”The Nefarious and Illegal Activities of Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates as a Current Urban Environmenta

1. Presented during the 2nd Regional Environmental Planners’ Forum held on 5-8 September 2018 in Cagayan de Oro City By: ALVIN T. CLARIDADES Lawyer, Civil Engineer & Environmental Planner Director, Legal Services Group - HUDCC ”The Nefarious and Illegal Activities of Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates as a Current Urban Environmental Challenge in the Philippines”

2. Growth of Informal Settlements • Growth of informal settlements is a common characteristic of the towns and cities of most developing countries such as the Philippines. • Slums and squatter settlements are the dominant forms of informal settlements. • Land is very limited and urban land is getting scarcer. • Access to land is one of the most difficult factors for the urban poor and inaccessibility to land mostly contributes to squatting on vacant urban lands.

3. Growth of Informal Settlements • Squatting or informal settlement is considered a national malady in the Philippines. • Informal settlements in the Philippines are found mostly in vacant, idle government and along creeks, riverbanks and major waterways which are considered as danger areas and therefore NOT FIT for human habitation. • Squatters or what is now known as Informal Settlers have illegally erected their dwelling structures in government and privately owned lands located in danger and non-danger areas.

4. Informal Settlements • In general, informal settlement designates a very poor area or settlement in the city or towns. • Slum, squatter settlement, marginal or informal settlement is often used interchangeably (UN ESCAP, 1987). • Informal settlements are developed when people build on lands they have no legal tenure or by not conforming to planning, registration and/or building regulations of the respective local authorities in which they are located (Abbot, 2001).

5. Informal Settlements • Informal settlements is defined as "Spontaneous, unplanned or unregulated sub-markets, which commonly attract the general label of Self-help housing, Slums, or Squatters" (Payne 1988). • While squatters illegally reside on land, slum residents have legal access to the land through ownership or lease. • A slum is broadly defined as an area of “dilapidated shelters.” • An informal settlement can be an illegal subdivision or a squatter settlement.

6. Informal Settlements • In our country, The basic distinction between Slums and Squatter Settlements lies in the fact that the former are semi-permanent, semi-legally structured structures on rental land, while the latterare developed with legal claim or permission from the landowner. • Thus, Informal Settlements can be both illegal or semi-legal residential areas with substandard living conditions lacking adequate housing, infrastructure and basic services and facilities.

7. Historical Roots of Informal Settlement in the Philippines • At the end of the World War II in 1945, war destruction rendered many Filipinos homeless. Manila was a devastated city. • After the war, the US declared Manila as one of the most badly destroyed cities of the war. • This period coincided with the birth of the Philippines as an independent nation on July 4, 1946 when US colonial rule ended.  • The problem of widespread homelessness as consequences of massive destruction brought about by the war fell on our post-war leaders.

8. Historical Roots of Informal Settlement in the Philippines • At the end of the World War II in 1945, war destruction rendered many Filipinos homeless. Manila was a devastated city. • After the war, the US declared Manila as one of the most badly destroyed cities of the war. • This period coincided with the birth of the Philippines as an independent nation on July 4, 1946 when US colonial rule ended.  • The problem of widespread homelessness as consequences of massive destruction brought about by the war fell on our post-war leaders.

9. Historical Roots of Informal Settlement in the Philippines • The temporary remedies from the misery of those who had lost much and those who had been reduced to destitution and poverty during the war was to set up housing where temporary shelters could be built against standing concrete walls and abandoned housing after the war. • Thus, the solid walls and dungeons of Intramuros in Manila became one of the earliest concentrations of large groups of squatters. It took years to move the bulk of the Intramuros squatters to other resettlement sites.

10. Historical Roots of Informal Settlement in the Philippines • In the early postwar years, the Tondo district on the shorelands of Manila became a prime squatting area in view of its nearness to the thriving port city. • Instead of being isolated, the garbage dumpsite in the Tondo foreshore (and later, in Payatas, Quezon City where a replacement inland hillsite dump was created), became a a magnet for the very poor to settle nearby owing to the fact that the dumpsite provided them marginal livelihood through scavenging for valuable articles which can be used, eaten or sold.

11. Historical Roots of Informal Settlement in the Philippines • The peripheries of Manila leading to the northwestern municipalities and city of the province of Rizal such as Malabon and Navotas, and the City of Caloocan, and to the southeastern portions such as Paranaque, the banks of the Pasig River, and the Manggahan Floodway after its construction as a major dike, were filled up with new settlements. • Notable was the growth of squatter settlements in foreshore areas, areas near major waterways, garbage dumpsites, sidewalks, idle government reservations, and abandoned railroad tracks.

12. Growth of Informal Settlements • Based on 2015 census data, the population of the Philippines in 2016 was placed at 101 million people. • The Metropolitan Manila area which is comprised of 16 cities and 1 municipality and has an overall population of nearly 13 million peoplewhich accounts for 12.87% of the total population of country. • Its total urban area, composed of the urban agglomeration, which refers to the continuous urban expansion of Metro Manila into the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Batangas has an estimated population of 24.1 million.

13. Growth of Informal Settlements • By 1946, in the wake of the Manila’s virtual destruction during the Liberation, Manila and its suburbs were estimated to have around 46,000 squatters. This number rose to 98,000 in 1956, to 283,000 in 1963, and skyrocketed even further during the Martial Law years. • In 1981, the estimated number of squatters in Metro Manila was 1.6 million. • By 2010, that number ballooned to 2.8 million or 556,526 families. • In 2014, an estimated 4 million slum dwellers were living in Metro Manila.

14. Government Intervention • In 1975, when squatting was observed to have remained a major problem in urban communities all over the country despite the directives to various government agencies to "to remove all illegal constructions, including buildings on and along esteros and river banks, those along railroad tracks and those built without permits on public and private property,” Presidential Decree No. 772 was enacted “PENALIZING SQUATTING AND OTHER SIMILAR ACTS,” making the Philippines one of only 2 countries (the other was South Africa) where squatting was a crime.

15. Government Intervention • In March 1992, Congress enacted Republic Act No. 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) of 1992. • The law deliberately skipped mention of “SQUATTERS” or what is now termed as INFORMAL SETTLERS or INFORMAL SETTLER FAMILIES (ISFs) and instead cited more specific terms as PROFESSIONAL SQUATTERS AND SQUATTING SYNDICATES. • It also gave special attention to the right of ISFs to a just and humane eviction and demolition, thus relegating the aspect of urban development to the sidelines.

16. Government Intervention • In October 1997, the ISFs scored another victory when Republic Act No. 7279 was enacted by Congress REPEALING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 772, ENTITLED "PENALIZING SQUATTING AND OTHER SIMILAR ACTS.” • This legislation effectively removed from the statute books the crime of squatting which used to be punished by an imprisonment ranging from six (6) months to one (1) year or a fine of not less than one thousand (P1,000) nor more than five thousand (P5,000) pesos at the discretion of the court,

17. Government Intervention • In October 1997, the ISFs scored another victory when Republic Act No. 8368 was enacted by Congress REPEALING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 772, ENTITLED "PENALIZING SQUATTING AND OTHER SIMILAR ACTS.” • This legislation effectively removed from the statute books the crime of squatting which used to be punished by an imprisonment ranging from six (6) months to one (1) year or a fine of not less than one thousand (P1,000) nor more than five thousand (P5,000) pesos at the discretion of the court,

18. Government Intervention • RA 8368 also authorized the dismissal of all pending cases that drew upon the provisions of the now repealed PD 772. • It also directed criminal cases against squatters to defer to the broader “Comprehensive and Continuing Urban Development Program” described by RA 7279 (UDHA) which stipulated sanctions that are applicable only to “professional squatters and squatting sydicates.”

19. Professional Squatters • Under Section 3(m) of RA 7279, professional squatters refer to individuals or groups : • who occupy lands without the express consent of the landowner; and • who have sufficient income for legitimate housing. • The term shall also apply to persons: • who have previously been awarded homelots or housing units by the Government but who: • sold; • leased; or • transferred the same to settle illegally in the same place or in another urban area; and

20. Professional Squatters • who are non-bona fide occupants of lands reserved for socialized housing; and • who are intruders of lands reserved for socialized housing.

21. Who Are Not Professional Squatters • The term “Professional Squatters” shall NOT APPLY to individuals or groups who simply rent land and housing from professional squatters or squatting syndicates. [Express exclusion].

22. Squatting Syndicates • Under Section 3 (s) of RA 7279, Squatting Syndicates refer to: • groups of persons (2 or more persons to constitute a group); • engaged in the business of (selling) squatter housing; • for profit or gain.

23. Actions and Sanctions Against Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates • Under Section 16 (d) of RA 7279, Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates (PSSS for brevity) are DISQUALIFIED to become beneficiaries of the government’s housing programs; and • Under Paragraph 2, Section 27 of RA 7279, any person or group identified as PSSS shall be summarily evicted and their dwellings or structures demolished.

24. Penal Sanctions Against Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates • Under Paragraph 3, Section 27 of RA 7279, PSSS shall, upon conviction, be imposed the penalty of six (6) years imprisonment or a fine of not less than Sixty thousand pesos (P60,000.00) but not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000), or both, at the discretion of the court. • A public official who tolerates or abets the commission of the acts of PSSS is to be dealt with in accordance with existing laws.

25. Executive Order No. 129 • issued by then PRES. FIDEL V. RAMOS on October 15, 1993

26. Executive Order No. 129 • On October 15, 1993, Executive Order No. 129 was issued ESTABLISHING AN INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM TO CURTAIL THE ACTIVITIES OF PROFESSIONAL SQUATTING SYNDICATES AND PROFESSIONAL SQUATTERS AND INTENSIFYING THE DRIVE AGAINST THEM. • It paved the way for the creation of a Committee Against Squatting Syndicates And Professional Squatters. • Local government units (LGUs) were also directed to create their respective Local Committees Against Squatting Syndicates and Professional Squatters.

27. Executive Order No. 129 • EO 129 authorizes theLGUs, upon the recommendation of their local committees (LCAPSSS), to: • summarily evict the offenders (PSSS); and • demolish their dwelling structures. • It also directs the LGUs to prevent the construction of any kind of illegal dwelling units of structures within their respective localities. 

28. Creation of the Local Committee • Under Section 2.2 of EO 129, all LGUs are mandated to create a Local Committee Against Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates (LCAPSSS). • The Committee is composed of: • The mayor of the concerned city or municipality with permanent alternate; • The local chief of PNP with permanent alternate; • Representative of the PCUP with permanent alternate; • President of the PCUP-accredited urban poor organization with permanent alternate; and • A representative from the private sector.who shall be chosen by the above members.

29. Functions of the Local Committee • Adopt the necessary measures to identify and effectively curtail the activities of PSSS; • Provide HUDCC and NHA list of PSSS to safeguard against their inclusion in future housing programs; • Provide legal assistance to victims of PSSS; • File the necessary charges before the court or Prosecutor’s Office; • Undertake investigation on violation cases on demolition and eviction forwarded to it and recommend action to concerned agencies; • Monitor demolition and eviction activities; • Submit reports to the HUDCC and the Office of the President; and • Call on any government entities for assistance, if necessary.

30. Executive OrderNo.178 - issued by former PRES. JOSEPH EJERCITO-ESTRADA on November 23, 1999

31. Executive Order No. 178 • EO 178 created a National Police Task Force (NPTF) on Squatting Syndicates and Professional Squatters to vigorously pursue the apprehension and prosecution of professional squatters and squatting syndicates nationwide. • The Task Force is chaired by the Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP) and composed of elements of various law enforcement agencies/entities as may be identified by the Chairman.

32. Executive Order No. 153 • issued by former President GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO on December 10, 2002

33. Executive Order No. 153 • EO 153 instituted the National Drive Against Professional Squatting And Squatting Syndicates (NDAPSSS). • It directed the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to take the lead in the identification of PSSS, monitor and launch operations, through the proper agency or body, to curtail their activities, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take the lead in the prosecution of identified professional squatters and squatting syndicates.

34. Executive Order No. 153 • EO 153 abolished the National Committee Against Squatting Syndicates and Professional Squatters established under Executive Order No. 129 dated 15 October 1993 and transferred all its functions to the HUDCC.  • It strengthened the National Police Task Force (NPTF) to Apprehend Squatting Syndicates and Professional Squatters [created under Executive Order No. 178 dated 23 November 1999] which was tasked to serve as the operational arm of HUDCC in the drive against PSSS.

35. Executive Order No. 153 Support agencies of the NDAPSSS include: • Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP); • Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); • Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); • Philippine National Police (PNP); • National Urban Poor Sectoral Council of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NUPSC-NAPC); • National Bureau of Investigation (NBI); • Land Registration Authority (LRA); and • Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

36. Types and Modus Operandi of Squatting Syndicates • Class A Squatting Syndicate • Its manner of operation is purely documentation. It falsifies land title certificates and other public documents, in connivance with unscrupulous employees of government agencies and courts. • It identifies a large tract of land occupied by squatters, then shows a fake certificate of title to support the squatter’s occupancy; if accepted by the squatters, the syndicate will start collecting money from the occupants as initial payment. • The squatters will then file a claim with the court against the legitimate lot owner.

37. Types and Modus Operandi of Squatting Syndicates • Class B Squatting Syndicate • It will scout for a large community of squatters, organize them and orient them about Titulo de Propriedad4136 and OCT 01-4 Protocol. • It collects money from the urban poor association or from any individual. • Upon receipt of the payment, the syndicate will issue a Deed of Absolute Sale based on TP 4136 or OCT 01-4. The vendee will then enter the particular lot assigned to him. • The syndicate, together with the urban poor association, will then file a case for cancellation of title against the lot owner.

38. Types and Modus Operandi of Squatting Syndicates • Class C Syndicate • It organizes an Urban Poor Association and uses this as front for its activities. The front may also be headed by a leader or leaders who are supposedly backed by certain government officials. • The association will be emboldened and eventually invade a parcel of land within the local community. • The syndicate will sell phony housing rights to any interested urban poor family which will then construct its dwellings without the knowledge of the legitimate lot owner.

39. Types and Modus Operandi of Squatting Syndicates • The syndicate will register the urban poor association with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and name drop high ranking officials of the government to obtain a semblance of legitimacy and authority.

40. Types and Modus Operandi of Squatting Syndicates Supreme Court decision (San Pedro v. CA, G.R. No. 103727. December 18, 1996) declaring Titulo de PropriedadNumero 4136 as NULL and VOID.

41. Types and Modus Operandi of Squatting Syndicates The total land area claimed by the heirs of the late Mariano San Pedro y Esteban was approximately 173,000 hectares. The “fantastic” claim covered lands in Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Quezon, and Metro Manila cities such as Quezon City, Caloocan, Pasay, Pasig and Manila.

42. Modus operandi • The victims of PSSS include: • Buyers of property or “Rights” (ISFs or innocent purchaser); • Property owners (private landowners and government agencies which own patrimonial properties); • National Agencies and Local Government Units affected by housing projects, i.e., Pag-ibigFund housing projects, NHA resettlement projects, Community Mortgage Program (CMP) and other socialized housing projects.

43. Modus operandi • The victims of PSSS include: • Buyers of property or “Rights” (ISFs or innocent purchaser); • Property owners (private landowners and government agencies which own patrimonial properties); • National Agencies and Local Government Units affected by housing projects, i.e., Pag-ibigFund housing projects, NHA resettlement projects, Community Mortgage Program (CMP) and other socialized housing projects.

44. Modus operandi • The PSSS can: • Invade and occupy your property; • Harass you by filing frivolous criminal, civil or administrative complaints against you in various fora; • Empty your pockets; and • Threaten, harm or even do worse things against you.

45. Modus Operandi: At first, they will construct makeshift shanties and, if left unchecked, they will later construct concrete structures. Modus operandi Makeshift shanty erected at the NBP Compound, a government property Makeshift shanty erected on a private property

46. Modus operandi Modus Operandi: Awardees of socialized housing project of the government who sold their awarded property and transferred to adjacent places. Awardees of socialized housing program of the government Substituted member/beneficiary Illegally occupied the adjacent property

47. Modus operandi Modus Operandi: Intruders or non-bonafide occupants of sites reserved for socialized housing purposes. Bahay Katuparan, Tanza, Cavite

48. Modus operandi Example 2: “Court Decisions” Supreme Court Decisions The claimant claimed the entire 86-hectare property based on a Supreme Court Decision. However, in an Omnibus Decision, the claimant is entitled only to the 3-hectare portion of the claimed property . “Omnibus Orders”

49. Modus operandi Example 3: “Certificates of Occupancy or Certifications issued by Government Agencies” They acquire “Certificates of Occupancy” from government agencies and use them in claiming private properties.

50. Modus operandi Manner of operation is purely by way of documentation Example 1: “Chopsuey Titles”