TARGET: PROFESSIONAL SQUATTERS

 

BY JEZZA NEPOMOCENO

ILOILO City – The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) urged local chief executives to go after professional squatters and squatting syndicates.

Professional squatters as defined by law refers to individuals or groups who occupy lands without the express consent of the landowner and who have sufficient income for legitimate housing.

HUDCC’s Legal Services Group Director IV Atty. Ribonette Aguilar said there can be no development if professional squatters and squatting syndicates (PSSS) are not stopped.

Aguilar was among the speakers during Pabahay Caravan here early this week with no less than Vice President Jejomar Binay leading.

Local chief executives must adopt measures to identify and effectively curtail the nefarious and illegal activities of PSSS pursuant to Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, stressed Aguilar.

Reports from National Police Task Force on Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates (NPTFPSSS) revealed that there were about four notorious squatting syndicates operating in the country.

These are the Tallano-Acop Group, Wilfredo Sumulong Torres Group, Rodriguez Group, and Don Mariano San Pedro.

According to Aguilar, these syndicates mostly operate in slum areas. Their identified areas of operation so far are Bulacan, Rizal, Taguig City, Muntinlupa City, Navotas City, Marikina City, Cavite, Muntinlupa City, Nueva Ecija, Batangas and even as far as Leyte in Eastern Visayas.

NPTFPSSS said the modus operandi starts with the construction of makeshift shanties. If these squatters are left unchecked, they will later construct concrete structures.

The national task force said some of the professional squatters were in fact beneficiaries of the socialized housing program of the government but they illegally sold their rights over the lots given to them.

They will then transfer to another area and squat then seek to avail themselves of another housing project using the names of their nearest kin.

How do squatting syndicates enter the picture? They penetrate large piece of lands occupied by squatters. Then they approach the leaders of the squatters and show them supposedly genuine land titles to make it appear that they (the syndicates) are the real owners of the area; then they start collecting money from the squatters as “payment” for staying there.

All these are done by the professional squatters and syndicates without the knowledge of the legitimate owners of the area, said NPTFPSSS.

Aguilar said anyone who has knowledge about these illegal activities can file a complaint with the HUDCC or any member-agency of national campaign such as Philippine National Police and National Housing Authority./PN

(Published in Panay News on November, 2011)

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