, namely the National Congress of CMP Originators
NGOs such as the Urban Poor Associates (UPA), COPE Foundation, and
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convenor, Jose "Ka Jose" Morales3 considered these as "myths" that UP-
ALL members, even before they coalesced as a movement, have been
trying to correct or put in a different perspective. He shared:
natin, pagsakay, puro may taxes ang mga yan... Hindi kami nagbabayad ng
[income tax] pero nagbabayad kami ng indirect tax.
[They say the poor do not pay taxes? I am a leader who advocates for
the poor but I do not receive any compensation. But when I bought a piece of
candy or rode a public transportation, I already did pay tax. We may not be
tagalinis ng kanilang mga bahay? Sino ang kanilang drayber? Sino ang nag-
aalaga sa mga anak nila? Ang tao madalas mabilis magsalita ayon lang sa
kanyang nakikita pero hindi nagsusuri.
[Who are their workers? Who polishes their shoes, cleans their
houses?Who takes care of their children? People tend to judge easily based on
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are anchored on the contribution of the urban poor in the city. Cipriano
"Ka Ping" Fampulme,4 a convenor of Metro Manila-based members of
UP- ALL, said that it was not difficult to highlight this perspective in the
alliance's agenda and pursue these in a democratic process "Maitutulak
natin ang pag-iisip na hindi tayo pabigat sa lipunan ," he said, " kung
/^-engage natin ang gobyerno, [kung] maglalatag tayo [ng solusyon ] sa
pamahalaan. (We can put forward the view that we are not a burden of
society if we engage the government and present solutions.)"
By highlighting the contribution of the urban poor, one can
describe UP-ALL' s claim-making orientation as taking the functionalist
perspective. This was the main theme of the documents UP- ALL used to
inject in the public discourse the issues and concerns of the sector, and
guided the strategies the alliance employed when engaging with decision
and policy makers.
Post-Ondoy Statement
UP-ALL members engaged with the Catholic Church, international
development agencies, and donors to mainstream an identity that they
thought could generate empathy from those who consider them as
nuisance in cities. After consultations and discussions with allies from
the academe, heads of NGO members of UP- ALL were among those who
initially decided to advance a message that underscores the urban poor's
indispensable contribution to the city. This collective understanding was
first articulated in the whole page advertisement entitled "Urban Poor:
Workforce and Citizens" published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer in
November 3, 2009:
also the Chairperson of the Luzon CMP PO Network (LCMP PO), a group
of people's organizations in CMP project areas, before accepting his current
(PCUP).
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Urban poor people are blamed for the floods caused by typhoon Ondoy
back to their homes along the rivers and esteros. The president has said that
as if they were vermin. There is no scientific basis proposed for such violent
actions. Loggers in the Sierra Madre and developers may be more guilty. We
may evict 80,000 families from the waterways at great expense and suffering
only to find in 20 years the floods are back and stronger than ever. There must
homes if they are offered in-city relocation near their jobs and the children's
schools.
The poor were affected that fateful Saturday (Sept. 26) just as the middle-
class people. Unlike the middle-class, however, the poor had no place to go
Distant relocation is not the answer as there are usually no jobs available
in the far away sites. Jobs are basic: without regular income the people will be
Let us move into 21st century thinking by making Metro Manila and
our other cities inclusive ones that integrate the urban poor into their midst
rather than force them into illegality on degraded sites. These diminish their
be done by the Senate? What, if any, was the role of the poor? Who is really
to blame?
We call for both public and idle private land near the riverbanks to be
identified and set aside for riverbank and lakeside settlement, negotiated by
government for temporary social housing use until it can identify and prepare
permanent social housing sites for them in the city. We believe, however, on-
our urban poor workforce to remain in the city, enjoy their rights as Filipino
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citizens, and help realize a vibrant, competitive, humane and inclusive Asian
city.
5 Typhoon Ondoy struck Luzon Island in the last week of September, leaving
464 people dead, 448 of which were from Metro Manila based on the tally
Council (HUDCC) while serving as Vice President from 2004 to 2010, called
the urban poor as "lazy" and "kulang sa pansin." An article by Ellao (2009)
saying in Filipino, "Maybe they are lazy. Tell them they are lazy. They should
pay their loans. I will demand their payment or else I will drive them away,
no matter who they are." Another popular media personality, Mike Enriquez,
his opinion on informal settlers who were demolished in San Juan City in
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the flood brought by typhoon Ondoy, prompting government to
immediately order the relocation of hundreds of thousands of slum
dwellers.
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Covenant with the Urban Poor
The national elections, which were to be held the following year,
served as another opportunity for UP-ALL to mainstream its agenda.
The alliance decided to throw their support to the candidates of the
Liberal Party. Two months before the national elections, then presidential
candidate Benigno S. Aquino III and his running mate Manuel Roxas II
signed the Covenant with the Urban Poor , a 10-point agenda "covenant"
which begins with the following statement:
every person must be able to contribute the best of his or her abilities to the
(UP-ALL 2010).
The first item on the agenda pertains to protection from forced and
inhumane eviction:
We will not allow any public authority or private entity to evict families and
leave them homeless in the streets. As the work force of our cities , the poor, to
the extent possible, will be given the opportunity to stay in the cities. We will
added).
UP- ALL claimed its agenda as based on evidence and developed with
participation of urban poor communities (Karaos 20 IO)7. In a 17-page
with the Policy Team of the Liberal Party, even if the covenant is between
UP- ALL and the Aquino-Roxas tandem, and not with the Liberal Party. For
one, the Policy Team was hesitant to commit to a policy limiting socialized
housing sites to locations inside the city. The two parties settled for an
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document prepared by its NGO members, UP-ALL enumerated ten key
housing and urban poverty issues, with corresponding policy proposals
and proposed executive actions. For the agenda on eviction, the following
"problem statement" was presented:
settlers. Major industries that depend on the cheap labor of the poor are
transport, construction, and retail trade. Urban poor workers in effect are
subsidizing the urban lifestyles of the middle class and the rich. Put another
way, half of the middle class will not be able to afford to live in Metro Manila
urban poor were increased so they could afford decent housing. The state has
an obligation to "subsidize" in -city housing for the poor because the poor are
subsidizing the urban lifestyles of the middle and upper classes (the urban
economy as a whole) through their cheap labor (UP-ALL 2009:15).
discussed later, the government released P50 billion for housing projects that
will benefit primarily the residents in so- called "danger areas" such as rivers
and esteros.
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KASUNDUAN SA MARALITANG TAGALUNGSOD
Ano mo« nwnamayan ang pinrtamahaiagang yaman ng athg banea. 8a Isang modemong ekonomiya, bawst tea ay dapat makaambag sa pajf-untad ng
baiyan sa sbot ng Karrywtg makakaya. Ngunit daWI sa kahtrapan. maraming Pipino ang napagkafcattan ng oportunidad na ito. Ang kat*alian at masamang
pamamatakad ng pamahaiaan ang pangunahing hadtong sa abng kaunlaran at paglago.
Blang mga koididatong nate kayong pąjingkuran, kami ay nangangakong magtatatag ng isang makataamgang Ipunan para sa lahat. Ulnoin namin ang
korupsyon sa panvMaen. Ang mga ihahain namng sołusyon ay napag-aralan, pangmatagaian at kinunsufta memo sa mga mamamayan. Upang tugunan
ang mga sulran^ng mga maraStrig tagaiungsod. kami ay nangangakong isasakaM»»" ang mga sumuaunodnaiayunin at poistya:
1. Walano ebiksvon kuno wdana dteentona retakasvon. Wavwkasan namin 7. Kaoavspaan. Sismian namin ang tutoy-tutoy na paWkipagkasundo para
ang mga ebfcaiyong puwarsahar at labag sa batas. Hrtdi namin pahihintuiu- s* kapayapaan sa Mindanao. Tutugunan namin ang pangangriangan ng
tai ang $«um*ig magpaptfayas ng mga parrtfya at üvwan sHe sa mga mga apektadong mamamayan ng armadong tunggaiian sa Mindanao,
taneangan. Blang mge manggagawa ng atihg mga lungaod, ang mga
marattang tagaiungsod ay dapal ttgyan ng pagkakataong manatK sa mga 9- fohaMHWYgn PMhrtaMf PO PaBYOPfl QpftV. MagWalaga kami ng
lungaod. P^jsuaumfcapan naming magkaroon ng balansang kaunlaran ng mga taong may kakaryshang magpiano at magsagawa ng mga proyaktong
k«*yunai at krfungauran. m ftataguyod ang mga sapat na hanapbuhay sa pangrehabHtaayon sa mga komunidad na naaalanta ng Bagyong Ondoy.
mga kjgar ng reiokasyon. Rerepaauhin namin ang Executive Order 854 nang may pakMpagaangguni
aa mga apektadong komunidad. Kasama ninyo. maghahanap kami ng mga
2. Paosasaavos no moa maritano pamavanan sa moa lunosod. «utuon angkop na soiuayon para sa mga nanrtrahan sa Manggahan Roortway at
namin ang aming programang pabahay sa pagpapauntad ng mga Lupang Arenda.
komunidad (arae development) at in-ctty resettlement sa pamamagitar ng
Community Mortgage Program (CMP). Pabtoilein namin ang 9- PatfvaPfl Up®ng maging mas epekttoo ang impiementasyon at
impiamantasyon ng CMP at ang lokalisasyon nito. Titiyakfri namin ang paghahabd ng programang pabahay sa mga mara*ang tagaiuigsod,
pagsasakaluperan ng lahat ng FVeaideniiel Proclamation upang maklnabang magtataiaga kami ng mga taong may pagktfng sa naporma na magpapak*»
»ig mga karapat-dapat na benepieyaryo. sa Housing and Urban Development Coordrating Council (WJDCC) at iba
pang ahenaiyang pabahay. Sisikapin naming magkaroon ng pantay na
3 Padiahatid no rea baiavano sertiavo sa moa komunidad. Sa erwn na representation ang Luzon, Vfeayas at Mindanao sa pagtatalaga ng mga
taon ng aming pwxjnungkulen. daregdagan namin ang pondo para sa poaisyon sa gabinete, maging sa mga pangatawong kaMm. na Nndl
kakjaugan at edukasyon. Paiatawakln namin ang saklew ng health insurance. iahaaakrtpiayo ang huaay at kakayahan. Htwangin c*n narrtn ang klnatawan
Dadagd^vi narrai ang büang ng mga sftd-aralan upang maiwasan na ang ngNQOs at samahanngmaralitang tagaiungsod sa tuponng Social Houang
paghahaknhinan o shifting ng mga aatudyanta. MagWaan din kami ng finance Corporation (SHFC) at konsaho ng HUOCC. at kinatawang NGO sa
kumpieto at may kaldad na aklat para sa mga mag-aaral ng mga pampub- National Housing Authority (NHA). itatatoga namin ang pangkalahatang
Kong pavdw. Maglalaan kami ng madaling pamamaraan ng aerbieyong tagapangaatae ng NHA. ang panguio ng SHFC. at ang pinuno ng
patubig at stektnadad sa mga komunidad ng mahihirap. Preaidantlai Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) nang may paMkipag-
sangeuni sa mga semahan ng mga maraMang tagaiungsod *t mga NGOs.
4. Badvet sa oabahav Upang mapunan ang pangangalangan pera sa
pabahay. magiaro kami ng sapat na pondo para aa mga kasalukuyan at 10. PakMdhok no moa mamamaven, Pahahatagahan namin ang papel ng
bagong programang pabahay para sa maraca. S«iguruhin narwi ang mga mamamaven sa paghahanap ng mga soiusyon sa kaniang problema,
ptptn'rt-irr ng pondong mandato ng Con^rahensiva and migrated Shatter Siaiguruhln naming kutonsuKahin namin ang mga mamamayan sa pag-
fìnwidng Act fCtSFA). bubuo ng mga datatye ng arrtng mga ptano.
5. Tratoaho. Likha kami ng mga programang makapagbtoigay sa mga Ang mga layunin sa kasunduang ito sa mga maraitang tagalcrisod ay
nwakta ng tratto gaya ng malawakang proyaktong pampuMko at mga magiging bahagi ng aming adyandang pangk«iniaran upang makaiMia ng
pagaae«iey pava paunlarin *ig kakayahan ng mga maretta. TutiAmgan isang Npunang bukáš sa lahat at waieng pagWNng aa ian.
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Filipino translation of the ( ove nam with the I Irhan Poor which appeared in a tabloid. The English version was
published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the livenum (in Visavas and Mindanao).
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activist way of mobilizing the urban poor. The strong emphasis on the
urban poor's contribution to cities, as cited statements above suggest,
can thus be considered an innovative although not recent development
in social movements in the Philippines.8 As already pointed out, its
innovativeness lies on its objective of working with institutions,
especially government.
Methods of Engaging
The emphasis on the contribution of the urban poor in the economy
and society by the two documents studied above is also represented in
the tactics employed by UP-ALL. The Covenant , for example, was a
concrete expression of UP- ALL's objective to work with government.
National Convenor Morales said:
often than not break their promises. So we thought, 'why not enter into a
could not recall when exactly this characterization emerged. One literature
on the urban poor as the working class appeared as early as mid- 1 980s (see
Karaos 1985:241-57).
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karapatan natin, kailangan marinig ng gobyerno ang mga hinaing natin sa
isang proseso ng pakikipag-usap ... Hindi naman natin tinatawag na mali ang
other urban poor groups] dahil 'yun ang alam nilang kaparaanan. Kaya lang
for they believe their strategies are effective. We do not believe in fierce
and disordered engagement because people get hurt and we do not arrive in
solutions.]
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President Aquino designated then DILG Sec. Robredo as the point person for informal settlers concerns.
UP- ALL leaders held regular meetings with the secretary to discuss urgent concerns such as demolition
threats, validation of official list of informal settler families along waterways, and community- initiated in-city
housing projects. (Photo by Gerald M. Nicolas)
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cities, including the landless urban poor, whose services contribute to the
wealth of cities. Durkheim's concepts are indeed manifest in the current
social setting and can make important inroads in the claim-making of the
urban poor.
While it downplays the class-based conflict and material inequality
in cities, framing the urban poor's claim-making under the banner of
consensus can be described as an innovation. For one, that the urban
poor matter for the survival of cities is useful in articulating the precise
sentiments and frustrations of urban poor communities because of practices
of exclusion. The focus on interdependent differences of social actors,
however, does not necessarily mean advocating for the maintenance of
social structures that facilitate the domination by a few.
Finally, the essay explored the potential contribution of Durkheim
to enriching the discourse of social movements and civil society. While
Durkheim would not promote a classless society as ardently as Marx, his
analysis of abnormal forms of division of labor provides an alternative
framework for social development practitioners in understanding the
conditions that allow poverty to persist. Social movements that for so
long have been fascinated, rightly or wrongly, with the conflict model
rooted in economic determinism may find important and constructive
insights from Durkheim.
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