The squatters in the Philippines have wreaked havoc in the country and they are out of control. The problem is quite obvious and the solution is staring everyone in the face; there are just not enough public servants with enough guts to address the issue. But someone has to put an end to the vicious cycle of squatting particularly in Metro Manila where most poor Filipinos from the provinces seem to converge.
Arrogant Filipino squatters
The squatters or illegal settlers need to move out of wherever they have been squatting for years or even decades because they simply do not belong there. They have long enjoyed their stay, living on abandoned or unoccupied areas of land without being asked to move out. Some of them clog the rivers not just with their garbage, but also with their human waste, which eventually result in the flooding of the streets and residential areas of the cities specially in times of heavy rain. As long as the squatters remain where they are and are allowed to flourish, the Philippines will not reach its full potential as a business hub that finds favor in the eyes of foreign investors.
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Squatters indiscriminately dump waste onto Manila’s waterways.
In other words, the activities of the people squatting are foul. They have no concern or respect for the rights or property of others and have total disregard for the environment and welfare of other people. Some squatters can also be quite arrogant, defiant and selfish when law enforcement agencies finally clamp down on their illegal activities. One video shows illegal settlers berating the court sheriff and demanding to know when and if they are going to be paid by cash or check before they agree to being relocated. Some even joked that the check better not bounce. They appeared to be enjoying their few minutes of fame in front of the camera relating their tales of woes. One wonders why the news crew tends to focus only on their plight and not the story behind why they were allowed to stay there for so long. There is a lot to be said about why they were allowed to stay squatting to begin with.
The squatter problem in the Philippines has been made complicated by misguided Filipinos who think that it is the Philippine government’s sole responsibility to provide housing, education and health for them. Not only is this notion unsustainable, it is an unfair burden on taxpayers.
Retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno recently said that “Filipinos must be able to demand from their government their right to housing, education and health, or these socioeconomic rights would remain mere words on paper.” While Puno’s sentiments seem noble, Filipino taxpayers simply cannot afford to fund the growing number of Filipinos living below the poverty line. Some of these squatters, despite living in tiny quarters no bigger than a box, have no qualms about multiplying at a fast rate. Perhaps they have been led to believe that their children can be used to gain access to hand outs from the government.
Filipino politicians do not help solve the problem of squatters at all. If anything, they actually contribute to their proliferation. The root cause of the squatter problem seems to be the lack of urban planning from each Barangay and weak enforcement of the law by members of various agencies who are not doing their jobs properly. Obviously, they did not nip the problem in the bud. Had they been doing their jobs, they could have easily evicted the first squatter before they multiplied and became the enormous problem they are today.
Apparently, there are times when the law enforcement agencies that include the police and the court sheriff are helpless in certain situations. They are supposed to act independently from elected officials but are unable to do their jobs until they get instructions from city Mayors who hold off on evicting squatters during election season or when their popularity is waning. This was evident when Davao Mayor Sara Duterte assaulted a court sheriff 2011 because the latter initiated the demolition of shanties in Davao’s Agdao district without her go signal. She said that she felt compelled to punch the sheriff to prevent violence from ensuing. The irony in justifying the Mayor’s actions escaped her and a lot of people who supported her when she attracted criticism.
Duterte’s actions probably made a lot of squatters think they need to be handled with kids’ gloves. These politicians have emboldened squatters who are now quick to throw a tantrum and use violence whenever they are dissatisfied with the government’s approaches and arrangements to relocate them.
Bianca Gonzalez: the long-awaited messiah of anti-squatter activism!
Lately, the squatters’ sense of entitlement and tough stance have finally caught the attention of some of the members of the upper and middle class who are fed up with the troubles they are causing. A celebrity and social media activist, Bianca Gonzalez have spoken out against the way the Philippine government treats squatters like “babies”. She is getting a lot of kudos for her unwavering stand against the lack of fairness in how the issue is being handled. She highlighted that law-abiding citizens work hard to save money to be able to buy property legally but still get taxed for it while squatters don’t even pay anything to stay in illegally occupied lands. It’s been noted that a lot of the squatters show their arrogance while demanding compensation from the taxpayers. Speaking of babies for that matter, some people who can’t afford to feed themselves shouldn’t have more babies.
It has come to the attention of many Filipinos too that a convoluted law on squatters introduced in 1997 has made it difficult for the government to evict squatters. Republic Act 7279 merely punishes the “professional squatters”. They are defined by law as those who can afford to pay for legitimate housing or those who have received housing units from the government but have sold or leased it to others so they themselves can settle illegally again in another urban area in order to deceive the system by asking for more compensation. In other words, most squatters don’t even get penalized anymore for their illegal activities. They even get rewarded for wreaking havoc in the community. No wonder a lot of Filipinos would rather stay as squatters and have adopted a squatter mentality.
Who can solve the squatter problem in the Philippines? Certainly, the incumbent President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino cannot solve it. Someone even said that the Aquino-Conjuangco clans also act like squatters who have occupied Hacienda Luisita for decades. Violence and intimidation were key to helping them keep the lands that were meant for the poor farmers.
BS Aquino seems more preoccupied with his popularity than providing a permanent solution to the country’s long-standing issues. He will not risk the wrath of the squatters because the Liberal Party still needs to get their votes in the next Presidential election. The President could even increase the number of recipients of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) or dole outs to the poor as a way distracting them from the lack of progress during his term.
The reaction of the members of the thinking class is long overdue. They need to step up and call out what the government is doing, which is simply coddling the squatters. Philippine politicians need to quit being overprotective of people who abuse the system just to get the votes in the next election. This abusive behavior from both the public officials who buy off votes using tax payer’s money and squatters who take advantage of the situation need to end lest every corner of the country get run over by squatters.
[Photos courtesy Australia News Network, Lucy Who, and Asia Society.]
In life, things are not always what they seem.
If it were the cynical me, we should punish our generation by passing the law where it’s illegal to have babies unless approved by the government and only 1 child is allowed per family (twins, triplets or more may be a different case but let’s just skip the technicalities).
Second, all squatters are to be round up and force to clean up their mess. Pay their time by years of public service either cleaning up, helping out in building infrastructures and other way. Children below 12 are to be taken in by the government and be ‘brainwished’ the right way regarding discipline, honor, integrity and critical thinking.
Lastly, all else fails, all middle classes and a few higher classes abandon Manila and nuke the sh*t out of the place and start from scratch.
You are too kind. In the city where I live, a enclave of squatters suddenly found their homes “burned” one day. Yeah, I really cried.
First, no voting rights, so politicians do not have to pander to them.
Second, no money to pay them to move. Why should taxpayers fund what is essentially illegal activity?
Third – penalties for having kids. Mandatory ligation or sterilization for any squatter.
Last – Give them 2 weeks to move, or, just like in China, the bulldozers come in and you can kiss your belongings goodbye.
You can’t treat this people with kid gloves. You give someone a hand, only for them ti bite your whole arm.
promote vasectomy na lang. get paid 18k to have vasectomy but this implies on 15-40yrs of age. then 40 above, required na. and if 26-40 wala ka parin earnings that would support a family. vasectomy na yan
This isn’t going to work. Men who have literally nothing – no job, no money, no anything. Plus you want to take away their manhood? You won’t be able to convince educated individuals to do this. How much more the simpletons? Good luck with that.
sana tumakbo at manalo si mayor duterte. kasama ang population control sa platform niya. at iisa-isahin niya yan. at eto pa ang matindi bago demolisyon siya mismo ang haharap sa mga mahihirap para kausapin sila. imagine isang presidente na pupunta mismo at makikipagusap sa mga mahihirap nating kababayan. OR sana siya ang prime minister to deal with internal affairs para magawa niya iyan. then si mar roxas will be the president to travel for foreign relations. eto lang ang naiisip ko ah. medyo malayo na ung nasabi ko. naisingit ko lang.
lol. you’re correct when you mentioned manila. or let’s say NCR so it covers the whole metro manila. the problem with squatters is that they are so hard-headed as f@ck! the don’t know to how to understand and follow including some educated people who has this manileno attitude. gather them all and nuke this goddamn place to kingdom come.
big talker, how about going to Tondo and shouting that out loud?
It is not illegal settlers, it is not squatter, but the right term is informal settlers.
Call them what you will, they’re the scum of the country and do nothing but squat over owned land.
scum? worst than land political land grabbers? worst than drug lords?
Squatters grab land illegally just like political land grabbers. Squatter communities also are a nest of all sorts of crime like what drug dealers promote. So a big yes to your rhetorical question.
Yes, informal settlers are lataks of this society as soon as they get a sense of entitlement–relying on handouts, whining, complaining, not working.
@bida kapamilya
Why is it the right term?
Two words — political correctness. Wouldn’t want to offend the poor squatters’ sensibilities would we? What do you expect from the Aquino trolls?
At any rate, I suspect that’ll be a new article altogether. 😉
The squatters couldn’t care less what term we use. It’s just the people with bleeding hearts who insists on using the term “informal settlers”. Illegal settlers is a more appropriate alternative to squatters.
We called them “street nomads” back then during my high school days. But seriously, it’s still the same thing no matter what we call them.
Time and again, people have sought out ways to assuage their perceived guilt. Often at the expense of common sense and honest taxpayers.
Come on guys, lets call a spade a spade. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, goddamit its probably a duck!
I believe “street nomad” refers to the ambulatory homeless persons on the street who move from place to place carrying their belongings in a makeshift kariton. Not those who have “settled” in a particular locale with a roof over their heads. There’s a distinction. 😉
Ah. Point taken. 🙂
Well, that was back then. I just usually call them squatters now. lol
I call them “parasites” myself 😉
Criminals, is the right term. Trespasser is another correct term.
Is is just that the bleeding hearts want to “uplift” them.
What I do not get is why cant these bleeding hearts uplift them using their own personal resources?
“What I do not get is why cant these bleeding hearts uplift them using their own personal resources?” – I agree.
It is easy to give away things you do not earn.
It is something different to give away something you do own.
eto rin ang problema sa atin. kapag kausap ang mga squatter kelangan talaga prangkahan na. hindi sugar coated.
ung parang, “puta ka gawin mo yan hatawin kita ng martilyo.” – ganito dapat. ung ended/closed-direct statement lang ang niitindihan nila. sounds brutal pero sa understanding nila mali ang gagawin nila kaya may parusa. ganun yan.
to add. this people should not be given democracy. fedualism dapat dahil ung mind nila naka-set sa ganung era/time. (hindi nila kasalanan maging mahirap. there’s a history or reference point)
and then pag feudalism (discipline is being applied/corporal punishment) na, nurture them by socialism. give them manual jobs with good pay then educate them while at work.
to add, most filipinos really don’t get the concept of democratic-capitalism. americans are wrong when they applied this in our country. as per Orion of correctphilippines.org, and i believe this, U.S was made by immigrants, educated people from europe and other countries who knows how to fend for themselves already. so you get working class kaagad. dito sa atin we are non-immigrants, kaya the concept of hard work is not understood. at eto pa, wala lahat pera kasi nga mahirap at hindi alam ang mag-trabaho (not their fault). so, capitalism won’t work. because capitalism requires money and that an individual needs to function to acquire money whether you’re business man or employee.
They’ve done nothing but abuse their freedom because they lack the qualifications to exercise free will.
like my 1st comment above, democracy is designed for educated/enlightened people. their minds are set in the feudal times / middle ages. so feudalism-capitalism ang law dapat natin ngayon just to accomodate them tayo naman law abiding na kaagad at educated so walang problema tayo dyan.
put lipstick on a pig, and what do you get? it’s still a pig.
Exactly! Who the heck changed it from squatters to “informal settlers” anyway?
Joey Lina, back when he was a senator… (I think.)
I believe the term was applied later, after Lina was no longer senator. The first incidence of “informal settlers” appearing in the media was around 2008-2009.
What are they going to do if a member of the mainstream media uses the term squatter? Sue? Gimme a break!
No need to sue. Just excoriate them on Twitter and Facebook. Turn them into pariahs like what they’re doing to Bianca Gonzalez. Horrible behaviour.
I’d have to disagree, my guess is it’ll beMiss Piggy.
i don ‘t understand why you have to be TOO sensitive with that. call them any way you want but they’re still SQUATTERS. and up to now i don’t know how they were able to register and vote if they don’t have an exact address. and how they were able to have electricity and water.
non-taxpayer should NOT have the right to vote because they cannot understand the way a country should live. the real victim here are the middle-class because their salary is already deducted when it reach their hand, we all have the same sh*t everyday they’re not the only ones who have financial problems. think about those employees who have minimum wages. only have the exact amount of money to spend and then they sick without extra savings to buy medicine. those squatters do crimes because of that and they think its an excuse.
A squatter is a squatter is a squatter.
I call them criminals.
Or land thieves, I think that’s better. more specific.
Our Pol Sci Club adviser termed them “Palamunins of the State”.. he is a college professor and a Commission of Human Rights lawyer..
Come on…it’s the same thing…you’re just trying to be politically correct by saying “informal settlers is the right term”. they mean the same thing and i won’t even try to be polite by avoiding the word squatter. if you want to call them informal settlers then go…but don’t lecture us with what we should call them. it’s been “squatters” for years and just because some people want to please these people they came up with “informal settlers”. another way of showing that we treat these people like babies. boo.
Ms. Bianca, you can be the face of the hardworking, law abiding salaried and middle class taxpayers. Now I know that not all movie and tv celebrities have nothing in between their ears except making “pa cute” gestures in public. Please do not stop what you just have started. May your kind increase.
They’d be opposed by those who call the middle class arrogant for that argument, calling the system out for that and those who own the land also being the subject of jokes… like the ones of Pixel Offensive.
I know they demand that something be done to boost the poor to the middle class, but I don’t know how can it be done.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines squatter as follow: : squatter-one that settles on property without right or title or payment of rent; someone who lives in a building or on land without the permission of the owner and without paying : someone who squats. Why should our definition be different?
informal settlers is a civilized term daw. putangina. #FACEPALM >_<
andrew@
How about ” Trespasser will be shot. make this a law”
Study confirms need to establish English as medium of instruction also at elementary school levels
This is what i love about this blog site. Straight to the point, and say that no one ever dare say. Regaring squatters, call them whatever you want, yes, they ultimately mean the same thing. I prefer calling them the underbelly of society for all i care.
Sure, call me arrogant, obnoxiously rude, or churlish, i say what others dare not say! WAKE THE EFF UP! These people have done nothing but delay the progress that we ought to have, ought to enjoy.
Yes, i am a freakin taxpayer but unlike these squatters who are unemployed and continue living on dole-outs and begging (not to mention, COMPLAINING), i have WITHOLDING TAX that is taken from me every pay day, that is more than what squatters pay because technically, they have VAT, when they purchase stuff.
Lest i forget to mention, these squatters typically blame others for their plight yet they don’t think about their own accountability to their lives. Tsk tsk tsk.
Too Bad this blog does nothing except that. Blabber and blabber yet do nothing.
This blog was a great time killer to say the least. Really hooked me up.
If squatters keep winning them elections then they are a majority and should be taken as the voice of the people. It’s constitutional and just because miss Bianca Gonzales pays more taxes it doesn’tmean she can have a say where she wants it to go.
having “a majority” of thieves still doesn’t justify thievery.
Argumentum ad populum.
dang I love your argument Erwin! 🙂
and jeppy, we’ve been hearing the side of the squatters for years now…won’t it be at the very least “productive” for our country to hear the other side? and what’s wrong with what bianca said anyway? she just said that we shouldn’t treat them as babies…she didn’t say that we should treat them unjustly.
jeppy has no problem with squatters treating the rest of the population unjustly.
That’s a stupid notion. You are saying now that people who pay no taxes and overextend our social services have a greater say than everyone else. Especially those who pay taxes and engage themselves politically.
That’s why I prefer a meritocratic society, similar to the one in Starship Trooper where all people have all basic rights, except for right to vote. If you want to vote, then prove you can contribute something to the society before you can have the right to vote.
@jeppy
Uh… she does have every right more than these non-tax payers do.
Yung mga squatters nga complain ng complain but have they contributed anything, financially? I think not.
Cut Bianca some slack because she’s damn right.
No income tax to proved .should not allowed to vote. Most vote buying recipients are jobless.
Those person don’t pay taxes and no permanent address should be treated as second class citizen and cannot vote.Make this as a law Lito Lapid. Your first and last bill that became a law is suck.
Oh my God Jeppy. Pinoys like you are one of the millions of reason why the Philippines is a backward society.
gets kita pero ang nakararami ang mali eh. kelangan hindi sila masunod. iron hand grip needs to be applied in the country like lee kuan yew.
bec they got nothing to loose…
People with nothing to lose shouldn’t act like the world owes them something.
Yung may kasalanan nito is the man who authored the “Lina Law”, former Senator Joey Lina, na nuknukan ng talino. Panay papogi. There are 2 rights to consider and one the other half are the rights of the property owner.
This Stupid law is being abused by the local politician and local executives to cuddle votes every elections.
Pugad ng mga adik, hostess, Kirminal, basura at wala disiplina. Nag nanakaw ng kuryente at tubig tapos ang mga nagbabayad ng mga nakaw nila ay ang mga konsumer. Wala silang disiplina.
Pabrika ng mga bata at sangol ang mga squatter na eto. anak sila ng anak pero di naman nila mapakain at ma pagaral. Tapos kung umasta, akala mo sila ang pinaka-kawawa sa boong mundo at galit na galit pag sinisita mo. Inaapi daw silang mahihirap.
These stupid people fail to realize that, you do not have to be rich or poor to be decent and discplined.
Mawala na kayo….Kawawa naman yung mga nabubuhay ng marangal…
grabe ung mga words mo mr…parang mula sa kanunununuan mo walang naging mahirap ah….parang ndi nmn tama yang mga words na yan..ndi na makatao yan
Dr. Mengele was right. Go back to your provinces and make your lives productive there kung may diskarte kayo at hindi tamad. Manila is not the place for you. You’re just ruining the city. Don’t put the future of your kids in a more complicated situation. Actually, living in a country side is better than squatting and living in misery.
@bida kapamilya
sa haba ng article yan lang napansin mo?
hindi mo napansin yung halaga at yung gusto ipahayag ng author.
wag nyo na po pag aksayahan ng panahon kung ano ang tamang tawag sa kanila.
Yan lang kasi ang kaya ng utak niyang intindihin sa article na ito.
Wag ka na magexpect ng matatalino sa mga malacanang trolls since kung saan saan lang kasi sila kinuha ni Mr. Carandang.
kawawa nmn ung mga mahihirap,ndi alam na inaalipusta na sila ng todo todo sa blog na to na puro mayayaman ang mga readers at ng cocoment.
haha…hindi po ako mayaman…and i don’t need to be wealthy and educated to get the point of this article. hindi ko ho maintindihan kung bakit mahirap intindihin ang point ng article na ito.
that is why you need to be educated…give theme free and affordable education may help them to understand…if you give a man a fish it will survive for days,teach him how to catch fish and it will live forever…!
i have nothing against giving free, affordable and quality education to everyone. this is one of the best ways of addressing poverty. but then again, that’s a whole new topic that needs to be discussed. what we’re discussing for the meantime is the problem of those presently squatting.
im a middle class resident,i didnt squat,but i have nothing against them..we have a business,at aaminin ko na ndi lng nmn ung mayayaman ang dahilan kaya kumikita ang bisnes,aminin ntin kung wla ung mahihirap na un,,malamang na ndi ganun kalaks ung ibng mga bisnes..at sana wag nmn sila matahin na sobra sobra,at wag ipagdasal na mawala na parang ndi sila kabilang sa mundo na to.
middle: that’s a totally new argument altogether re kumikita from these squatters. we are not discussing their value as customers here. we are discussing the effects of squatting and the squatters to the environment, to the government, to the nation, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
Hoy Bugoy! Gago! Kaya mo pala makapangusap sa sariling wika sa kapwa mo Pilipino (pero halatang hirap ka Bugoy). Ang punto ninyong mapang-alipusta e marumi at masama at walang kwenta ang itinuring na squatters, at kayong mga mas angat sa kanila ay marangal at malinis at kapaki-pakinabang. Malabo ang mata at pag-iisip mo Bugoy! Hindi uunlad ang kabuhayan ng mga mayayaman kundi sa mga squatter na yan. Kung may isip ka, mauunawaan mo tinutukoy ko Bugoy. Mas malaki ang naiaambag na tax ng mga yan kaysa sa mga tulad mong (siguro) kumikita tuwing kinsenas at katapusan o sustentado pa din ng mga magulang. Ang mga katulad nila na paminsan-minsang kumikita ay bumibili na kendi, sigarilyo, kape, shampoo, alak, atbp. Na ang mga yan ay may kalakip na “evat” at magbilangan kayo kung sino sa inyo ang may mas maraming nabibili sa bawat araw ng mga nabanggit ko at itumbas mo ang naiaambag na buwis. Bobo!!!
@middle: You’re probably just kid of some businessman because you don’t know the effect of squatters to taxpayers. Every month the government deducts our salary so they could fund the needs of these parasites. They always qualm that it’s hard to find a job but they do nothing to increase their competency, skills and knowledge to find a proper job. They chose to have 8-10 children so they can use the children for earning money, they chose to squat because it’s free and no tax to be paid, they chose to live like that because they are lazy and do nothing to improve their livelihood. This is the right time for them to get their asses up and work hard.
if you can provide them all free education it will help..atlist… maybe..!just remember parasite in your tommy can do more damage compare to those in your foot..how much more those who rich to your head..relate to the class of youre socity who benefits most of your tax. a flesh of good meat will always go to the master to eat,lift over to the servant and bones to the dog..hope you get my point..
@pogs: Nah they were already given a lot of incentives and they’re still not moving their asses. You’re just encouraging those juan tamad parasites to continue being freeloaders.
@pogs: we already have free education…public school education is free. now it’s up to these people if they will grab this opportunity and put this into good use. also, what we need is to improve the quality of education provided by some of the public schools.
hindi lahat mayaman adre. ako middle class. hindi nila kasalanan maging mahirap, masakit din sa loob ko pero kelangan talagang maturuan sila. sa kanila din nagmumula ang mga halang ang kaluluwa eh.
human man @
Ang tanong,saan dadalhin ang mga surplus na ito.
Gagawing pagkain para sa live stock. Hopeless na maka rekober pa ang pinas, mas marami ang tao kesa oportunidad. Matira matibay na lang.
Death penalty, anti-squatting law, “only tax payers(include minimum wage earners) can only vote” law. 3 laws that can help improve our country.
why do we have to argue on what should we call them… the bottom line is that most of those people living in shantis doesn,t have goals and plan so go back to the province and don’t make manila your home,,,,
Indeed life is not always fair., I watch the news lately and look at those houses built for these what we call informal settlers and damn they look good than ours and pay for it less than my daily wage. And me wishing to owned a new house someday. We feed these arrogant people, we built there houses that’s the fact. And these people keep on blabbering.
Wala kayong karapatan magpaalis ng mahirap.. protektado sila ng constitution natin!! wag nyo pairalin ang pagkatanga nyo.. ang tamang daan jan ay ieducate nyo sila na mali ang ginagawa nila! IGNORANCE IS BLISS.. kaya nga di nila alam na napipinsala na nila ang sewers so what… education is the solution.. matagal yan pero pag napagana ng mga pulitiko ang ieducate ang mga illegal settlers sila mismo ang magkukusang aalis..
Where do they go then? It’s one of the major reasons why these informal settlers are still there. They got no place to go.
what you mean is kelangan pa natin sila pilitin mag aral? or kelangan nila malaman na mali ginagawa nila?
good luck with that.
my uncle died because they are claiming their land sa mga informal settlers. My uncle is offering them home at a province near the metro. They declined and threaten him he will be killed if he return.
He went back with good news since his friend opened a business and needs workers, so he asked them about it and free housing as well. and they shot him. Anong klaseng education ang pwede mo maioffer sakanila @bodjie kung yun nga spoon feeding na, inooffer libreng bahay and job opportunities ganun pa ginawa nila? Goodluck sir.
What business would that be, good sir? Also I cannot fathom as to why when they are offered an opportunity to get a better life, they drive that away? And where would that location be?
If all that you say is true, I am saddened even more by the condition we live in.
Really?
How sad. COndolence sir. May his kind soul rest in peace.
Back to topic, yes these people are actually very violent and will kill when they see fit. On the other hand, many of them are actually very stupid and easily resort to violence as their last option. I see news about people from the slum getting slain everyday and the law is just not that interested in helping them anyway.
@Bodjie: We have public schools that offer free tuition fee but they chose not to go to school, they chose the life of an illiterate, incompetent and unskillful parasite because they are damn lazy! So shut your trap and get your mind straight up!
KUSANG AALIS? WHAAAAT? DI NILA ALAM NA NAKAKAPINSALA SILA NG SEWERAGE SYSTEM? WHAAAT? DI NILA ALAM NA DI SA KANILA ANG LUPANG TINATAYUAAN NILA? WHAAAAT? YOU’RE MAKING NO SENSE AT ALL… WALANG KARAPANTANG MAGPAALIS NG MAHIRAP? WHAAAT? HINDI MAHIRAP ANG PINAAALIS. YOU’RE CONFUSING THE ISSUE. ANG PINAAALIS EH YUNG HINDI SA KANILA YUNG TINATAYUAN NILA. IT’S A NO BRAINER.
agree, agree:
“HINDI MAHIRAP ANG PINAAALIS. YOU’RE CONFUSING THE ISSUE. ANG PINAAALIS EH YUNG HINDI SA KANILA YUNG TINATAYUAN NILA. IT’S A NO BRAINER.”
at saang artikulo naman sa sinasabi mong konstitusyon na pede kang tumira sa lupang hinding-hindi mo pag aari aber???
at naniniwala kang magkukusang aalis pag naging edukado?? seryoso???
Pinalayas ka ano indio?
Wala rin karapatan gamitin ang bagay na hindi sa iyo ang pag mamay-ari na walang pahintulot sa may-ari.
Ulol.
Bodjie @
Tuwa lang namin na sana sa inyong property mag SQUAT ang mga squatters na ito.
Sa china di ka puwedeng pumunta ng ibang probinsya kung wala kang work permit. Dapat ay ganito na rin ang gawin sa pinas
Thanks for this article! My sentiments exactly! Most of them paid to taxes and still they have the audacity to demand! These lost-cost housing, environmental rehabilitation, etc,.. every projects for metro development came from TAX PAYERS!
WE WHO WORK HARD AND SACRIFICE A LOT TO MAKE OUR LIVES BETTER IS THE ONE WHO CARRY THEIR BURDEN BUT RECEIVED NO APPRECIATION AT ALL.
@BODJIE, okay sige simulan mo, magbahay-bahay ka na. i-video mo ha, pakita mo samin.
hahahaha…cant stop laughing…easier said than done, eh? Bodjie, it’s the mentality that we’re trying to get rid of here. pag alam ng squatters that they can get away with what they want (bibigyan ka ng libreng pabahay for one), kahit ieducate mo sila, walang mangyayari. kaya balik tayo sa point na wag natin sila ibaby… THEN they’ll realize that you have to earn everything in the real world.
erratum: “…mentality that we’re trying to change here.”
just read BS Aquino, lol, figures, all talk all bs
Whether you call them “squatters” or “informal settlers,” we need to identify the root of the problem to solve it.
The millions of poor in urban areas indicates that conditions in the rural areas are deteriorating. Limited resources — financial or otherwise — as well as the lack of access to them, have prompted rural dwellers with few skills to migrate to cities to attempt to improve their quality of living. In the cities, they face the dilemma of adequate housing and resort to illegally occupying vacant land and/or property to provide rudimentary shelter.
This is compounded by the attitude of a succession of government agencies. During the Marcos years they treated squatters with antipathy. Illegally occupying vacant land was deemed a social evil that had to be eradicated. Consequently, squatting was classified as a criminal offense. During the Aquino years the government turned this paradigm on its ear. In a complete reversal of her predecessor’s policy, Cory decided apathy was the way to go. Instead of developing a proper solution to the problem of urban blight and overcrowding, much of the post Marcos legislation covering urban squatters considered them victims that would eventually be the primary recipients of government largesse.
All this fails to address the fact that deteriorating social and economic conditions in areas far removed from Malacañang are evidence of a failure of government. Since we became independent the Philippines has not been able to create an environment that stimulates development or foment prosperity. We haven’t even been able to provide the minimum required public infrastructure. If those issues aren’t solved, the problem of squatting will only continue to persist well into the new century.
Bravo Johnny Saint! Finally, someone dared to address the root cause. Not just the symptom.
What I got from the “arrogant squatter” post by writer was basically just a rant that someone should do something to sweep away the squatters and the problem is solved. Without addressing the true cause, you won’t find a true solution.
YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, JOHNNY SAINT. BUT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE DECADES AGO. NO THANKS TO THE “LINA LAW”. ANG IN-ADDRESS NIYA EH YUN MISMONG PLIGHT NG SQUATTERS (HUWAG NA NATING PAHIRAPAN SARILI NATIN SA KUNG ANONG MAS POLITICALLY CORRECT TERM)HINDI YONG ROOT CAUSE, SO SA GANITO NG KALALA ANG SITUWASYON, WE NEED IMMEDIATE SOLUTION. ANG LAKI-LAKI NA NG NAGAGASTOS NG GOVERNMENT PARA DIYAN SA MGA KAPRICHO NG MGA SQUATTERS. KESYO AYAW NG RELOCATION SITE, DI SAPAT ANG AMOUNT NA IBINIBIGAY ETC. ETC. LINISIN NA AGAD ANG MGA INFORMAL SETTLERS THEN SABAYAN NG DEVELOPMENT NG COUNTRYSIDE. PARA HUWAG NA MADAGDAGAN.
My wife, who lived in Negros, can confirm that there’s no opportunity in the rural area and majority of the people thinks Manila as sort of paradise.
It is no paradise, that I can attest to.
But it is worse than Metro Manila. Think about that for a moment.
Meant to say — most of the provinces are worse than Metro Manila.
The Gates of Hell as “paradise?” Where did they come from, the lower Circles of Hell?
Metaphor aside…
This was also exacerbated when the cory administration did not support the countryside. Because of lack of support many of them transferred to the city looking for opportunities to earn a living. Marcos was keen on helping the countryside, if it were not for him our problem right now would have been much, much worse. Developing the countryside is the key.
Pardon my french, but Marcos “keen on helping the countryside” is utter bullshit! Marcos economic policies pushed whatever industries were left in the wake of his takeover to shut down by making them unable to compete in the market. This concentrated business in the hands of Marcos and his cronies. Away from the provinces and closer to the urban centers around Metro Manila. That is the reason rural dwellers migrated to Metro Manila and became squatters.
sa tingin ko lang mas magandang arugahin na ng gobyerno itong mga “squatter/basura” na tinatawag nyo kaysa naman mapunta lang sa mga bulsa nila yun pera na binabayad “natin” sa tax, mas maigi na makuntento tayo kung ano mayron tayo ngayon kaysa sa manghamak ng kapwa tao tutal on the long run mamamatay pa rin tyo lahat mapa mayaman ka man o mahirap at tiyak uod lang ang makikinabang sa utak at katawan. maging si Hesus nga wala man ni kapirasong lupa nun nabuhay siya kaya nabangit nga niya na “foxes have holes” dahil alam nya na pansamantala lang tayo dito sa mundong ito na punong puno ng mga problema, sakit, kalamidad at paghihirap just be happy and live life norms.. just my 1c
maganda po ang tumulong pero may hangganan. pag pagbibigyan natin ng pagbibigyan ang squatters, wala hong katapusan yan at madadagdagan lang sila ng madadagdagan. pano naman ho ang mga legally bumili ng lupa? wag na natin iinclude ang mga mayayamang may-ari ng sangkatutak na lupa. paano ung mga pinaghirapang makabili ng lupa at, in the end, eh they still have squatters to deal with? point is: bakit binubuhos natin ang pera ng gobyerno/pera ng taxpayers sa mga taong gumagawa ng illegal kung ipondo na lang natin ang perang eto to build more classrooms? to give better education? na magbigay ng mas malawak na health benefits sa lahat? to improve and promote our agriculture? speaking of agriculture, instead na bigyan natin ng pabahay ang ma eto, bakit hindi natin iimprove ang mga pwedeng kunan ng income ng mga Pilipino especially sa province para hindi na sila pumupunta dito, maghirap at mag-squat di ba? kagaya nga rin ng sabi sa bible: “teach them how to fish instead of giving them fish” or something to that effect.
P.S. wala namang sinabi sa bible na walang bahay si Jesus. Jesus preaches and reaches out to everyone that’s why He’s always on the go at hindi pumipirmi sa isang pwesto.
and yes, lahat naman tayo mamamatay…pero kaya rin binigay ang mundong eto sa atin ay para pangalagaan. moreso, if hindi natin mapipigilan ang mga squatters, ngayon siguro matitiis natin. eh paano naman ang next generation satin, ang mga anak natin? life is temporary, but, speaking for myself, i strive to provide as much as i can for the next generation (my kid for one) to have a better shot at a brighter future.
well said Fed Up. agree!
Didn’t Christ said something like ‘Give a man fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life’? Guess what the politicians are doing.
Amen to this!
parehas din yan …sa bulsa nila o sa iskwater, parehong sayang …. di baleng kahit madoble tax ko gumanda lang ang mundong ginagalawang ko lam mo yun??? oo in the long run mamamatay din tayo, ….sana nga mauna sila
Great work as always, Ilda. But as I mentioned in a previous blog post, what about the rich but squatter Sys, Tans, Gokongweis, etc.? What they have are mostly fake land titles. Rich squatters is what they are. That huge piece of land near Quezon Ave. MRT station is one big fake land title of Lucio Tan. And there are plenty others. Typically Filipino. They can enforce the law on the poor, but not the rich. Now that’s rich (no pun intended). I say if government is going after squatters, they should go after ALL squatters. Just because they dress in fine suits, speak fluent English and drive fancy cars, doesn’t mean they’re not squatters too.In true Filipino fashion, the government goes after poor squatters but lets rich squatters get away scot-free. Hey yo, Indio!
@Commiecs
Well, yes. People with squatter mentalities are not limited to those who live in the slums. You can also find them in the upper class of Phil society. They are the ones who have no concern or respect for the rights or property of others and have total disregard for the environment and welfare of other people. Some of them can be quite arrogant, defiant and selfish when law enforcement agencies finally clamp down on their illegal activities. For some reason, the family of BS Aquino comes to mind. 😉
If you ask me, the Tans, Gokongweis, and Sys, are more of “positive squatters,” since they worked their way up and proved themselves as industrious and achieving people. Not like the other families who have been “squatting” on land ever since the Spanish era. Ilda’s rught, it’s these older families who should be barked on. As per “An Anarchy of Families” by Alfred McCoy.
boy, They can’t even enforce the law on the poor. how bout that for the rich?
OK, they are a problem, BUT when the author of the essay says that “they have long enjoyed they’re stay”, HUH? WTF R U MAD? try living like these wretches do and see if YOU “ENJOY” a single second of your life.
these people, and the entire country, are FUCKED! and I do not see a single sentence in this or any other essay (here in GRP OR anywhere else!) that properly addresses this sad situation. Surely over-populating is not helping, BUT WTF IS?
While the rich and powerful of the country RAPE the TREASURY, what do the honest tax-payers do? attack the least among society! BRAVO, NOT! instead of the ones who should be attacked, attack those with nothing. WHY IS THAT? A convenient target? a Catholic country that seems to WANT to kick the downtrodden! How ironic.
I do not have the answers to what should be done with these people, but apparently, neither does anyone else.
solution: instead of endlessly funding relocation sites and rent allowances to these people, we should fund revenue-generating activities to areas where they can legally own lands. madaming squatters ang galing province because they feel that they have a better chance to a better life here. eh kung iimprove na lang ang, say, agriculture doon eh di matiwasay ang buhay nila dun.
some readers always conveniently point out that the rich and the powerful are equally evil (lack of a better term)… yes, some of them are scums of the society… but that’s a different issue altogether deserving of another article. let’s limit the issue here to squatting.
Sure, got anything to add in terms of a solution?
I doubt you do. I point out one of the causes of the problem and what do you do? Say limit the discussion?
I want to see someone here do MORE than ‘bitch’ about the problem. I do not like it any more than anyone else, BUT TRY BEING ONE OF THESE PEOPLE! for 5 minutes, try it!
Yes, Gerry, limiting the issue puts us into proper perspective,therefore, ADDRESSING the issue. If you want, you can submit your own article to GRP with your issues and mind and then we can all calmly discuss the issue. If we don’t limit the issue here, discussion is going nowhere as well as the solution to the problem. As to the solution, at least I have a solution in mind. Please give one of your own and stop whining about the world in general. Let’s all be productive.
and empathizing with people doesn’t mean that we have to tolerate what they’re doing illegaly.
U kno, ONE thing I do not like is when people are sooooo brave as to tell other people what to do from behind a PC screen. YOU would not even attempt in person. Believe me, you would not.
I’m not ‘whining about the world in general’either. its not anywhere in the statement I made. Rich people NEED poor people and that is one reason this problem exists.
I am not going to tell YOU what to do, BUT if you think I am going to do anything because YOU told me to, HA! Na,That won’t be happening buddy, ever!
@gerry: okay, you’re getting immature with your comments….waste of time, this is going nowhere. phrase of the week: BE PRODUCTIVE. ’nuff said. 🙂
+1
@Gerry
That was a figure of speech. If you don’t know what that means, please read:
The use of the word “enjoy” does not necessarily mean the squatters were having a ball living in that condition, but that their stay was tolerated for a long time.
And please read up on the other articles here if you want more solutions to the country’s woes. This article is far from addressing every aspect of the squatter problem. You’ve been reading GRP long enough to know that we have constantly addressed other issues and cannot possibly fit everything in one article.
YOU really think I don’t know what a figure of speech is? DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT?
I took what you said at face value, as if I am a mind reader and know you personally and how you think?
YOUR article led me to believe that is what you meant, they ‘enjoy’ their ‘stay’. YOUR words, not mine.
^ Nitpicking 101. Please try to absorb the entirety of this article. The article is not about the enjoyment of the informal settlers. Lastly, if you’re in for an argument, never use foul language. State facts and your opinion in a calm manner.
So, YOU KNOW what the article is about? Do YOU? Different people read the same thing and think differently about what they read.(THIS should be obvious!)
TELL someone else what to do (really think I will do as YOU say?) REALLY, do ya?), as if you TELL me anything, HA!
WTF R U %$#*&?… what ever you get for FREE is most likely an “ENJOYMENT”…
walang tax
walang monthly amortization
walang ambag sa lipunan
NGAUN GALIT PA AT WALANG BINIBIGAY ANG GOBYERNO!
DI KO KASALANAN KUNG MAGHIRAP SILA NG GANYAN…NAGSIKAP AKO PARA IANNGAT ANG BUHAY KO.
ISA LANG ANG SOLUSYON!!! PABAYAAN SILA MAGUTOM NG MATUTO SILANG MAGHANAP NG SARILING PAGKAIN!!!!
egomaniac…
SO, if I GIVE you a SHIT SANDWICH, YOU will ENJOY IT?
GOOD LUCK with that!
LOL, how long were you making that one up? nice one!
False analogy. You mean kung NINAKAW ko yung shit sandwich mo? E sinong tanga? Anlayo ng analogy mo! Man! What is this Gerry smoking?! What a stupid mor0n!
Yeah!!!
Then, want them to stay like this? It seems you enjoy seeing them live like wretches.
There is a solution. You are too blind to see it, or too stupid to understand it.
I totally agree with you Gerry! They call “squatters” as thieves and yet the biggest thieves are in the upper echelon of our society. They dont get thousands but billions of pesos and they still remain in the government. But, the “thinking” and “educated” middle and the upper classes have been running the country for so long — why is our country still a poor country? Is it because of the squatters? Of course, not!
@francesca
I suggest you read the article again because you missed the part where I said that Filipino politicians do not help solve the problem of squatters at all. If anything, they actually contribute to their proliferation. The root cause of the squatter problem seems to be the lack of urban planning from each Barangay and weak enforcement of the law by members of various agencies who are not doing their jobs properly. Obviously, they did not nip the problem in the bud. Had they been doing their jobs, they could have easily evicted the first squatter before they multiplied and became the enormous problem they are today.
@Ilda, Francesca is not referring to the article but rather what I said about the reasons why the squatters are there in that situation to begin with.
No one likes arrogant squatters.
The part you mention about the agencies not doing there jobs is another example of the gov’t.(people with the peso’s to do something about it) not using gov’t. peso’s to deal with the problem.
Ilda, Pilipino ka ba? Sana maunawaan mo ang sasabihin ko. Itinuturing ng mga katulad mo na ang mga tinaguriang squatters at politiko ay di nakakatulong maisaayos ang suliranin sa isyung ito na parang asa na lang ang maliliit lagi sa gobyerno? Di ba’t ganu din kayo? Wala kayong salamin? Asa lang din kayo sa mga politiko, pamahalaan at ibang tao maisaayos ito habang kayo ay nakamasid lamang at walang nadaramamg pakikipag-kapwa-tao. Saan ba kayo naghahanap ng makukuhang kasambahay o driver o tauhan? Di ba’t sa mga tulad nila dahil mura, kukuha ka ba ng katulong sa halagang “minimum wage”??? Magkutkot din kasi kayo ng tainga paminsan-minsan para sumingaw din at mabawasan ang hangin sa utak nyo. Mga loko!!!
at Daboy
Misery loves company indeed. Kung galit ka sa mundo sipain mo na lang yung globe o magpunit ka ng world map. Your trite rantings are meaningless.
Sana isulat ito sa Tagalog na naiintindihan ng common tao… Ng mga squatters o informal settlers. Soryy to say this… Hindi naman nila ito lahat naiintindihan e kaya wala silang pakialam kahit pa ano pa sabihin nain dito. Karamihan din sa kanila e hindi nakakabasa nito dahil wala silang access. Sino ang nakakabasa nito? Halos ung mga hindi squatters at hindi concern sa issue at un ibang lahi na nagiging dahilan para lalo tayong mapagusapan sa buong mundo. Bakit hindi ito isulat sa tagalog s pamamagitan ng media print, ikalat sa buong Maynila at s mga lugar n may squatters para kapag nabasa nila ay maisip nila o mainindihan kung anong klaseng sitwasyon sila meron at baka sakaling makapagisip sila at sila mismo ang umayos sa mga buhay nila.
+1
tagalog o hinde, media print man or internet, tingin mo ba marunong magbasa mga yan?
Oo, mababasa nila yan. D naman sila mamgmang sa pagbabasa. Kayo lang ang mangmang makapagpaunawa. Pustahan pa tayo di mo kayang tumambay sa lugar nila ng magdamag sa takot na mapagsamantalahan na rulad din nila na may takot din tumambay aa lugar nyo sa takot din na mapagsamantalahan at maalipusta.
No one needs your “pa-Astig” arrogant posturing.
More reason for Filipinos to learn English. As if the squatters themselves don’t understand English. Down with Tagalog-only Philippines.
di ako sang-ayon dyan. tandaan mo ito, tagalogs only stretches from central luzon down to southern tagalog region. if you want tagalog only, then federalize the country or we secede from the rest of the archipelago and turn nationalistic like german nazis.
Meron naman sa kanila nakakabasa. Isa dun si “Gerry” bwahaha.
@Bodjie Yeah you’re obviously borderline squatter yourself resorting to insults as soon as possible. These squatters have been the main problem everywhere I go in the metro, they have done nothing at all to help our crumbling country. Everyday it’s the same thing, they’re just there abusing their “rights” and they are slowly depleting our resources. I’m pretty much fed up with their BS!
in my opinion this article want a civil war between upper middle class and the poor. hinde mo lang alam bakit marami ang mahirap sa atin, gumising na po tayo, bakit sa europe, america, middle east etc., walang squatter tulad sa atin? bakit tayo nagpapakamatay para maging alila nila? ang buong mundo ay pinaghaharian ng iilan, dito sa pinas meron din silang katiwala, halos lahat ng malalaking kumpanya ay pag aari ng iilang pamilya lamang. kumikita ang bawat kumpamya ng bilyong bilyong peso bawat taon. lahat ng pulitiko natin mula sa presidente pababa ay hawak nila, at my share of stocks o part owner ng malalaking kumpanya. kaya hinde tayo magtataka bakit pataas ng pataas ang bilihin at wala silang ginagawa, dahil kahit maalis sila sa pwesto tuloy pa rin ang ligaya. bobo ba tayo? 2013 na po, search rbe, zeitgeist, 99%, occupy movement, tesla, etc… tax? saan ba napupunta ang malaking porsyento ng tax natin? mag saliksik.
ps. simpling tanong gusto mo bang maging squatter? o gusto ba nila? o pareho tayo nagiging bobo dahil nangagarap maging pakyaw, charis, manalo sa lotto, sumayaw ng malandi para kumita ng pera.. etc…. 100 million to 1 ang probability if tingnan natin…. hinde po tayo ang my kasalanan, dahil wala naman talaga tayong kapangyarihan pwera magkaisa tayo (99%), dahil kung hinde para tayong walis tingting….
Have you ever asked yourself this? What college did these people attend to? Let me guess. “Bone ‘Em Young University”, yeah that’s right folks. All of them graduated with flying colors!!! 🙂
Good read! Actually, I’ve sense this coming sometimes soon but I guess this time, the settlers had bore their foot in places it should never be… I mean, their main reason is that they will come from a very far place going to work if relocated… But what about those who live in Laguna who are working hard? They work in places like Ortigas. It’s a pretty far journey yet they don’t whine and work harder just to bring home the bread… What has happened to our country?
On the politicians… Well… It can be explained pretty easily… Less Squatters to buy, less votes in the elections…
speaking of “utak squatter” mejo off topic pero na aalala ko kwento ng kapatid ko. pumunta sya sa isang squatter area to interview a resident for GMA show featuring “mahihirap” na swerteng nabunot. Naabutan nyang nagkakalkal ng basura/bakal yung mama na iinterviewhin nya. Tinanong nya ano po gagawin nyo sa nakalkal nyo? Ibebenta daw. Tapos ano po gagawin nyo sa pera? Pamasahe para makapasok ulit sa GMA studio baka mabunot ako ulit. tinanong pa ulit, so hindi po sa pag kain? sagot ay hindi di bale na sanay na kami sa tubig lang at kaning may toyo. suskopo. eto ata balak nila ngayon, hihingi ng “sustento” para mapaalis then babalik lang din or lilipat sa ibang pwedeng ma isquatan ulit. nakakairita.
Re: utak-squatter
We had a case study back in highschool about the living conditions of these squatters so we went to a squatters family living under a bridge. Langya, kumpleto gamit: TV, karaoke, VCD player (back when VCDs were a luxury for the middle class families), washing machine tsaka ref! And heck, they don’t even pay for water and electricity. Naka-tap sila dun sa pipe ng NAWASA/Maynilad tsaka sa lines ng Meralco.
Although there are lots of complaints, is there anyone here who knows the solution to this problem? Preferably a solution where most parties can be happy with the decision?
If you were in charge of handling all of the squatters in the Philippines and their fate, what would you do?
jack, that is a completely valid question. and unfortunately there is no straight forward answer. i am american, i moved here with my wife, and i can honestly say i completely agree with this article, it is an issue that is rampant state side (especially among certain populations). i think the biggest issue at hand is the fact that these people expect to occupy lands illegally and get paid to do it, and the reason they have that form of thought is because it is whats happening. the reason they think they can get money is that is the only way to get them off the land short of dragging them kicking and screaming (which is what should be done in the first place) instead land owners are forced into “paying off” the occupants just to have access to their own property and sometimes its not just a couple peso, sometimes it can be as much as half the value of the property or more. this entitlement has to stop, it is the only way the Philippines is going to be able to drag itself out of being a 3rd world country. i see lots of potential for this country to succeed and come forward as a leading and prominent member of the world but at the same time to fail miserably due to its inability to properly correct both political and social issues. question now, like you said…. what to do about it??
parang sa saudi. dapay may visa pag lilipat ka nang state or more like region sa atin. ex. bago makapunta ng manila yung tao, make sure may visa or permit to live & work there. If wala namang trabahong nag aantay wag pumunta at “makipag sapalaran”. At bago nila ma kukuha ang mga kamag anaks ay dapat ipetition according sa kakayahan nila. Sponsorship ika nga, if below minimum wage, wag papayagan na papuntahin ang kamag anak. May certain amount lang dapat na pwedeng mag sponsor visa para makapag patira ng kamag anak.
Karagdagang hassle ito sa mga nag rerelocate with in PH pero very effective para mapigilan itong mga nakikipag sapalaran at pg dating sa manila tunganga, hangga’t sa malamon na ng systema at di na rin makauwi sa pinaggalingan kasi walang pamasahe.
solution ika mo??? ethnic cleansing
GOOD QUESTION. Instead of bitching about something/anything, how about a solution?
I do not have one. BUT, in a country that is allegedly ‘PROUD to be Pinoy’ and Catholic, they seem to want to spit on the least amongst them.
this surely is a shit-heap of a mess and it did not happen over-night. No EZ answers to this problem.
I have a solution for you Gerry. Why don’t you have some of them live in your house, ie if you have one LOL. Since you seem to care so much for them. Go and invite them in. Hav e them live with you and post here how things go.
feudalism + socialism education discipline
population control
juantangakaba, additional sa knowledge mo since magaling ka naman ata mag saliksik…ikaw lang ang may power na iaangat ang buhay mo at walang ng iba. Ang problema ng karamihan sa individual, nag fo-focus sa kanilang circle of concern imbes na circle of influence. Meaning, dun sila nakatutok 90% sa mga bagay na wala silang control imbes na dun sa mga bagay na may magagawa sila. bakit may mahirap na yumayaman, kse inalis na nila sa isip nila ang umasa sa gobyerno at tulong ng pulitiko. ang natitira sa baba ay ung mga bobo…isa na ang mga skwater dito. yan ba nasaliksik mo? basahin mo “7 habbits of highly effective people”
kamay na bakal ang solusyon. oops, bring those eyebrows down – hindi martial law-ish kamay na bakal kundi isang sistemang matibay at di nababali. once and for all decide na alisin lahat ang squatters – give them something to start with and that’s that. para lang tayong nakikipag negotiate sa terorista eh.. why are we at their mercy? just be firm and stick with it.
Just to clarify, your use of the label “squatter” also includes underpaid laborers, malnourished children, the unemployed and homeless. I am not taking sides here but you should realize that you are describing all of these individuals in one sweeping statement not only specific to this situation but also more than likely to how you were brought up with this “squatter” stereotype in your head.
It is akin to how white people freely used “nigger” insofar as it was related to a lot of undesirable attributes. To these you added “arrogance” and “self-entitlement” while pointing fingers at these same people for not only being the cause of their own poverty but also harming a tourism industry that by the way, thrives in consumerism and environmental neglect.
I believe the word “squatter” does not define who they are as human beings and they each have their own history WHY they are poor and unable to rise up from their situation. They happen to live in the slums. In this situation we can see the kind of desperate survival poverty has pushed them towards.
How absurd to think that it is the poor who perpetuates poverty or to blame them for it.
It’s pretty apparent that poverty, homelessness and hunger in third world countries are only symptoms of a global disease and there are several, more important factors to address aside from implementing the law against squatting. I myself prefer the word slums but would back out from defining people as squatters but as indigents who live in slums.
Speaking only for myself (since I can’t represent the rest), I use the word squatter here in its LITERAL meaning and nothing else. That’s how I want to conveniently call them pertaining to this particular issue that we are all now discussing. I can’t stop you or the rest of the world to attach another meaning to this word. Methinks that whoever is too sensitive to use this word is also guilty of attaching other less humane meaning to it, whether they say it out loud or not. I also know that the word squatter is something that you can easily get from the dictionary unlike the other terms that you keep on forcing us to use. Thus, I’m sticking to squatter.
thank you for explaining the word squatter. but you said “your use of the label “squatter” also includes underpaid laborers, malnourished children, the unemployed and homeless”
yes it is “ALSO” include those meaning. but the author is using the word itself.
at hindi naman yan ang problema. bat yan ang pinagtatalunan
Great, we’re arguing about semantics now?
Indeed, there may be underpaid blue-collared workers among them, and I salute them for the hard work that they do? Suppose it is time the government and society itself appreciates them a little more?
And just how different are they from thieves? Most thieves steal because of their dire condition. They could easily make the excuse that they need to eat too and couldn’t get a job. So should we sympathize with these the thieves and should not “stereotype” them?
This problem seems not to be solved by the philippine goverment so many many years its always coming back and there is no action being done to push them away and demolishing their slum areas causing all the floods and chaos when its comes the rainy season until someone lost their lives to the floods…They need to do a systematic approach to removed them from a danger zone so nobody will get hurt and save their lives.
GRP, may I present another side of this argument that is not my own? I’d like to see your take on this argument I’m showing to you.
There are those who call the middle class arrogant for declarations against the illegal settlers, one of them being Pixel Offensive. Declaring that it is by the semi-feudal & semi-colonial system of government to which these people were forced into squatting around Metro Manila, and are calling out the Filipino-Chinese high-level businessmen (the likes of Sy, Gokongwei, Tan, etc.) for laying claim to such land and manipulating stuff, thus contributing to the fact that the informal settlers are indeed hard-pressed. They argue that all Filipinos have the right to good residence, and poke fun at those Tsinoy businessmen who have a considerable hold over the Philippine system (e.g. Ayalas: “If we could own the air you breathe, we’d buy that too” or similar jokes.). I’m not good at memorizing details of the argument from Pixel Offensive (colloquially named PxO), but that’s their line of reasoning. More can be found at their facebook page, hopefully for info on their argument.
What’s your take on this?
If you can prove that the Ayalas and other rich families stole land, then they should be prosecuted. And yes, rich and poor thieves deserve to go to jail!
No wonder why the philippines is one of the most third world country in the world.
My opinion, I would take side for Activist Bianca Gonzales. But probably most of our fellow Pinoys would take us, those that are against squatters are snubs and snooty. We have to understand these squatters are similar to homeless ones but squatters are far difficult to deal with. It’s True they are arrogant. Because they do not know much. They make their situation as their excuses and blame it to the ones that are able and the government. I would take the blame to the land owners why they let it happen/tolerating when the issues were just small/can still control and our corrupt government (these bodies of so called “regulators” take advantage of the uneducated & see the squatters as part of their “sideline income”) and squatters are “protected” and untouchable. It’s political. People from the country move to the city & are hopefuls for that opportunity. Not arm with knowledge and education in the first place and so they cannot qualify or find a job that will support their plan for a “better life” and dreams to come true (If they only realized that there’s nothing wrong living in the country & do agriculture/farming). They ended up more miserable if not, worst and become bad people for our society. Philippine government is not like rich countries that you can have government support for charity/donation and food stamp programs. It is a shame esp. when tourists come to our country and the first thing they see is the pathetic and ugly side of our beautiful country. We suppose to be one of the greatest nation in Asia (honestly, until now, I still do not get it) because we are one of the brightest, smart, and able. But we are so blinded by our crookedness and dishonesty. The main reason we cannot move to prosperity. It is funny because we try hard to kick Americans out of our country kasi we said “we do not wish to be foreigner’s or American puppy” but come to think of it who owns and who are the richest people now in the Philippines di ba foreigner din? Mga Tsino. Mas matindi sila ’cause of their wit for using Pinoys for their advantage @ least, the Americans would meet us 50-50. Haay, ewan.
So should I also sympathize with the common thieves? They have no jobs and no money and most have miserable lives. Should I also feel sorry for them? I’m sure you also hate thieves. Does that make you one of the “snubs and snooty”?
I understand everyone’s argument and I also believe that it’s unfair that we’re paying our taxes to fund those people who are relying too much on our government.
I also came to the point thinking, I’m working to fund my needs, why can’t they? And came to realize.. it’s not entirely fair to them as it is not fair for us. Most of us, can’t say that we worked hard to fund our needs, why can’t they? Most of them do, but let us also consider that we can’t just say that it’s totally unfair for us. What I’m getting to is, they don’t have the equal opportunity given to us (by our parents) to have a good education that enable us to work to meet our needs. Let’s say, “still, our parents worked hard to give us our education”, yep they did, but that doesn’t give us the right to brag that what we’re enjoying today is because of us, and what they’re suffering today, is caused entirely by them. Well, just looking at the root cause of the problem, let’s just keep our arguments to what is fair. But let’s say, you came from a family of nothing, worked your ass off to go to school and fund you’re study all by yourself, by all means, brag away!
naniniwala akong lahat ay may opportunity para mai-angat ang sarili. mas mahirap siguro sa kanila kasi magsisimula sa pinaka ilalim pero sure ako sa ilang taong pamumuhay nila na kahit papano merong kumatok na oportunidad na maganda para makapag simula. like mamasukan habang nag aaral, mamasukan at mag ipon muna pang negosyo etc. napakarami po pwedeng gawin kaso karamihan ayaw na lang gumalaw kasi napakahirap pra sa kanila at mas madali ang mag tamad tamaran, umasa at isisi sa iba o sa kung ano ano pa.
hindi lang naman education ang puhunan para umangat eh. pwede namang daanin muna sa diskarte, sipag at tyaga hanggat kaya na maka afford ng education di ba o di kayay diretso na mapalago ang negosyo.
ex. yung maid namin nag aaral sa gabi pero naninilbihan sa amin sa umaga. college na sya ngayon at umaasang maiaangat nya sarili nya in the future at maging bahagi sa mga sinasabing “tax payers”.
yung lola ko, kasambahay din dati at ipinasok nya yung anak nya (na nanay ko) sa same house para manilbihan din, in return pag aaralin ung nanay ko plus konting allowance(hindi sahod). Tapos yung nanay ko naman habang ng sisilbi at nag aaral, yung allowance nya tinitipid nya at pinag papaaral nya din sa kapatid nya (na anti ko). Pinag ambagan ng lola at nanay ko ung tuition ng anti ko. At nang naka graduate yung aunti ko, nakapag abroad at sya na din ang isa sa kambag ng nanay ko na tumutulong sa iba pa naming pinsan na sadlak sa buhay.
ngayon di ba nila kayang gawin yun? or anything like that? small steps, one at a time.
How unfair is it that in the province, they get to have veggies that are dirt cheap?
Also, they could simply pick fruits like makopa, aratiles, and camachile easily in places where they used to be! I suggest they get deported back to their provinces and earn their keep there first.
the people running the country are stealing MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, not peso’s. Poor people, and the tiny fraction of peso’s it would take to improve their lives, are PEANUTS to what the people at the top are STEALING. why do you think there is no FoI bill yet? or why there is no declaring what/how much money the thieves have in foreign currency bank accounts? the law was made to protect the thieves, isn’t that, at least, OBVIOUS?
Off topic ka na pre. This article is about the squatters. Why don’t you find an article about graft and corruption, then post your comments there! M0r0n!
Squatting, plain and simple, is STEALING SOMEONE ELSE’S PROPERTY. Under no circumstance can this be justifiable, even by poverty. Perhaps what is most visible are those cases where large tracts of lands owned by powerful individuals are concerned. However, squatting also affects small landowners who worked hard to purchase their properties by their own blood, sweat, and tears, and paying real property taxes on them as well. Stealing is a crime, and should be treated as such, regardless of what was stolen, how it was stolen, and who it was stolen from.
bat nga nmn aalisin ng gobyerno, edi nawalan sila ng boto? ang mga trapo kc, jan lng umaasa. e karamihan ng nakaupo sa gobyerno, “TRAPO”!!!!
@glenn “BOBO mga squatter?” maraming mahihirap na yumaman? gusto mo bang tumira sa squatter? ako lang ang may power na iaangat ang buhay ko at walang ng iba? so rich ka pala saka matalino? so wala kang paki at walang gagawin para matulungan ang mahihirap, kundi siraan pasamain sa mata ng lahat. mga bobo sila dahil mahihirap sila? so sarap na sarap sila tumira sa squatter at athome magpakahirap. inggit ka sa kanila kaya ayaw mo silang tulungan. dahil idol mo ang kumikita ng bilyonbilyon dahil matatalino sila dahil kaya nilang bobohin ang mahihirap. pagkain, kuryente, tubig, transportasyon, kumunikasyon etc. na kumpanya kumikita ng bilyonbilyon taontaon tapos mahihirap ang my kasalanan. search mo resource base economy, zeitgeist, 99%, occupy movement, tesla, etc… ps. sa tingin mo hinde nila pinangarap tumira sa mansyon, condo, etc… pagbumibili ka o nagbabayad my resibo man o wala direct o indirectly ka nagbabayad ng tax.
Bilib na sana ako at alam mo pala ang Zeitgiest, occupy wall office, at yung 99% eto kelangan mo malaman sa kanila. Lahat ng mga yan e pawang kasinungalingan at justification ng mga tamad. Dumaan ako sa hirap gago kaya wag ka makapagsabi sa akin na wala akong karapatan. ngayon ano pinuhunan ko? sipag at tyaga, diskarte sa buhay. at ngayon maayos na ang aking pamumuhay, napag tapos ko mga kapatid ko. another example. Manny Pacquiao. don’t you fucking dare tell me that “not everybody has the opportunity to uplift themselves.” i dont need to re-tell Pacman’s life story, im sure you know how it went. now what’s their excuse? it’s people like you who’re part of the problem. finding excuses for their laziness and thinking that the propaganda you’ve “researched” makes you smart. fool! it doesn’t. dapat sainyo pagsama-samahin at itapon sa tsina. mga komunistang aktibistang baluktot.
Why don’t YOU help them then? You can’t force people to help if they don’t want to. Last time I heard we are in a free country. No one should be obligated to help. If you want to help, fine. But don’t take it against other people if they don’t want to. You sound like a commie, geeez!
OK, I get it. Lawful owners should be able to use their lot.
I just have an issue dividing the country into a “thinking class” and those who “enjoy” living on welfare. You should realize being rich is not always linked to hard work, and being poor is not always linked to stupidity or laziness. ESPECIALLY IN THE PHILIPPINES.
And about the celebrity, good for her, she can afford to buy prime lot and pay taxes. And fair enough, she complains informal settlers being treated with kid gloves. I just hope she realizes her network get its ratings – and therefore its income – pandering to exactly “those” kind of people. So yes, I think she should soften her words to “those” people.
“OK, I get it. Lawful owners should be able to use their lot.” – Of course! That is the owners’ right. The legal owners who are always ignored. It does not take rocket science to “get it” that the owners should have their own land. Try putting yourself in their shoes? Just because you own a land, does that mean you are filthy rich and should not claim what is yours? My grandparents where middle class folks who used their retirement funds and life savings to buy a land in Sta. Mesa. Through the years squatters grabbed the land and now we cannot have access to our grandparent’s legacy left to us.
But, in the end. Giving free or cheap lands to the illegal settlers is actually good if they actually use and take care of their land properly. But what can i say, when were they satisfied on what we the working class give them. Please kindly enumerate them. Thanks.
If not. Really, i myself came from squatting but with my parents hardwork we own our own house now.
Another thing about this illegal settlers is they already have the guts to live on free land. Ok. BUT THEY HAVE THE ILLEGAL LAND RENTED ON A HIGH PRICE FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT?!
PS.
The actress works for her own money. Pays her taxes diligently.. So it really is just about getting what you pay for. Unless, you plan to leech on the hardwork, don’t judge her. Really, a lot of the working class are thinking the same as hers. =/
Ok, i get it. Let’s see you purchase a land and have these people who you’re defending squat in it. Then lets see if you wont eat your words.
It’s people like you who are empowering these ILLEGAL SETTLERS. If you are educated enough, you’ll see that she’s not BASHING THEM, but just stating the truth that PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE JUST (cough)ENOUGH TO SEE. She should not soften her words, you just need to open your mind. PLEASE.
So what’s your point? Are you saying that she shouldn’t say those things because tat’s where she gets their money?
That’s the same thing as the politicians “coddling” these squatters because that’s where they get their votes.
I suggest that until you have experienced having a piece of land you worked for grabbed by squatters, do not speak for these squatters. As far as I’m concerned this journalist is already being soft with her words. They don’t deserve the “special treatment” that you seem to think they deserve.
Maybe everybody has an opinion, but it is not needed right now, its much better if you’ll throw a solution or better yet be part of the solution, not just yanking in front of your computer..
We have had enough of the media insisting that the squatters are victims! We have had enough of the over dramatization of the media that the squatters are pitiful and ‘kawawa’. The squatters are not the protagonists and Manila is not a soap opera so stop making them look good in a drama. It is a proven fact that robbers, snatchers and akyat-bahay gangs thrive in a squatters’ area. They are land grabbers! They are abusers!
True. Media over-sensationalized the squatters.
Hey man. First of all I just want to say, Please don’t generalize. As from a definition of a “squatter”, then I was. And that was because I know for a fact that my grandparents didn’t pay for the land that our house is built on. Yes the house is still there and my relatives still live there. I don’t think we were treated like babies. If anything, I think we didn’t exist in politicians eyes until it’s voting time.
About the “over dramatization”. Trust me there are far worst stories than you see on T.V. and they don’t always get a happy ending. Anyway, I grew up in that house with my Uncles and Aunties, They are taxpayers too. They worked really hard, lived honest and never took anything that wasn’t ours.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that not all people who live in a squatters’ area are bad. They’re not all thieves and lowlife scumbags. There are a lot of good honest people too.
Anyway, because of my loving mother’s hard-work and determination to get us out of there. Me and my two younger brothers are now living here in Australia for 6 years. I now have my own car, rent my own place and living independently. I wouldn’t have it any other way, my experiences in that place is what helped built the person I am now. That place showed me a lot about good and evil, and I am grateful that I recognized that early on as a youngster.
To be honest with you, I never felt like we were treated like babies. We lived a hard life. So please don’t generalize all squatters. Have an open mind about it and let’s all be a part of making the Philippines and the world a whole lot better. Peace! 🙂
Ano yan “soap opera” ang drama mo naman — yan kasi ang mga natutunan ng mga squatting na yan sa mga tele-serye sa telebisyon na walang kakuneta-kuentang panoorin. Mabobobo ka lang pinapanood mo ang mga stupid drama sa telebisyon.
My life “could” become a “soap opera”.. but it’s not. It’s real life. And I don’t watch soap operas anymore. There are far more educational and productive things to watch. I don’t like them anyway, poor acting. I want more action films like it was in the early 90’s woot woot!.. hhaha
I’m just pointing out other things too you know. Like a little bit of the “good” side. For example myself, knowing better and being practically smarter. (how to be less attractive to become a victim of a hold-up).
That was then…
This is now…
Then, there was no baby treatment for illegal settlers… Now, there is.
I myself lived my life as an illegal settler. But now, we have our own house. And i don’t plan to leech on other people’s money for my own benefit, especially now.
Wow.. really?? Since when?
I have to talk to my family over in the Philippines then. haha
Good for you by the way. 🙂 See that’s what I admire about some squatters. They know how to fight for themselves. Living a hard life does make you tougher. Good for you for having that mentality.
As a fellow ex-squatter. (LOL) I am proud of you. Keep it up. Good luck and I hope a great future for you and others alike. 🙂
P.S. remember what Dr. Jose Rizal said
“Ang taong hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan”.. 😀
If your parents built on land they didn’t own and without the owner’s permission, then sorry to say they are thieves. Maybe they are good people in other ways, as much as some thieves are. But the fact is, they are thieves, period. They are taking something from someone without permission. That is the definition of stealing. And last I heard, such activity is against the law. Breaking the law, for any reason at all, is a CRIME!
Completely agree! In my opinion, all squatters are thieves in their own right. The fact that they are depriving a landowner use of their hard-earned land is already theft!
Of course, I also accept that there are some… a minority in my opinion, like Mharc and Chris’ families, who CHOOSE to live better lives. They are the ones who truly deserve their blessings.
The rest, they CHOOSE to stay in their condition… THOSE are the real thieves. they deserve to be treated as criminals, IMO
Thanks.. even by just simply acknowledging that people like Chris and I’s families, do exist in squatters’ areas.
Because all I’m really trying to argue is don’t generalize. And that applies both ways. Don’t think that all are good and don’t think that all are bad.
I know for a fact that it would be hard to divide or pick out who is which.
I guess don’t just turn a blind eye on those who are actually good. diba?? 😀
I do agree too, with the last part that you said “The rest, they CHOOSE to stay in their condition… THOSE are the real thieves. they deserve to be treated as criminals, IMO”… Thanks again for being open minded.
Well, as long as nobody is trying to evict you, then I can’t blame you for staying. But the moment the owner comes by and wants you out, have the decency and gratefulness to leave. You have borrowed land and should give it back when due.
Our government should have the balls to get rid of these squatters permanently, if you know what I mean. Some people might think that’s cruel or inhumane, but let’s be practical here. What do these squatters contribute to the society, to the community, to our country? Do they, as a whole, serve any purpose to the country? Hell, they don’t even pay taxes. The only thing they give our community is more problems. Most of our country’s problems, they are the cause. Who are the people that pollute our rivers? Who keeps throwing garbage, clogging up drains, resulting in floods? Who are the criminals stealing from honest, hard-working citizens? What demographic of our country is the most over-populated? Why should I, as a tax paying citizen, want to see my hard-earned tax money go to relocating these people, what have I to gain from that? They are parasites, preventing our country from progressing. They contribute nothing yet act like they are owed something just because they are poor. If you ask me, our country is long past due for a culling. Get rid of the parasites and the organism grows healthier.
Tama! Itigil na ang squatting! Kahit walang sariling bahay ang pamilya ko, hinding hindi namin aangkinin ang lupang hindi sa amin.
Relax lang and let’s just clarify and classify what this article is all about bago humaba ng humaba eto at walang patutunguhan:
the article is NOT about whether or not we should treat these squatters humanely;
the article is NOT about the fact that it’s financially harder for some of us to achieve our dreams;
the article is NOT about whether or not we can and should empathize with the poor;
heck, the article is NOT even about poverty;
the article IS about squatting and the squatters – that squatting is illegal and that some squatters have this sense of entitlement.
Let’s not be too melodramatic and make this into a telenovela-like issue. Instead of straying away from the issue, why don’t you suggest ways on how to address squatting and the squatters’ mindset that they should be spoonfed. Or are you just okay with squatting?
All I know is that we can help the poor in many ways but not by tolerating them to squat. I can enumerate some but that’s straying away from the subject.
On the issue of squatters, yes if they have to be evicted they have to be evicted. Ownership of property should be respected.
I just disagreed with the observation that the article is just about that. The writer clearly goes on to talk about a “thinking class.” I´m a degree holder and I have a good job but still I would caution against dividing the country among “thinkers” and “dummies.” Let´s talk about what the laws are and how they´re violated, but let´s not start talking about which group of people are better than the other.
I agree. And I don’t intend to put a division among the citizens. I don’t even classify myself under any category. I, together with other people, just say what we think about squatting – that we should put an end to this. This should be easy but then again, there are those na “panggulo” na instead of picking a side or stating facts or sticking to the issue eh inooverdramatize ang situation. So the squatters, instead of understanding our sentiments they just feel na inaapi sila. Thus, nagkakaron ng division.
and, oh, my post wasn’t a reaction to your post but a reaction to juantangakaba’s post (4:05 p.m.).
Interesting to know what the church has to say about this problem of squatting. For a country of over 80 million people and growing fast, of which 70% live below the poverty line. I would think that more than economics and lack of opportunity thereof for a lot of the squatters, the problem lies on the inherent lack of respect for oneself and for others. The church always preached about the respect for the human life, to uphold the dignity of a human being but do we see any of these from these so called informal settlers? Is there self respect in having more mouth to feed than one can handle? Is there self respect in a society that exists in a culture of mendicants?
The problem is not only economic but of morals as well. Let the government address the economic issues and perhaps the church should address the moral side of the problem.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE WORDS RIGHT OUT OF MY MOUTH. We’re not heartless taxpayers, we’re just asking for what is fair for everyone. Bianca does make several excellent points. We work hard to build a home for ourselves as opposed to these freeloading illegal settlers
Good article…
Sa tingin ko walang solusyon na ito, habang walang disiplina at respeto sa isat-isa at sa kanilang sarili mismo, mapa squatter at gobyerno man o mayaman ka man o religious ka man.
Actually Im a former squatter, and I’m proud nka move-on po kmi at naka sariling legal house & lot 🙂 dahil lng po sa disiplina at respeto, at ayaw ko na elaborate ang ibig kong sabihin sa disiplina at respeto na yan, alam na po natin yan sa sarili natin.
Ang may matigas na puso ay babagsak sa kalamidad. Cheers!
@eric: clap, clap, clap. may mga kilala rin po ako na katulad nyo. mga dating squatters ngunit nagsumikap na maging financially independent. dapat madami pang sumunod sa mga katulad ninyo. 🙂
Tama ka d’yan Eric, kasi dati rin kaming informal settlers but eventually strived hard to improve our life. When you’re determined to have a better life, you can, then you won’t need the government or pulitikong pulpol who will promise heaven and earth only to get your vote. Mabuhay ang mga squatters na umunlad ang buhay dahil sa pagsisikap.
In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with giving them (squatters) a bit of help. If it does help them get a better life, that’s great. The problem would be if they would keep asking to be pushed.
Think of it as someone trying to ride a bike. There’s nothing wrong with training wheels at first to give them some help, but sooner or later they’re gonna have to remove those training wheels.
Kailangan namin ng mga tao tulad mo. At least for informal settles, someone has to show them the way and that it can be done.
Who else but people like you, Eric. They will listen to people like you…
Ngayon ko lang na-realize na bini-baby nga ng gobyerno yung mga informal settlers.
If the government could slowly learn how to say no and be stern, I think that some of the guilty informal settlers will also learn how to work hard for their own money and not complain if the government hasn’t showered them with blessings yet.
HAHAHAHA!!!
Bianca Gonzalez: the long-awaited messiah of anti-squatter activism!
That just re-crushed my crush on BG despite her toes lol
Old problem, old solution…. Relocation proves to be an ineffective strategy to solve urban squatting. More than 10 years na nirerelocate ang mga ito pero bumabalik at nadadagdagan pa nga eh. Amend the stupid Lina Law, make LGU (especially the barangay officials) fully accountable in proliferation of squatters in their area. Maybe harsh but could deter squatters, don’t give them access to MERALCO and Maynilad/Manila waters.
rescind na dapat yang lina law na yan …or patirahin na lang sila sa lahat ng lupain ni lina….sya naman malamang ang nagaaruga sa kanila eh
I like this article.
For a moment it reinforces the thought in my head that makes me afraid of traveling to ANYWHERE in the Metro everyday. The uncertainty that you might end up in a very precarious position at any moment you step out of your house is quite horrible :/ the fact that you still have to count your things before and after you move from one place to another.. but we can’t do anything about what we’ve lost if we’re against THEM :/ and apparently everything that we do for them returns in a negative way :/ it’s distressing. I mean I love my country and all but I can’t keep overseeing these things.
ahaha natawa ako sa toes eh hihihi… anyway, good for you eric congratulations on your feat, sana nga dadami ang maging katulad mo ….oneday, maybe, you can share them your success story and be emulated
You nailed it Ilda. Aside from being arogant, most of the squatters has these illegal businesses such as ill-electricity connection, ill- drugs, ill-water connection, ill-cable connection and ill-house rental. They had these business for so many years and yet, there are not even paying single tax in their whole life. And what is so annoying, most of them has these insecured mentality and they always assumed that our government should change their miserable life. Jail them since squatting is a criminal case and jail those politician who’s Cuddling these people.
Sa mga nagtatanong, sa mga naghahanap ng solusyon sa isyu ng mga squatter at kahirapan (para kay Eric) at kung ano ba ang ginagawa ng simbahan (para kay Mikey1418), at para sa ating lahat, lahat po tayo ay may magagawa at makapagbibigay pa ng pag-asa sa ating kapwa at sa bayan. see: shecrog.org. or other links.
we’ve given them chances already, and we’ve seen what they did to it isn’t that enough already?
Not to be rude, but I can’t help notice that you wrote.
“we’ve given them chances already, and we’ve seen what they did to it isn’t that enough already?”..
Are you saying that you and your companion/s own all the areas that squatters are living in??
And please explain what this “chances” are that you have given.. I’m just really curious that’s all.. cheers. 🙂
ey chief, read between the lines 🙂
That’s all you can come up with??
ssoooo none??
Let me remind you that help is given wholeheartedly and not forced from the giver out of guilt or harassment 🙂 If a person wants to give, then let’s applaud him. If not, then we have no right to say anything against him. Let’s just put things in the right perspective.
BTW, thieves get “help” from others, by “forcing” it from them. 🙂
I’ve also lived in a squatter’s area for a brief time during my childhood, when my parents were just starting out and saving for a proper house. Eventually, my mum saved enough to have us moved into a decent area, although far from the city proper, but our own.Point is, these able bodied people do not have an excuse to keep squatting. This is why I do not understand their sob stories.
if that’s your story Ching, then allow me to say that I indeed admire your family for managing to do what you did. It’s stories like these that make me feel our situation in the Philippines is not as hopeless.
Your family had yourselves as a drive to fight for a better life… so everyday your family choose not to give up, to be smart, to keep fighting until you are where you are now. Very admirable!
Now most squatters have already given up. I feel what is going in their minds are:
1) Mahirap naman magulang ko eh… so ako rin
2) Mahirap lang si (insert someone important here)… so ok lang mahirap ako
3) Eh, di naman bubuti buhay ko eh
4) Sanay na ako dito eh… so ok lang
And as with what I am going through now… change is a VERY difficult thing to do… one that makes me cry almost everyday thinking if I should be making all this effort or not. Most squatters choose filth because it’s easier to stay where you are than upgrade. Worse, if someone tries to alleviate themselves, these people are often ridiculed by their peers… this leads to them going back to filth 🙁
Once again, Ching, I want to acknowledge your family’s effort. You deserve to live a better life
I agree with your thesis, but your supporting statements are too harsh.
Neal Cruz wrote your sentiments in a more objective point of view:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/55209/squatting-problem-getting-out-of-control
And please, for those who are taking the side of the squatters, stop telling the world na “hindi nyo kasi nararanasan ang nararanasan nila” or “hindi kasi kayo naghirap” or “hindi makatarungan ang pag-paalis ninyo kasi mga tao rin yan”. Imbis tuloy na maiparating namin sa mga squatters at maintindihan nila ng side namin, pinagugulo nyo eh. Paano? They feel sorry for themselves or at least they want to look pitiful para they can continue being squatters – nawawala sila sa totoong issue kaya hindi rin maresolba. They feel that we are just anti-poor and they shouldn’t listen to us because we can never understand them. Tell me, nakakatulong ba ang mga mala-telenovela nyong mga mini-speeches? Yumayaman ba sila sa ginagawa ninyo? Gumaganda ba ang environment natin dahil sa pagsulsol nyo? Nalalaan ba sa ibang bagay ang pondo ng gobyerno instead na sa mga squatters kapag sinasabi nyo mga sinasabi nyo? May ginagawa ba kayo to resolve this issue? Kung wala, pakiusap lang, step aside. You’re not helping the situation.
Again, hindi kami anti-poor. Gusto lang namin matapos ang problema natin sa squatters.
I agree with some people using the “pity” card (which shouldn’t be the case), but for everyone to move forward, let’s say we are “anti-poverty” instead of “anti-poor”. This means we condemn the condition, not the people.
thanks for this semaj…however, ive to use anti-poor here because this is what some people see the anti-squatters/squatting like us. that we just merely hate the poor.
And that sir is an example of da pinoy doing the victim card. Those idiots like mharc here need to stop that dysfunctional mentality.
Excuse me, did you just stated that I’m an idiot for saying that the government is dysfunctional??
So you’re saying that the Philippines’ government is working perfectly fine??
I’m not playing the victim card by the way. I’m just trying to point out that not all people who live in a squatters area are bad.
Correct! And may we add, did we miss the part that says it’s our problem? LOL
mga putangna dapat pagbabarilin yan mga squater na yan hanapbuhay mangholdap mangsnatch tangna nyo umuwe kayo probinsya magtanim kayo dun hindi ung sumisiksik kayo d2
It really doesn’t matter what kind of words she uses as long as it gets the point across. I agree that these squatters have to be controlled. Also compensation should be extremely lessened so that “professional squatters” will be discouraged.
It’s sad to think that even if we all know the problem, it probably won’t go away because politicians and religion rely on these people. (politicians through votes religion through “followers”) These powers need to keep these squatters happy because they are the most gullible class of people and therefore so easily manipulated.
Finally!! someone who thinks thoroughly before making a statement. I’m glad to see that someone else (like you my good friend) points out other flaws and consider both sides. kudos!
The government now is offering money to those families that will be removed from where they are illegally settling at the moment, and probably award new homes in relocation sites for others. This will be unfair govt. service to those who earn a living by working diligently and pay their due taxes because taxpayers’ money will fund that financial assistance and those relocation sites. The govt. must not award relocation properties, nobody must have their own a house and lot for free no matter how small it is. Why not device a program where these families can be transferred to a place where they must pay rent in a price that is not so high taking into consideration their capacity to pay. Their stay can’t be forever, it must be limited to a maximum of 10-15 years or so. In this way, the adults will start working to be able to pay their rent, and strive to be better before they get kicked out of the relocation site. Families will be raised and their children will grow during that period of stay. After that period, the young individuals should have learned that they can’t have what they want for free, and the government will not provide them with their needs. They must instead strive to be better in order for them to live properly and not end up like what they were before. The adults should have been able to save some money for them to buy a house and lot on installment basis maybe, or to rent somewhere else and continue their lives. If they end up being squatters again after that assistance by the govt, then we can say that the govt already gave them a chance but they wasted it.Can they still say that the process is not just and humane if they get caught and jailed for being illegal settlers in somebody else’s property? To the govt people, please spend the budget entrusted to you wisely.
Somebody, you had a good idea… but the problem are not all people same opinion as yours, not same broad minded as yours.
The problem in our society is that they will always “reklamo” complaining here, complaining there. even you helped/assist them in small things or big things “reklamo is still there”. 🙂 and reklamador cannot prosper… lol
As you say “This will be unfair govt. service to those who earn a living by working diligently and pay their due taxes because taxpayers’ money will fund that financial assistance and those relocation sites.” In my opinion, we’re not a rich country that have resources to sustain this poor people but as a citizen we should abide to pay taxes and don’t think about where our money goes, period. if the govt spend it for good and use it to help others, let’s cheers. if they use it for corruption, may the heavenly judgement be upon them 🙂 LOL
tama si Cris . . .
our government should revise the law
– Remove any requisite of compensation to evict illegal settlers. In fact, they should be fined instead. In our neighboring counties, illegal settlers are evicted and punished.
– Make only residents of legally owned/rented properties be allowed to vote in that respective district.
Like the second point. Let all legitimate taxpayers vote for the next election. With this , we can probably eradicate the dynasties.
Kailangan natin ang mga squatters. Dyan nakatira yung mga taga linis sa opisina namin. Madaling magreklamo ang mga mayayaman kasi may tirahan sila. Putang ina.
You shot yourself on the foot. They have a job = they should do what every decent person does and SAVE UP for a house that is taxed properly. Sounds heartless? Nope. It’s FAIR.
People like you who cuddle illegal settlers are must not be paying them enough so that they have to resort to squatting. You are taking advantage of them. Shame on you. No matter what, squatting is wrong. The more there are squatters, the more you cannot attract foreign investments that will help each and everyone, including the squatters. It is a vicious circle. Kailangan ban isulat ko sa Tagalog yung sinabi ko?
Kami may lupang maliit. Tinirhan ng squatters. Pinakiusapan namin sila na umalis dahil gusto na naming ibenta ang lupa para sa treatment ng kamag-anak naming may cancer. Tinutukan kami ng binaril, tinakot at pinagbantaan pa. Namatay ang kamag-anak namin ng hindi namin napakinabangan ang lupa naming kakarampot. Kami pa ang pinagbabayad ng gobyerno sa tax ng lupa. putang ina din nila at lahat ng sumusuporta sa kanila.
Pare-pareho lang tayong nangangailangan at nagtratrabaho. Kami, nung nawalan ng trabaho, walang nag-abot ng kahit piso, tapos sila libo na ibinibigay at may lupa pa, nagrereklamo. Tangina nyo.
And of course the squatting thieves don’t care about your story. Because they only care about themselves. That is not their problem. Therefore, we should just treat them as such, with a cold shoulder.
Siguro nasasaktan ka kasi squatter ka Red…
@Red: As much as I’ve made it clear dito sa mga discussions na I’m anti-squatting, I don’t think that the way you treat these squatters is fair. HINDI MGA OBJECTS OR ROBOTS ANG MGA SQUATTERS. Don’t defend them because you have good use to them. Help them by making them realize that they shouldn’t be contented with their situation. That they should work hard to have a better life and therefore legally own their house and lot.
Kung may mainamam na kita ang mga tinatawag nyong skwater mula sa maayos na trabaho. di naman siguro nila pipiliing tumira dyan. At di porket walang trabaho ay tamad, di kaya sadyang walang makita lng. Without jobs for this people, it would be a long vicious cycle. Mukang ang mga thinking class mali ang tinatahulan.
mahirap lang din ako. pero sa kabila ng kahirapan, nagsumikap akong mag-aral sa public school sa aming baryo hanggang makatapos ng pag-aaral ng HS. nung naging college ako, sinikap kong maging iskolar at yun ay natupad dahil sa pangarap kong makaahon sa kahirapan. wala akong sinayang na oras, lahat itinutok ko sa pag-aaral. ang punto ko lang, sa kabila ng kahirapan namin, nakapagtapos ako ng pag-aaral at nagkaroon ng magandang buhay dahil sa aking trabaho. minsan, nasa tao din ang problema kung bakit walang mahanap na trabaho.
Kung walang makitang trabaho e bakit nagpipilit silang magtigil sa Metro Manila. Sabi ng tatay ko, bumalik sila sa probinsiya at magtanim ng kamote. Di sila magugutom. Kung ang tao ay masipag, di tamad, di sila magugutom. TAMAD, ayaw magtanim. Mas maigi pa ang buhay nila sa probinsiya KUNG HINDI SILA TAMAD!
ayun nga ang problema, wala naman palang mainam na kita naisipan pang mag anak ng mag anak. sinong may kasalanan kung bakit lalong lumaki problema nila?
I could say the same thing for thieves. SO WHAT?
Hindi lang squatters ang dapat tingnan. Malal na ang sakit ng lipunan natin. Why are some politicians not reacting to this issue? Why does it seem okay to “pay” the squatters? I have a few thoughts. Ang mga ibang informal settlers kasi ang mga botante ng mga pulitiko. Another thought, bakit ba may sense pf entitlement ang ibang mga tao? It’s not the fault of the poor if they are born poor. But I believe one can augment himself/herself from any situation. Marahil may ibang sinwerte o minalas pero palagay ko likas na maparaan at malikhain ang mga Pilipino. How do we create jobs when we dont educate people how to be skilled for them tl create value in a workplace? Ang lalim ng problema – ningas kugon ng Pinoy, lack for investment in quality education and sa totoo lang, selflishness ng mga tao. Nauuba an bulsa o sariling interes. Hindi gaya ng ibang bansa na forward thinking at may malasakit sa future generations ng mga susunod pang Pilipino. Totoong it’s more fun in the Philippines when travelling. But how do we sustain if people remain skeptic, always complaining and lack cooperation. Sana maalala natin ang respect hindi lang sa sarili pero pati sa kapwa.
You should tell that to the arrogant squatters.
Yes, because they are abusing the system.
msjority of these illegal settlers come from southern philippines,we have in our province illegal settlers that came from there since late 60.s. nanganganak, i mean pag umuwi ang isa sa probinsya nila pagbalik may akay pa, now they destroy the marine life by means of illegal fishing, we never had such case before.
It’s just amazing how these squatters can still demand so much from the government/”rich people” when they’ve been living for free for years 🙂 We, the TAXPAYERS, have more say on where our money should be spent, NOT THEM.
these scum of the earth live clogging up the rivers very similar to the human waste they drop into them. Best way to get rid of them is making them sterile with medical treatment like you would dogs and cats. The rains will do the rest!
We cannot put ALL the blame on squatters. We must look into the root of the Philippines problem first (Poverty and the corrupt officials). The tax money goes to selfish corrupt officials rather than building schools, houses and hospitals to help people in needs. You guys are generalising, if we provide jobs they wont be squattering around.
PNoy is doing great in dealing with corruption. Hope this remains until the end of his term.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/33299-philippines-global-corruption-barometer-2013
Hearsay sources.
Hearsay sources everywhere. 😛
You can pretend to “deal” with corruption however you want. You can propagate those mythical accomplishments in whatever media you want — print, broadcast and online.
President Aquino will only be remembered for his abysmal performance record. He will be remembered for failing to deliver on any substantial promise. He built no infrastructure. He failed to ease poverty levels. He wasted the taxpayer’s money while failing to build a sustainable economy. And in the end he will only have amplified the enmity of the majority of Filipinos for politicians in general and the Aquinos in particular.
And in the end, Aquino will be remembered as the greatest FRAUD to have ever been elected as a president.
U Mad?
TROLL HARDER
Oh really now? Then how come corruption here is worse than before hmm? You keep citing hearsay sources yet you don’t even realize that you’re being DUPED.
Sarap talaga maging UTO UTO no?
Huh?!
Lasing ka ba pre? Ba’t di mo paganahin yung utak mo at discuss yung relevant issue at hand, di si Mr. President, busy yun sa homework nya sa SONA. Irrelevant sya dito sa thread kasi ngising aso lang naman yan kapag kinuwestiyun mo sya about socio-political issues like this one..
Matanong nga kita, para gumana naman yung utak mo, kaya mo bang i-link yung project ni idol mo na RH Law sa problema sa squatting, and dapat expounded and justified yung answer mo.Paki-define na rin ng term “perpetual poverty”. Yan homework mo ha?
Well, people who can’t afford to feed themselves should stop having more babies. The hardworking taxpayers should not have to suffer for other people’s lack of foresight, carelessness and negligence.
Magagalit po ang Catholic church. They want more babies, so they have more followers, and have more donations in their chests.
Kung may karapatan magreklamo ang “INFOMRAL settlers”, then may karapatan din magrekalamo ang mga tao na tumululong sa kanila (intentionally or not-thru taxes).
It is true that we have to find solutions, but a forum like this helps to air out our grievances which in a way make us feel a bit relieved. We know most solutions are far fetched.
I’m sure alam naman na natin lahat ang dapat gawin. Andami ko nabasa nagpropropose mga solution. Magaganda sila. Ang tanong possible ba ito kung ang nagpapatupad ng batas ay siya ring gumagawa nito? Alam ko may legistlative, executive at judiciary tayo at magkakaiba sila . They are supposed to counter check each other. Pero sa totoo lang kada gobyerno lumipas eh nagpwepwesto ng mga “bata” nila. Magkakampi kampi lang yan kaya mahirap ipatupad ang karamihan ng tingin natin makakabuti sa atin kung tingin nila na di makakabuti sa kanila.
Ipasintabi niyo nalang po ang complaints namin as middle class citizens. Kami ang naiipit sa gyera ng mahirap at mayaman.
Madami mayaman na exempted sa tax kasi nagbibigay ng trabaho or ang pinambabayad sa tax parte ng dinededuct sa empleyado or pinapabayad sa consumer. Minsan pati tax refund pa nga di na binabalik eh. Madami naman mahirap na nakakakuha ng libre dahil nakakaawa sila.
So sino ang nagfufund ng lahat ng iyon, eh di collectively ang middle class. Ngayon sabihin niyo wag kami magreklamo at maghanap nalang kami ng solustion kahit alam naman natin lahat na kahit anong solution pa ihain natin diyan kung di agree ang mga nagpapatakbo ng society eh di din mapapatupad.
I hope we see a better Philippines in our lifetime.
Endless debate on who’s who. Thinking back, the decay started after many of us thought that we’ve eliminated the “Dictator”. This in exchange to the so called “Democracy”. We did not gain any, we’ve just empowered the “Rich and Corrupt” and left the “Majority” defenseless with poverty. The middle class can only complain of the “Skwaters” as uneducated, arrogant boploks tax eaters of of their hard earn money. But how much did it really went on the poor guys as oppose to how much went to the pockets of your corrupt politicians and government people! Again you’re barking at the wrong tree! I’m still not loosing hope in this country, I hope and pray that a “Real Leader” will come out and save us from this mud hole.
Couldn’t agree more!!
To be honest, I don’t think even relocating them will help much either.
Let me share a situation. When the Makati squatters were transferred to Calauan, Laguna, the once quiet town’s crime rate, not to mention the neighboring towns of Bay, Los Baños and San Pablo increased. Why? Because the squatters were stealing their belongings, food, etc. And what do the squatters reply in response? Because they weren’t given jobs. What the fuck kind of reasoning is that? You already have a house, get subsidy of some sort, and now we’re responsible for giving them jobs too?
Why the poor people steal and do crimes? Due to lack of food, medicine for sick member of family and shelter. Not mention the inadequate education. They did not chose to be poor. And yes some of them may sell the given housing. But we cant generalise all of them. Most of them are working hard enough to live on daily basis. Think about it?
Yes they chose to be poor. They attended the Bone ‘Em Young University willingly without a gun pointed to their heads. They found it easier to make babies than to work part time and go to school. Suffice it to say it’s a lot easier to bone someone that do the latter. 🙂
This article misses the point on so many levels. Squatters are not the enemy. They are not the problem.
What you failed to address is that poverty is a symptom of much larger and more complex social illnesses. Poverty doesn’t exist just because it exists. Poverty is what happens when a government doesn’t give a large segment of its population a means to provide for themselves.
There isn’t even enough SUBSISTENCE level jobs for the 95 million Filipinos of this great nation. Why is that? A large segment of the population is uneducated and illiterate. We allow foreign investors to rape and pervert our way of life because local business owners and politicians are easily corrupted by foreign currency. We would rather import the stuff we can make on our own rather than build businesses and create jobs. Our social programs are backwards thinking, allowing all sorts of illogical influences to take hold. (Like Bianca Gonzalez? Who the hell is she to say anything about the plight of these people? The catholic church, etc.)
You blame the squatters for making babies they can’t take care of? Have you also done research on the incidence of unplanned births as they relate to a typical Filipino’s level of knowledge of the human reproductive system? How about the incidence of unplanned births as they relate to the availability of social programs that teach about abstinence or birth control?
You blame politicians who exploit these impoverished populations to gain more votes while completely glossing over the fact as to why politicians are allowed to do so in the first place? Politicians take advantage of these people because it’s cheaper than actually enacting social programs that help their fellow Filipinos. Spending millions of pesos on election campaigns in this country is more visible than spending money on schools, roads, businesses, infrastructure that creates jobs. And you’re defending the middle classes and high classes for what? So politicians can enter office and steal from the government time and time again?
You seem to forget that this nation was once proud and noble and strong. Many Filipinos proudly bled and died for this country. And it was because they felt they were dying for something great and inextinguishable: The Filipino. That ever-glowing idea of our own nation; of our own identity; of our own freedom.
Articles like this one is a prime example of irresponsible journalism. It is exactly what is tearing this country apart. The battle on poverty is not something that is fought along socioeconomic lines. It shouldn’t be rich vs. poor. It is a battle we must fight together as a country because no matter how much money you have or don’t have, at the end of the day, we’re all Filipinos.
Try to read the article again; the solution she proposed is there. It seems that your only solution to the squatting problem is to “be Filipino,” which sounds much more vague than what the article leads to.
And please don’t accuse the author of “irresponsible journalism.” She’s not a journalist and this isn’t a journalists’ blog.
I agree with every little thing you said. The understanding of what is the actual root of the problem.
But may I ask, have you done, or are you planning on doing something about these problems that our beloved country is facing?
If you already are doing something or planning of doing something about it, count me in and I want to be a part of it.
I know it sounds a bit crazy, but I am willing to go an extra mile for our country to be better.
Lol! This is just so last-century:
You fail to see the irony in what you write above. Indeed, the nation was ONCE “proud and noble and strong”. You just highlighted the fact that it has since declined and degenerated into the Squatter Nation that it is now.
A better story would’ve been one that was the other way around — if the nation was once defeated and humiliated and had since become “proud and noble and strong”. Hey wait, that sounds like the history of Japan… ha ha! 😀
1. It is not the government’s responsibility to give people jobs. That is the job of the business owners.
2. Where the hell did the thing about “foreign investors” come from? 🙂 Well, you’re right, we need more foreign investors. The government’s job is to attract more of them so we create more jobs here.
3. Regarding the “unplanned births”, blame the anti-RH bill aholes.
4. And how exactly are you planning to “fight” poverty, besides your rhetoric? I have an idea, invite some of those squatters to live on your land, or in your house/apt/condo.
P.S. Your article is filled with grammatical errors as well.
I don’t think it’s the government’s problem…Kahit irelocate mo sila babalik at babalik sila s pinagsquattan nila.. ggwa ng excuse… ex: malayo daw s trabaho nila.. bebenta nila yung bahay na binigay s knila ng govern’t.. and the list goes on….
the problem here is the squatters themselves…
The problem is EVERYONE. No one wants to move.
No one wants to move because they believe it’s the government that should move.
But the government won’t. If they are indeed moving, they’re moving in the wrong place. And slowly. Plus, they don’t want to risk civil unrest.
So, essentially, we’re waiting for something to happen even though we know it won’t.
Sucks to be us.
Squatting on someone else’s property is definitely WRONG!!! Agree? If so, we need someone really strong with an ‘iron hand’. If BS Aquino is really sincere, he is the only one who can fix this as he is the president. Give notice to squatters to leave within a certain time and advice them to return to their provinces and plant ‘camote’ and take their belongings as the place will be burned down. The government can also specify a relocation place if their budget permit.
I know it is a bit harsh but it is the only way – to use an ‘iron hand’. Burn it will be and if anybody gets hurt, they ware warned!!!!
Any suggestions on what the thinking class could do? I see an increasing number of people venting on Facebook, but I’m not so sure the government bothers to respond to that, even though I’m sure they’ve read and know the sentiments of those people.
I think the keywords here are “arrogant squatters”.. It’s the “arrogant squatters” that makes it difficult for the land owners.
So please don’t generalize. I strongly believe that not ALL SQUATTERS wants to stay that way. I strongly believe that not all squatters are jobless, drug-addict, criminals and lowlife scumbags.
There are people who are taxpayers and happens to live in a squatters’ area. And they too are considered as squatters by definition. Most of the time these are the children/descendants of those who originally squatted.
I know, because I am from a squatters area. Grew up there most of my life. Getting the fuck out of there was our own mission in life. Including better education, better lifestyle, better environment for our future children and etc. So for those who argue that squatters don’t want to get out of there and stay living that kind of life. You are wrong, not all of them wants to stay that way.
Someone here argued that education would help a lot for the squatters. And someone disagreed,. To be honest, I do believe that a right type of education would be really helpful to solve this massive problem. By right type of education, I mean educating them about what’s really happening when they squat.
Explaining to them thoroughly, making them understand more about the bad consequences that it’s going to give. Not just for today but also for the future.
Of course I’m not putting this on the landowners hands to do. But on the government officials, though anyone’s help would really contribute a lot.
For those taxpayers who feel that squatters in general are a burden for them financially. Mofos please, you get tax return (I know it’s not all but you still get some back) so stop crying about it.
For those who sees all them as thieves and criminals but considers to demolish all their houses and belongings. Then your mentality is not far from them as you want to take away something that isn’t yours. (like their belongings, appliances and of course some may have really important documents such as certificates. and they cost money too.)I know it’s not your fault if you are the land owner and they chose to be on your property. They brought it upon themselves. But at least as a human being, consider a good route for them to follow.
Though if you choose to do it your own way of destruction,it’s your own choice. I cannot take it away from you. I understand the frustration and that you too are also human and you do have limitations.
I would respect you if you have done all you can as a good person but it didn’t work and had to do it the hard way.
That being said, that’s why I believe that the government can have a very large effect on this. If the government can give land owners a helping hand on getting squatters out of their land. It would be a great help.
Why is the government not working and taking care of all of its residence?? All rich, poor and those who are in between. I believe that if there was a good honest leader who wants to make the Philippines a better nation. It could really work. Anyone, it doesn’t have to be the president or the mayors and barangay captains.
Sorry if this is really long, but I just can’t sit here and say nothing to some of those hateful words. I just wish I can educate them more a little about those who are considered as squatters. Let’s not have the harsh mentality that bulldozing their houses with their belongings in it is plain OKAY.
I feel for the good people who lives in squatters’ area. Not all are bad and not all are good. There are some who are good too and just as honest as you and me. There are some too who wants Philippines to be a better place for us and the future generation.
Anyway, have a good one everyone. Peace.
They are given housing, they are given money, they just need to move a few kms away.
So glad an ARTICLE has been written on this issue. Well said Llda. Hoping the Philippine government officials will solve this matter and take it seriously. Also, it is quite alarming the manner or attitude of most Filipinos right now are seems arrogant and lack of discipline, which degrades the Filipino race as a whole. Being an OFW, it really hurts our ego and a lot of us don’t want to be labeled anymore as “Pinoy” because of negative feedbacks. It is said “Ang kabataan ay ang pag-asa ng bayan” but it’s not totally true, what is the use of raising a child if the parents are poor and can’t give a good quality of life, = the result will just add up more problem…
The arrogance of these people is intolerable. They call it “karapatan”, where in fact there is no “karapatan” in what they do. Where is your right when the land you stand in is not yours to begin with? And when it comes to elections, they are the mindless, bribe feeding idiots they are.
Though i agree with many of the issues raised in this article, i believe its a very one-sided perspective to the problems of the informal settlers here in the country and actually belittling our governments actions and capabilities. We can’t just kick them out of the metro in hopes of solving the problem, what will happen to them in the province? problemahin parin ng bansa natin yon, there would still be a lack of job opportunities. The government cant just tackle this issue with an ironfist, they are actually working on this problem, creating alternatives for the Informal Settlers to move back into the province by providing them with job opportunities or accessibility to job opportunities.
kapapagod magbasa kasi nakikita ko sarili ko before, selfish arrogant feeling rich, sa lahat please search google and youtube resource base economy, zeitgeist, 99%, occupy movement, tesla.. etc… alam nyo saan papunta to civil war pag lahat tayo magmatigas in the end lahat tayo talo kasi bulag tayo…. pinagsasabong ng mga totoong masasamang nilalang…
UPPER & MIDDLE CLASS rants! YOU…. yes, YOU! who just thought that you should have a say on these things just because of your taxes and all, must think again before you say anything. Who is it you’re blaming? the “informal settlers” or the government?
Whenever there are demolitions, these people fight back simply because government officials never really listened to what they have to say. You mentioned that all the “informal settlers” do is wait for the payment before they leave their houses? Have you been to their houses? Have you experienced first-hand how they try to think of ways on how they can get out of such condition? Have you been in to one of those talks where the “informal settlers” are “supposed” to exchange ideas and plans with local government officials on how they can properly settle things but get ignored?
Don’t brag that you pay taxes. For sure, you don’t even know how to pay it on your own without your company accountants automatically deducting it for you.
Ilda, you just took what were already reported on the news and placed it on this page. Where are you taking your readers here? Where do you want to go? What is your point in writing this? Or even in writing in general? You really think that it is only the “thinking class” who has the right to push our government to do something? First, who is the “thinking class” for you?
A lot of YOU could easily say whatever you want to say because you are in a safe space. YOU all rant simply because you feel you are above them all. Because YOU are the “thinking class”. If YOU really are the educated ones, YOU would know the story and history why our country is in all these issue.
Not because YOU are paying taxes doesn’t mean you already are the “thinking class”. If we take away your jobs, can you still pay your taxes? If you can’t pay your taxes, does it mean you were demoted out from being in the “thinking class”?
YOU are the hopeless ones. “THINKING CLASS” my ass…
Some of them act like they don’t get tax return aye?? bragging about paying tax and shit. hahaha.. I like your take on this my friend.
@jomel
you seem very affected about this article. why, are you one of them?
these people are just burdens and dont deserve to live in metro manila because they contribute nothing to us, they scare of foreign investors and snatch your belongings.
anyway if you look at it at any angle squatting is illegal and it should not be tolerated
Yes I am very much affected by this article and the rest of the people who would say that the “informal settlers” has no right to live.
If you are to scroll down, there are even some would say that they should be burned and die. that is the saddest part in this article. instead of being more critical in views and making the readers do the same, it created more unmeasurable divide.
Why do we have to even think of the foreign investors first? Before China opened their doors to the world, they made sure that their country and the people are strong enough to believe in what they can produce first and made sure that it will be the the rest of the world who will need their resources and not the other way around.
I didn’t say that squatting should be made legal or tolerated. We just have to be critical first in understanding what is really going on behind the issue before one write something about it.
Please do take note that just like in any place, not everyone is a thief or a killer. Even in exclusive villages, there are drug dealers and rapists. Don’t generalize just because you wear your shirt or speak the english language better than they do.
I am not one of them. I can’t consider myself because I live in a great house, I have my own room, I can practically buy things i needed (sometimes want) and I am capable to pay for my school. I can actually brag more things than those people who are commenting here. Oh also, I pay much bigger tax because I am a business owner.
No right to live ka dyan! You just hate the fact that truth is now surfacing…
They always blame the government but they are not doing anything! Life is about choice at hindi na namin kasalanan na pinili nilang maging ganyan!
If you are really concern with them, you will not disagree to this article because it will help everyone! It’s a win win situation!
And don’t compare criminal cases of them to those who live in executive villages because if you really understand what’s happening, you can see that most of the crimes here in our country were caused by “illegal settlers”.
Lastly, we don’t care how much tax you are paying because it is not even 1% of the whole tax that the government is collecting.
ohoo, its not a matter of class we are in, its about HOW WE BEEN PAYING OUR ASSES JUST TO SPOON FEED ( You[ guess ] ) the Illegal settlers, you have no right to complain because all you did is to live free in the vacant lot while us who paid our land with high amount are spending extra money just for the government to give u free service.
I don’t even know why the fuck do you need to dictate which class are.
if u really want a country that goes up.
Solutions are being dictated.
then if the solution doesn’t commence?
What do u want to do?
Complaint to the government about poor public service?
HOW MANY FUCKING SQUATTERS ARE THERE IN THE PHILIPPINES?
MORE THAN TAX PAYERS.
NO SQUATTER NO POVERTY NO CORRUPTION
SIMPLE LOGIC.
Obvious anti-intellectual utak squatter is indeed obvious. Pinalayas ka ano? Bumalik ka kaya sa probinsya.
let me guess squatter ka siguro tapos gamit mo iphone5 na nasnatch mo pang reply dito. dapat sa squatter sunugin!!!
hey stupid, a have a lot to say, you’re the perfect example of what “UGALING SQUATTER” means.
pre… understandable yung mainis ka sa sinulat niya… nagpi-feeling elite… nagkapera (at nakapag-aral) lang tingin nila sa mas dukha sa kanila basura na…
pero di mo pwedeng ipagkaila na may punto rin siya… abusado rin naman karamihan sa mga nag-e-squat eh…
siguro kailangan din na tingnan nung mga kagaya nila ang kinalalagyan nila… wag puro yung “inaalipusta” sila…
in the first place hindi sila paaalisin sa isang lugar kung kanila yun, at kung binibigyan naman ng alternatibong lugar aba eh magkaron din naman ng konting gratitude dahil sa wakas magkakaron na rin sila ng lupang matatawag na kanila…
Replace “informal settlers” with thieves above and see how idiotic the rant is. 🙂
We who pay, have say. Those don’t should stay away!
That’s the exact mentality that holds a nation down and prevent it from moving forward. Just because your statement rhymed doesn’t mean it’s a good one.
That is the mentality of those who are corrupt officials. Just because they have an upper hand, they think they are as powerful as God. They think they can have and do whatever they like. That mentality starts abuse to those who are unfortunate.
Mharc,
Spelling pa lang ng pangalan mo squatter nga.
======
What you say don’t matter. That’s how the world works. ^_^
Guess what, YES I CAME AND GREW UP FROM A SQUATTERS’ AREA!!! but at least I can say that I have more decency not to generalize. At least I am more open to what people say. I am more sympathetic to those who are unfortunate.
And if you’re gonna judge me on my name?? Mofo at least I’m brave enough to put my real name on here. Because I’m true to myself and I strongly believe that not all squatters are bad. I stand for myself and those who I believe needs it.
Rich kid huh?? How old are you anyway?.. I’m 23 and I live in my own house, drive my own car, provide food and pay bills. And I do that because I know how to work hard. I experienced what hard work means first hand you little twat.
I am proud that I came from the squatters’ area. That’s what built me.
You’re probably just some spoiled little brat who depends on your parents. I hope you get mugged and beating down to a pulp you soft as kitty.
Buti umuamin ka squatter. ^_^
pfftt.. is that it??? is that all you can say?? buti umamin ako??
When did I ever deny it?
Or is that all you understood??
That’s the best you can come up with?
Pfftt.. what a pussy.
Ahhhh squatter. heh heh heh heh ^_^
“YES I CAME AND GREW UP FROM A SQUATTERS’ AREA”
“I’m 23 and I live in my own house, drive my own car, provide food and pay bills. And I do that because I know how to work hard”
kudos to you. i just hope people from the slums can have the same mind set like yours. not everything is given. its earned.
Thanks bro.
And yeah of course I hope so too that more people would share the same mentality as mine. But there are some others in those squatters’ area. Those are the ones I want to take care of.
I hear what you’re saying.. ako naman nanggaling ako sa isang kilalang pamilya.. I’m not generalising all the poor people but sometimes they just go way over board… see here’s the thing.. we got a big ass lot back then in Caloocan city.. but.. it was infested with squatters.. so eventually my grandfather had an agreement with those squatters.. my grandfather gave them almost a hectare of land to those squatters just to leave our business alone… but yeah everything went smooth at first… but as years passed the squatters slowly kept on expanding and expanding.. until we confronted them and they were the ones mad.. and! ang lakas pa ng loob nila magthreat..
with respect to your claim… I may be a spoiled brat.. I may not have gone through the things you’ve gone through but we all got to do a living.. I think we’ve been generous enough to them.. but they’ve abused it.. i’m not saying all the squatters but yeah a lot of them are like that…
Yeah I totally understand your point too.
And of course at the end of the day. If that land is rightfully yours then you have all the right to be angry, frustrated and pissed off.
The only thing that I’m just really pissed off is the “Generalizing” part of it. I just don’t like people assuming that every single person who happens to live in a squatters’ area is a lowlife scumbag. I just happened to be born there, so as my siblings and the other kids I grew up with. Yes it was my Grandparents’ fault, but we are trying to get out of there.
I myself and my brothers are out of there and now living a good life, but we’re still working to get the rest of our family out of there. Because we do know that someone else owns it. We understand that.
I just really don’t want people to have the mentality that ALL 100% of people who live in those areas are bad. Some of them especially the children didn’t had a choice. Them and the good hearted ones are who I am worried about.
I’m really not just standing up for them because I pity them. But as a fellow human and a fellow Filipino. I believe there’s a better way of solving this out. And I do believe that the government should do something about it. Help both the land owners and the squatters.
I do hope there’s an easier way on finding out who’s deserving of help or not in those areas. Because I also do know for a fact that there are some cruel human beings who live there. I’m definitely not gonna ignore that fact, of course.
Because if you read some people’s comment on here. Some of them are even considering of just killing all of them. No regards to children and women at all. Which disgusts me not just a Filipino but also as a Human being. Though damn those who are offered help but turn their back on it.
Those people who lives in squatters area and not making themselves any better should rightfully be punished. Not in a inhumane way, but by the law. Make them serve the community or be locked up in jail.
And those good ones who wants to cooperate, give them housing. They don’t need to have a mansion, make a condominium style apartment. Have someone to take charge of it, someone who is righteous by power. Make them take care of it as a privilege or be evicted.
When it comes to jobs, give some of them bicycles to ride to work or to school. I think the government should really look into investing in a recycling program. Buy those machinery that crushes plastic and stuff, for recycling purposes. Make some uneducated ones work there, give them proper uniforms. Educate them how important the role is for the environment and the country.
Then it’s a win-win situation for the government. You’d get rid of the squatters, give them a sustainable income and make the Philippines a cleaner and greener country.
I wish it was that easy though.. Thanks for your insights too brother. Have a good one. 🙂 Hope you get your lot back.
@rich kid
someday you will be raped or be killed.
then try saying those words again
Bims,
That’s what I had the squatters I payed do to your mommy. ^_^
dude I don’t know why you do that pero your roots don’t make you who you are.. arrogant asswipe.. I mean I grew up in an upper middle class state but that doesn’t mean I can look down on those unfortunate enough to live in those situations..
2cool4u,
Obviously you havent dealt with squatters on your property. If you did your point of view would drastically change.
Bianca G’s family is a victim of squatters on their property that’s why we both share the same point of view on the subject.
And you claim to be upper middle class the di you must’ve gone to private catholic/christian school that preaches helping the poor and such and such. It’s one thing to help the poor but to help criminals it is something all together different.
To be honest it is just not upper middle class ppl who are sick of squatters. Even poor (as in financially and who pay taxes and follow laws) people are sick of these squatters. It is just politically incorrect to get em out because you look like a bully and NGOs and Church groups will call you evil doer when you are just fighting for your rights.
Funny how you claim you’re rich, when you seem to lack the education your so-called “money” could give you. Grammar check: “Those [who] don’t…” and “payed” — Is that even a word?! You’re just a pretentious wannabe. 🙂
It’s simple. you stayed on land that doesn’t belong to you, when the time comes that the owner asks you guys to leave, then leave.. you had ample time to think where to move right? c’mon guys.
This article and the 200 plus comments says it all. More than half of the populace is SICK AND TIRED of these damn squatters. Tagalog man o Ingles – halos lahat ng sumulat dito at nag=repost nito ay SUKANG SUKA na sa mga squatters na yan. Lower class, media class, thinking class at upper class – pare pareho ang sinasabi – TAMA NA! ABUSADO NA YANG MGA SQUATTERS NA YAN! Media lang at yang mga walang magawang ‘aktibista’ daw ang nagsasabing kawawa naman daw yang mga punyemas na squatters na yan.
@Leo > Yes, I think it’s about time everyone says it unanimously. Thank God for this article and the people who commented. Singapore and Malaysia have surpassed us thanks to “Media lang at yang mga walang magawang ‘aktibista’ daw ang nagsasabing kawawa naman daw yang mga punyemas na squatters na yan.”
…and there was a time that Singapore looked up to us.
eh putang ina pati ung mga aktibista mga squatter din eh =_=
di naman lahat ah PERO MAJORITY ng mga AKTIBISTA mga SQUATTING.
mga inaangal KAHIRAPAN NILA.
wow AH XDDD
THIS COUNTRY NEEDS PEOPLE LIKE MARCOS DICTATORSHIP.
A MILITARY LEADER THAT CAN DESTROY THE CYCLE OF THIS COUNTRY.
I KNOW WE HAVE THE FREEDOM
BUT FREEDOM SHOULDN’T BE ABUSED.
yup indeed. the people lack discipline. they all know they can get away with anything.
Squatters = snatchers = criminals = government burdens = poverty = more criminals
If I were to have my way, I will annihilate all the squatters, Hitler-style, including all corrupt officials.
Great article. You give responsible human beings a voice.
This is so true. Tolerance just leads to abuse. They won’t be pushed to move forward or to strive when they’re actually in a comfortable state- that is, no responsibilities; no rent, no jobs, no taxes- they just do things out of whim. Tapos sasabihin nila sila ang naghihirap? Everyone has a choice.
everything DIRTY in the Philippines is caused by these effing SQUATTERS, right on target, don’t pamper these trash people, these people are the main reason we have trash government officials, metro manila is a disgusting place because of these trash people, if i have my way, which i don’t, demolition without notice is what they deserve, yes all of them deserve it. “karapatan”? suck my d!*k, they have no right to demand for anything, enough sympathizing with these worthless people.
as a middle class oo nga naman, they are really arrogant and have trash minds
it’s capitalism and the socio economic system, stupid.
“Pity” and leniency can no longer be an option. These squatters think the government owes it to them to give them ‘proper relocation’ and it’s unfair to use the tax payer’s money for their benefit. It may sound cruel, but majority of these squatters are non-thinkers and only cause chaos in our already struggling economy not to mention that they almost don’t give anything good back to society. It’s true that MOST crooked politicians use these people as leverage for their numbers in elections and that has been proven too many times. Society doesn’t owe anything to them and they shouldn’t be where they do not belong especially if they don’t help themselves or the country. Don’t be surprised other countries see the Philippines as a ‘dirty place’ (as envisioned in Dan Brown’s Inferno, though fictional) because admit it or not, it has a hint of truth and that we tolerate it.
Tangina lang , yung mamanahin ko pang LUPA, meron pang naka- isquatt
ang problema kasi ng mga “squatter” tingin nila sila LANG priority ng bansa. They expect everything to be given to them for FREE. Ndi dapat ganyan mindset nila.
I just hate the fact that these people can find ways to get hold of a gun, and try to rob people. kung may kakayanan ka makakuha ng baril, bkt ndi mo kaya gumawa ng paraan makakuha ng trabaho? ndi naman sila basta basta makakuha ng baril kung kani kanino diba? ganun din naman sa trabaho.
They are a priority of the gov. Or sort of results of from a bad gov. Problema kase, tangalin mo sila.. saan sila ppnta? Mga squatter mga 12+ pa anak.
yup thats what i thought also. so i didnt touch the “remove them in manila” part. PROS and CONS when you remove them.
Pros, yes Manila would be cleaner and better for development.
Cons, we need these people. Our jeepney/bus/tric drivers, labor jobs, street cleaners etc.. most of them live in the “squatter” area. and employees din sa mga supermarket and malls. main problem is, they’re overpopulating 1 out of 10 lng may trabaho.
Looking at the quote next to your picture.. You’re a Sociologist aren’t you? 🙂
Sana nag squatter na lang ako.
agree para magkabahay din…huhuhu
jeez people.stop arguing..this is the INTERNET..he says he’s rich, one says they’re from the financially challenged sector, whatever, proof or all your sh*t never happened.
end of story.
and by the way, getting taxed is a pain in the ass, but hey, at least someone up there revise the plan this GOVERNment has for implementing this relocation plan.at least do some background checks, police and NBI records and stuff, from there, get a list of deserving less fortunates so they can live a life worth living THAN a can of sardines and some loaf of bread for christmas… cheers.
Bad or good squatters, they still need to be evicted from lots they arrogated unto themselves for a long time, be they are public or private domain. They got no right over any parcel of land they have been occupying even how impoverished they might be. Poverty should not be taken as reason for these people to be cuddled freely by government and that includes all of us law-abiding citizens. Some of these kind of people even justify criminal acts like snatching due to their miserable conditions they are firstly to be blamed of. These land-grabbers blame the government and everyone of us for their plight but never look at themselves as the primary harbinger of their misfortune. On day, they will tell us non-squatters that they have more right to live than all of us!
Easy solution? Genocide.
It’s really funny how we trivialize life just because we literally worship money, all because we just can’t stand freeloaders taking all of our hard earned tax paying cash.
Granted, these people aren’t really absolved of their crimes but we are all in the wrong and they do not deserved to be demonized. Not all of them are shit-flinging classless monkeys that we think them to be. Some of them are, but not all of them. Doesn’t it ever occur to anyone how poverty even occurs? Do you think these people choose that lifestyle, a hand-to-mouth existence? Do you think they even know any better than what they are doing? This relocation…it’s only a band-aid, if you don’t educate them and show their place and the consequences of their actions to them NOTHING will happen.
Hell, I don’t think I can blame them from abusing the system because that’s probably the only think that they can get out of it: No capital, no skills, no education. I can guarantee you anyone here who would be under those conditions would do the exact same thing, because when you have nothing who else do you have to live for? Don’t give any of that hard work ’til you make it to the top. That’s mostly bullshit. Education which you need to survive in this system There’s a reason why there’s only one Henry Sy, because capitalistic success is a near-myth if you start from poverty.
I just wish altruists like yourself would have your property squatted on so you will just shut up already.
If you feel so strongly about their hand to mouth existence then open your home’s door and welcome them to your abode.
To rich kid, what if i return to you what you just said ” I just wish rich kids like you experience poverty such that you dont even have a house to live on” . You need to grow up and have a little compassion for the poor.
carmieh,
being a law abiding citizen i would do everything within my legal rights to get ahead in life.
kindly do not generalize all the poor as “squatters”. That shows how low you look at others.
Squatters are largely criminals for occupying property that they do not own or have rights to.
The poor may not have as much as you or me but they are largely law abiding.
“Don’t give any of that hard work ’til you make it to the top. That’s mostly bullshit. Education which you need to survive in this system There’s a reason why there’s only one Henry Sy, because capitalistic success is a near-myth if you start from poverty.”
This is the absolute bullshit that could very well be the guiding principle for insolence and hopelessness. I am no Henry Sy and I don’t need to be one, but I know that hard work will always be rewarded.
The “encouragement” quoted above is worse than the coddling of squatters practiced like religion by politicians.
The only sensible comment it seems.
It seems like the Filipino middle class is almost just as uneducated as the squatters.
Can’t grasp concepts like urbanization or rural flight and their consequences. There will always be squatters, the only reason they are a problem is because politicians didn’t have a gram of long term vision and didn’t do any urban planning to accommodate them. If you people actually went out of your sheltered lives and talked to them, you’d realize most of the squatters would gladly pay for the land they’re staying on given some long term payment plan and the assurance that they will own that small piece of land after 20 something years.
This article is pure bullshit typical from sheltered idiots and nouveau riche buffoons who don’t want to look where they came from. I mean “thinking class”? A celebrity as a poster girl on a social problem? Unwarranted pretentiousness? Not much of a step up from the poor masses you seem to despise.
But keep living in your bubble and let emotions rule your arguments.
In case you haven’t noticed, the Philippines is a “democracy” and those politicians you cite as not exhibiting “a gram of long term vision and didn’t do any urban planning to accommodate them” were elected by popular vote. So guess what: Filipinos — including these SQUATTERS — deserve their leaders. Indeed, the character of the Philippines’ leaders reflect pretty much the character of the people who elected them.
Tough shit, right? 😀
no mayor will approve to that solution…sayang ang boto…
government should make jobs in the countryside where there is SPACE.
too crowded here in the city.
that was what i was always thinking whenever i get stuck in some stupid half hour traffic.instead of spending those money over some fucked up road schemes why not build some valuable transport to connect the three regions of luzon visayas and mindanao.they focus financing so much here in the city forgetting the potential of the nearby provinces, not mentioning the freshness of those places..less pollution=more healthy work place.
sounds expensive but hey, they can spend billions for some stupid pcos machines.why not start funding some logical roadworks AWAY from manila but declogging the thoroughfare.
….and that way,, you encourage the indegenous families to get back to their homes where they originally was, before they thought of taking chances here in the metro and lost big time…ending up in some fukd up place in a fukd up time..
again, like what the previous comment says, do not generalize them for being at the unfortunate low bottom.. maybe wiping out some undeserving like those snatchers and drug addicts could help…not all of them…
then start supporting or advocating the diversion of funds for infrastructre development to other major cities specially in the visayas and mindanao regions…
Makikitalak na rin ako … Walang pinagkaiba ang squatter at corrupt public servants (i.e. pulitikos) … both usurp taxes paid by the hardworking taxpayers … ang pinagkaiba yung mga squatter naghihirap at yung mga pulitiko nagpapakasarap sa kinurakot … we can keep on yapping about these problems and engage in debates but what happens after? i must say that it is admirable that filipinos have increased awareness of current issues however what really matters is what can we do to help … instead of talk the talk, let’s walk the walk .. a lot of great ideas in this forum but honestly, don’t know where to start … squatting is just a symptom of a bigger problem – corruption and poverty and unless these are addressed, we will never get rid of squatting … perhaps doing our part to help the less fortunate learn to fish instead of giving them fish? … easier said than done … but it can be done and may take a long process … question is how? when the people who should be supporting efforts to eradicate squatting are the very reason why squatting exists …
again, not all of them are undeserving…i mean, there are families mixed and fuqd up among them that really DESERVES a warm place to stay and good food to eat somewhere..the government just have to really, really, i mean, really, send out those titles very strictly and transparently to avoid handing them out to people who do not believe in law and hard work..
We need not to blame the government if merong informal settlers. Di nila kasalanan that crab mentality had been eating up the minds of those kind of people.
Not only in the Philippines merong informal settlers, but why is that it had taken too much of our economy? It’s because they all boss around and actually can’t follow what the rules had ordered them to do. Gusto kasi nila, ung decision nila ang masusunod. They’re not even thinking that what they are doing isn’t really good for everybody, inshort, masyado ng makasarili. Literal pong mga spoiled brat!
I agree with Bianca Gonzales, masyadong na-baby, ayaw kasi sumunod sa batas!
Bacteria nga di bini-baby, pinapatay, according to an old rubbing alcohol commercial before. Of course you can’t do that to squatters, dapat imulat natin sila sa katotohanan na dapat rin silang tumayo sa kani-kanilang paa, but they should also obey the law because di naman excuse na di sumunod sa batas kung ika’y squatter man o may-ari man ng lupa..
These one is for all of us. Hope you find time reading through it and hope it may provide some thoughts to ponder.
http://lenguaix.pbworks.com/f/Culture+of+Poverty.pdf
Correction: *This 🙂
I myself still living in a slum. To be honest. Like most of you guys, I’m a tax payer too. Aside from VAT, I’m paying five figures of tax every month. Namulat na ko sa ganong environment and told myself that I will get out from this with my family someday. I did not choose to live in a slum. ‘Di mataas ang natapos ng magulang ko. Pero nakita ko how they strive so they can provide a better life for us. And it inspires me to do well in life and dreamed of having a life away from slum. Pero ang nakakalungkot, ‘di lahat may ganong thinking sa squatter’s area. Parang ayaw nila umahon sa hirap.
Masakit para sakin yung mga nababasa ko. Masakit para sa amin na nagsisikap na makaalis sa squatter. Madali lahat sabihin dahil wala kayo sa sitwasyon. Maybe truth hurts and I’m guilty sa lahat ng mga sinasabi nyo.
But I do hope ma-solve na ng govt ang root cause ng squatting ang POVERTY. As long as poverty exist, squatting will also still exiist.
BTW, I’m moving in a new house soon. Hopefully, matapos ang construction by end of Q3 this year. PS it’s not a govt housing project.
Good for you Lurk.
Just believe in yourself that you can do it. Work hard enough, you will eventually get to where you want to go. 🙂
I came from the squatters’ area too.
Fairy-tales sometimes do come true in real life. Keep on fighting and never give up. Good luck with your future. 😀
may GOD provide you of your needs in order for your family to leave that place….however you can start educating them if you want to…
We have no qualms about you living in a slum area. I am proud of you that you strive to work and managed to lift yourself and your family out of poverty.
But as a taxpayer, are you happy that your hard earned taxes go to people who did nothing to deserve them, and have the gall to act so arrogantly? I myself do not have the problem with them being in a slum area, but if the gov’t is providing them with relocation housing, they should take it gratefully.
Good work Lurk! My parents were piss poor too when they were children. I used to live in a rented place not faraway from the slums – and even I used to have classmates and friend who used to live and still lives squatting. I know how it feels like. My parents worked really hard to own a house (we now own three, and one is now under my name). They have literally shed blood, sweat and tears to get to where they are. They are now retired and living comfortably back in the province. Bottom line is, poverty is not a state of mind, a circumstance or a destiny. It is a choice. If you choose to be poor, you will never ever be rich.
God bless you Lurk. Your experience is proof that there is a way out of the slums and yours is not the only one. It is the sense of entitlement, the arrogance and the dependence on politicians with selfish agenda that keep squatters literally mired in filth in squalor, not to mention the squalor of the mind. God will take of you because you’ve been helping yourself, and even paying taxes. 🙂
🙂 Correction: God will take care of you…
Squatter people need to do us all a favor by complying with our law and other standards. Whenever I pass by them (the one near our house), they would just occupy a large portion of the street without any official permission just so they can play their basketball game and sometimes setting up funeral wakes EVERY SINGLE DAY. It’s very irritating and very pathetic to see them as that.
I also blame the media for letting these filthy squatters trying to milk out of every self-sustaining Filipinos and every foreigners and just so they could use it for wasting their time apart from using them for their commodity. If we notice our collection of local TV shows and films, what will you see? Majority of shows about being poor and living in a squatter life as well as giving negative perception about Filipinos being rich and being well-educated. The Filipino media are still dumbing down the masses for indoctrinating them with their shows and treating self-sustaining Filipinos like us as all “sosyalin” and “arrogant” and it is SOSAD to see these squatters are as close-minded as a TALANGKA. They need to grow up and catch up for this decade because they are just a waste of oxygen.
It’s really time to get rid of the squatter problem in Metro Manila. They really are doing a lot of harm to the economy, environment, psyche, and morale of everybody else.
Get rid of them now !
but I think there are flaws in the housing scheme of the government for the squatters, why not they copy the hongkong style of housing instead of occupying big chunk of agricultural lands the government should built a tenement type of housing project to save space…
ang isang tanong ko sa sa mga squatters
“TAMA BA ANG GINAGAWA NYO?”
does it contribute to the community?
are both sides happy?
is it for the betterment of the community
OO CGE TAO DIN SILA
BUT WE HAVE JSUT AS MUCH EQUAL RIGHTS AS THEM. WE PAY AND DO OUR BEST TO MAKE MONEY.
THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT WHAT THEY DO IS WRONG..
YOU NEED A HOUSE? GET A JOB ! CANT GET A JOB? DO YOUR BEST TO GET ONE. KAHIT ANO PA YAN BASTA MAGAWA MO. IM ACTUALLY KINDA IRRITATED BECAUSE IT RUINES THE IMAGE AND BEAUTY OF THE PHILIPPINES.
-PAG AYAW MADAMIGN DAHILAN PAG GUSTO MAY PARAAN. 😐
wow! nakitira na nga lang mga arogante pa. sana maubos na ganyan sa pinas. para umasenso naman tayo ng konte, kung di konte, mas maganda umasenso naman ng malaki? X_x
mas mabuti pa sila free. kami naka rent to own lang nga. at may tsansa pang hindi maging amin pag hindi na maka bayad.. lord wag naman sana.. hehe!
HOY MGA AKTIBISTANG WALANG MAGAWA AT NAGHAHANAP NG ISYU! HOY MEDIA! HOY MGA HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP NA BIAS! – TUMIGIL NA KAYO! DAHIL PINILIT NIYO MAGMUKHANG KAWAWA ANG MGA SQUATTER, NAGING ABUSADO SILA AT ARROGANTE! Tangna niyo! Lubog na sa sikip, krimen, basura at dumi ang Maynila dahil ginawa niyong santo ang mga tangang squatter! Bwiset kayo! Kayo ang mga SALOT ng lipunan!
The comment above and almost all the comments here should show how much this country has had enough of this problem. If only all of us would rally in the streets and brave any sort of bullying from these squatters then maybe the media and the government will listen.
Mabuhay ka Bianca Gonzales. Ang tapang mo.
though we have our own house and lot somewhere in the rizal area, tumira pa din ako, with my fam, sa isang squatters area for 14 years (kasi malapit sa school and eventually sa work) so meron akong first hand experience sa kung anong klaseng buhay ang meron sa ganung lugar. i admit, may mga squatters talaga na mahirap pakiusapan or pakisamahan. ‘pag kinausap mo ng maayos regarding sa cleanliness or pag-minimize ng noise kasi nakaka-istorbo, ang isasagot sa ‘yo, “eh di ‘wag ka dito tumira. dun ka sa subdivision.” parang, nakatatak na sa isip nila na ‘pag squatters ka, exempted ka na sa disiplina…
pero di din naman lahat ng squatters eh mga walang modo. meron pa din talaga na nagta-try mag-live ng decent life and working doubly hard para matupad yung pangarap na magkaroon din ng sariling bahay at lupa sa iba nang lugar. masyado lang siguro talagang di enough yung kinikita kaya it’s taking them longer to find a decent home at di na mag-squat. kaya i don’t think generalizing them or demonizing them is fair. and i also don’t think na best solution na ang pag-demolish sa house nila para mapaalis sila. our government should talk to these people and give them options. di pambe-baby ang tawag dun. ta-tratuhin mo lang sila ng maayos bilang mga tao pa din at kapwa Pilipino…
may mga horror stories kasi na tipong ipapatapon sila somewhere in bulacan eh nasa manila ang mga trabaho nila so gagastos sila ng malaki sa pamasahe tapos ang sahod naman nila eh maliit lang; or ipapatapon anywhere na wala namang sustainable livelihood na pwedeng pagkakitaan. may mga palayan nga in the area pero kung di iyo ang lupain, anong mapapala mo dun? so kahirapan pa din…
pero may mga stories din naman na tipong nabigyan na ng house pero binenta lang din and bumalik sa pag-squat kahit may kabuhayan naman dun sa pinaglipatang lugar na pwedeng pagkakitaan. ‘pag ganun ang siste, dun na dapat gumamit ng bakal na kamay ang government natin and arrest those people…
oo, gustong-gusto ko din ng maayos na kapaligiran and clog-free waterways so sana, ang government natin, sana plantsado ang plans na kung saan, lahat eh mag-benefit – mahirap man or mayaman…
They should be thankful enough that they get free housing and compensation just to stop squatting in the metro. Hindi natin kasalanan na mahirap sila, and just using that same fucked up reason over and over feeds their ego, na porke mahirap sila ay dapat na silang alagaan. Tama na ung mabigyan sila ng karampatang tulong para makabwelo, pero ung gawin na ang halos lahat para sa kanila ay abuso na. And dapat, may kusa rin from them to change for the good. Ang nakakatawa isipin e kung sino pang naghihirap, e siya pang anak ng anak. Dun nalang, makikita mo na how they take things for granted. Alam kasi nila na they can always blame or point the government for all their sufferings, when in fact they are the one to blame. They don’t take a bit of responsibility sa lahat ng pagkakamali nila.
“the Philippines will not reach its full potential as a business hub that finds favor in the eyes of foreign investors.”
And frankly we don’t give a damn!
We care more about the plight of these human beings than pleasing foreign overlords. So you could pack your bags and leave the country if you don’t like that because we don’t share your illusions of being a “business hub” (i.e. SouthEast Asian dog of your global patrons). We have enough local problems to even prostitute our country for the pleasure and taste of your so called “global investors.” If you desire that, do it on your own because the rest of the country, if not the majority, have no plans of joining the bandwagon.
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“need to move out of wherever they have been squatting for years or even decades because they simply do not belong there”
Oh really now! And where should they move to? Are you sending them as refugees to another country? Perhaps to a country where you have been a TNT before? I mean, to a country where you have been a lowlife second-rate citizen underpaid for the slavery and development of another? Is that what you are proposing they should do? Should we train them how to clean foreign poopoo-smacked “gluteus maximuses” or become slaves in the Middle-East just so they better their conditions? Do you think that is really what Filipinos are for?
They may be arrogant, but I respect that over the false humility of those who oppress their plight, subtly made holier and sanctified by those who have been profiteering most out of society’s poverty. I’m sorry but the greatest bullcrappers are in the helms of power. These poor people have lost everything, including their places in the system not because you think they are lazy but because the system does not allow them any other choice. What am I supposed to expect from them? Their arrogance is natural since they’ve been pushed to the wall without any more choices left while some of us couldn’t care less.
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“Some squatters can also be quite arrogant, defiant and selfish when law enforcement agencies finally clamp down on their illegal activities.”
You mean the police only exist to protect the interests of the rich and businesses? And these people are just moochers that we should all summarily execute?
“One wonders why the news crew tends to focus only on their plight and not the story behind why they were allowed to stay there for so long.”
You mean, why do we have idle lands reserved for the rich, when clearly lands are scarce relative to the number of people inside the country and relative to their shelter and agricultural needs. It’s rather “indecent” if not downright illogical that we have abandoned properties when there are people who are homeless or landless. Isn’t that a far bigger question to ask? Should we prioritize your profit-model or should we prioritize basic needs of individual humans and the entire society?
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“some of the members of the upper and middle class who are fed up with the troubles they are causing”
And pray tell, how many are these so-called upper and middle and contrast the same with the population size of the Philippines? Don’t drop factoids like that without verifiable figures because it’s shamefully uncredible.
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“While Puno’s sentiments seem noble, Filipino taxpayers simply cannot afford to fund the growing number of Filipinos living below the poverty line.”
Says who? Says you? Give me the logic, science and rationale why we can’t afford it? Are we running out of local cement, timber and materials? Aha! We’re not…but you desire to reserve those resources instead for your foreign overloads…you treacherous wretch! Study macro-economics first before you drop lines like that so you don’t appear laughable in the end.
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“She is getting a lot of kudos for her unwavering stand against the lack of fairness in how the issue is being handled.”
No she’s not. You can continue dreaming about it. She only alienated herself from most people. Bad publicity stunt. We don’t go for that kind of people. Look around you, 8 out of 10 people have in one way or another been to the slums or have grown-up in one. They certainly know how it is to be in one. And they certainly wouldn’t patronize people who don’t share their plight. Some of these people even turned-out to be mayors and congressmen today.
Your so-called rich in the Philippines do not account for more than 2 to 5 percent, maybe even less. They just happen to occupy the most powerful positions making it appear that their voices are loud and agreed-upon by everyone. On the contrary, these people are puny little creatures relative to the size of the poor majority.
I almost thought this site is about GETTING REAL. It turns out, it is as fake as the rest.
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“Philippine politicians need to quit being overprotective of people who abuse the system just to get the votes in the next election.”
But in a country where there are so many people deprived of basic needs like shelter and food, don’t you think your property laws on the same is more abusive and even unconstitutional? Have you even asked yourself that? Or maybe you should take some effort to even read the Philippine Constitution instead of outdated fashion magazines.
Piece of advice, aviator glasses over oriental dress is so materialistically crass; it conjures images of cheap poorly-constructed Chinese products patterned after Western advertising. It is an unholy alliance of fashion styles.
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“But as a taxpayer, are you happy that your hard earned taxes go to people who did nothing to deserve them.”
At Adrian Pacific Ong, we’ve heard that argument before. Please do your research on how the country’s budget and economy works. We don’t rely on your pitiful tax contributions, Mr. Ong. That’s one thing you must understand about the Philippines. So please stop saying that because it’s not only wrong but it reeks of ignorance of the Philippine system, which is repeated by so many parrots in the country who have no background about these things. And when you read things like that, it’s totally irritating that merits outright correction. Flawed understanding can lead to utterly false conclusions.
@Setting It Straight: Do you know what is the meaning of SQUATTER? You seem to praise the squatters and presented ideas that doesn’t solve the problem at all, leading to nothing. Stop yelling and boosting their ego. The decent people are fed up on squatter issue, and this problem is getting worst! Don’t be too selfish focusing yourself on “their rights” because in the first place they are squatter.
Lol! Just because there are “idle lands” does not entitle the landless to get a piece of all that. There is a reason people with capital (whether this be land or money) keep these close to their chests rather than invested in stuff that create those ‘jobs’ the underclass salivate over… it is because this is a country run by officers elected by people who have a squatters mentality. Simple, isn’t it? 😀
And as to being crass, well, anyone who would devote a bit of space to making catty fashionista remarks on the basis of a 75x75px avatar can’t really be considered one of the classiest of folks. Probably not one of the brighter bulbs in the room either.
@Setting It Straight
People should stop making babies they can’t afford to feed. They can’t rely on otherd to feed, clothe and educate them.
You are averse to foreign investors and equate it to “prostituting ourselves” but don’t even realise that Filipinos in the slums are already are in the prostitution business. How many children born in the squatter areas do you think are being raped by their own relatives or being pimped by their own parents? Countless. It’s certainly better to provide jobs with the help of foreign investors for these people.
Some of your arguments are lame, it’s not even worth responding to. The fact that you criticise my choice of attire already tells me that you are just scraping the bottom of the barrel.
I feel and agree with many statements here against the squatters, but i could literally say the same thing for the educated.
I study one of the universities that people regard as one of the top , but i see the exact same problem with these collegiate level students and squatters. You could witness a lot of them who would have no sense of awareness with traffic rule abidance, waste disposal, cigarette butts, etc. and these are college students?? simple things like these would be things you’d assume would be elementary to those who are educated, but obviously, it’s not the case.
I’m not protecting the squatters wholeheartedly, but a lot of us should really evaluate first our own ways of life before we start pointing fingers.
I agree with you on this one. Even those in the working class don’t abide by the rules. These people have earned their degrees and yet they don’t act properly. I take the MRT going to and from work and I can see some who don’t even know how to fall in line while waiting for their turn to ride the train, and give way for those alighting the train. Let’s drop the ‘me first’ attitude and be considerate of the general public’s welfare. Maybe if everyone start to act accordingly and discipline themselves, then we will progress as a nation. This goes to all especially the educated people who surely can understand what’s right from wrong. We expect the squatters to act and behave properly when some of the educated act and behave even worse than them at times… I’m not taking the side of the squatters because it’s just not right, but even those who want them ejected have a lot to correct with themselves.
Can we ever get rid of the “squatters” in Metro Manila?
My answer is no. Metro Manila has become a hub for the petty bourgeois. There are all these establishments–malls, restaurants, shops, services all for their comfort and use. Let’s think about it? Who is poor enough to take on contractual/menial jobs for perhaps lower or just about the minimum wage? And since they’re earning so little and their home in the province is far away, where are they gonna live?
This article and some comments here talk about Metro Manila being a business hub or a good investment, but who would hold this to be true? Surely it wouldn’t be the middle class, it has to be the lower class who can maintain all maintenance of whatever you envision as development is–because they work cheap! The very structures we build to look developed is born with an oppressed labor force–whom we drive to the edge. They see the jobs, they go for survival.
I firmly believe that unless employees of such nature are not paid well and we continue this culture of a middle class walk-in-the-park, the informal settlers will never leave.
Last note,
Justice does not equate to equal treatment. Justice takes into account the context of the situation and justly gives and punishes.
@Freya. There are a lot of poor people in the Philippines but does not mean they are squatter. We are talking about squatter and their growing numbers are inevitable. Crimes really plays a lot in the city and it swallowing the progress into doom. The decent people are those people who live a lawful life – following the rules.
I agree, I made a general statement. But this poverty ultimately ends in squatting. Why do these people squat?
I don’t believe they squat because they know the government will give them money and a house. What kind of parent would want their child to live in a box?
The reason these people squat is so that they can be near jobs they can use to feed themselves. A parent would rather live in a box to feed their child, than see him die of hunger. Moreover squatting happens because all the jobs are centralized in the Metropolis–because those who can spend and pay for services are here. The Philippines has really poor provincial development, which I think will solve the problem of squatting in Metro Manila when the informal settlers see hope in the province.
sayang ang boto :))
Agree. For us middle income earners hirap magpundar ng bahay, housing loan ammortizations in urban areas are so expensive and you have to pay for the debt for a very long period of time. Then sila can choose an urban area without any rent, then pag pinaalis sila they can demand for a house tapos aangal pag malayo. For middle income earners if you do not have enough money to pay for houses in the urban area, then ang choice na lang is to buy a house in a province near NCR or rent na lang.
Pero I still believe that the conditional cash transfer program can be a TEMPORARY solution to alleviate poverty in the Philippines. Kasi may mga NCR inhabitants naman talaga na sobrang hirap. Of course I think the government has been doing its job in evaluating who are qualified for the program.
I just hope that the local government units would be able to address the problem more effectively.
CCT is nowhere near a solution…
Can you say giving alms to the beggars be a solution?
Discipline, strict as it may, should be, the stupidity of the people voting for incompetent officials will always be the root of it all.
A friend of mine once told me, to address poverty and hunger,
Feed the poor to the hungry.
Each and everyone of those squatters have not even a bit of use in the society, they’re menaces, and they give a bad taste on mouths of those working every hour just to make a decent living.
Not all squatters are useless in society. It’s safe to say that some (or perhaps a bulk) of the laundry(wo)men, drivers, carpenters, maids, etc. are squatters.
That doesn’t justify their being “squatters”.
Better separate the poor from the “filthy poor” like separating the old money from nouveau riche and “filthy rich”. Marami kasing mga “maykaya” at “nagtratrabahong mga mahihirap” (at nagbabayad ng tax) na umuuwi sa mga squatters area kasi di maka-afford ng housing loans. Wala naman kasing proyektong low cost high rise apartment buildings katulad ng sa Singapore ang mga LGUs ng NCR kaya di ma-separate yung mga totoong illegal squatters sa mga low income earners..
One of the reasons if not the major one why the government cannot fully eradicate these squatters is because they control their situation. they make sure they stay poor so that when the next election comes they can make use of these squatters.. you all know the story.
imagine if only the taxpayers are allowed to vote. I think this will solve many economic problems
I think this is very well the case. The misinformed, uneducated, and illogical people, are mostly made up by these illegal settlers. The very same people who would want to vote for someone our country ousted almost 10 years ago as president.
I think no matter how much we struggle, so long as the government is in control of the situation, these illegal settlers are going to stay here for longer than we expect.
What people don’t seem to realize is that by taking the side of the squatters, they are basically saying that my hard-earned taxes should go to feeding these people – a lot of whom sit around on their asses waiting for handouts all day instead of taking initiative to look for honest work.
Bs your bullshit they have a lease on the hacienda luisita stop jacking off on your computer and do some research before you look more stupid… I agree with you on squatters but accussing someone wrongly is the real bullshit… so do you think they gathered these lands by squatting on them too? Your comparison is delusional…
You should be more respectful of our President. Right or wrong, he is still our President, and the leader of the country for the next three years. Be rational, and not personal in your statements. Are you a Filipino or just a Chinese mole living in our country. I hope you are paying your taxes right like we do.
Cmdr Bond, ochie was actually siding with the president. he was saying that the aquinos did not squat on the land, as they had a lease on it. you both are on the same side.
i’m chinese too, so i just found what you said not just stupid but racist as well.
the chinese are the root of all corruption.
007 has license to kill.
operation yellow peril
Not to mention that the Aquinos are half-Chinese. 😛
@ochie ng: The Aquinos having a lease of Hacienda Luisita is a sham. They ACTUALLY owned it in the first place.
Yellow Zombies are delusional. 😀
Watching too much BS propaganda by your precious president and his media propagandist eh? Sarap maging uto-uto ano?
I blogged about this last time..
same issue same scenario..
Educate the young ones, relocate the old and disabled. Provide them useful jobs that will help clean up and and beautify the problem areas and give them the option if they work for the government to help get rid and clean the squatters area, they can be eligible for small wage and housing to relocate.
If a family member within one person becoming a govt helper has a small child or an elderly or disable they should be in a waiting list for a housing development so long as they keep their child to be educated and the abled person to continue govt help service for 6-10 years.
If a squatter resident declined to help get rid of their so called home and or have criminal records and or have issues with drugs. They should be evicted with no questions. they need to learn what hard work is and to get them to reside in a legal housing program they need to work hard for this. Nothing comes free in this life without doing something. If there is an innocent family member child or elderly or disabled involved they can apply for education program and apply for housing as well.
there is alot of programs that you can start with government help to start cleaning up the squatters area.
I believe that if you dont belong to a proper residential area and reside in a squatter your vote should count. these people do not pay taxes and once they start doing so and helping themselves without freeloading then they can start having a say and vote. its not only good for them but also good for the environment and the country’s socio economics and get more investors interest coming in to the country.
I want to share my ideas and change my home country for the best.. but who would really listen? :S
http://soleilssocio.blogspot.com.au/
the problem is, these squatters are too LAZY to find jobs and have very short-sightedness in life, when their children don’t want to go to school, they make them stop, and justify it as “pag ang bata ayaw mag-aral bakit pipilitin?? eh di hinto sya muna hanggang gusto nya na”, i’m not saying this from a point of view of a middle class individual who looks down on those lower than me, –NO, i’ve had first hand experience staying at a squatters area where a few distant relatives live when a relative passed away and we had to visit for a couple of days(it was in another city, though every night we stayed at a hotel), and from what i saw, they jumped from one job to another, they would drop any job whenever a new small one-time job springs up that brings a few cash quicker, and whenever a few money is made, it seems to disappear just as quickly, instead of investing it on something more useful, they go on a small shopping spree, delicious dinners and a few all-nighter of mahjong and pusoy and it’s all gone again, i just can’t comprehend how they treat money as something so DISPOSABLE(every cash i make sa suweldo(i’m a fresh college graduate so i have a starting job) on payday i set aside a few for necessities, a small amount for my hobby, and a nice family dinner on payday and the rest is saved)
on the few nights of our relative’s wake, there was a traveling gambling den(which travels from wake to wake for legal purposes) put up outside my relatives’ house, my relatives managed to come up with more than 50k on the “tong” alone . . but after just 2 months, they called my father because they wanted to borrow money for the baptism of a child one of my uncle adopted —yes, they adopted another child, another additional expense on money they never have to begin with . . . .
and they have the nerve to complain to the government or point out at normal taxpayers for stealing their money or something, i just don’t get how these people justify things
http://getrealphilippines.com/2013/07/bianca-gonzalezs-tweet-reveals-the-pinoy-middle-class-as-the-thin-filling-inside-an-entitlement-sandwich/
No one is babysitting them. It’ll be impossible for all of you to know that because you never knew how it felt to live like that.
In my early years, my family lived in a rented room in Paranaque. It wasn’t even a good enough room to shelter us from raging storms back then. It was, however, what my dad can afford to provide us with. We even lived of the usual tuyo. No “corned beef” except for really good days.
My dad worked his ass off, and he’s still working up to now. Now, we live in a modest house, with air-conditioned rooms and a home theater with a 3DTV. He worked in private companies, btw. He’s not in any way involved in any government activities.
My point: It’s more probable that you won’t ever understand our point. We work for our lives to get better, not just sit around all day expecting other people to provide for us.
Stop playing the victim card you idiot. Those abusive squatters were already given a lot of incentives for years but they remain being parasitic freeloaders.
I think both sides has as point, the problem is we don’t meet half way and find ways to have a win win solutions! On my opinion i think it is more important to understand why this thing happen in order not to suffer the same situation again, let us look deeper why they choose to be squatter what push them and why and how? If genuinely understand this problem this can be eliminated before it happen again, second find a solution a lasting solution not temporal solution the problem is already there we cant settle our selves to quarrel with each other because it happen , rather look for the answer that will not abuse the law and also those squatters, if we favor on squatters we became selfish same way if we just ask for fairness on the law we became selfish too, remember in every law there is an exemptions, …
Just few highlight from the remarks that i read some says its their choice to be squatter and be poor i cant argue to that i affirm that to be true all human actions is a personal choices regardless of circumstances! but again we never know what pushes them to be such and we never allow our selves to be numb and let them punish on a mistake of their choice but rather i believe we need to extend the word second chance love understanding patience the movie i watched says if we stop to fight for the human then we start to stop to become human!
“Enforcing the law equally ”
In every action there is a consequences, when people put their selves on a situation to be a squatter they are bound to suffer the implementation of the law in order to protect others rights etc. but if the government dint act when they saw that there are violations of the law and let them stay there for a while the government is bound to suffer same consequences , in the first place they allowed them to stay for along time they cant just get wipe them out!
Business hub? Over the people ? I think we already knew the answer for that.
I believed we can live peacefully orderly etc., but we need the all organizations to act on duties they are appointed to do and stop pointing finger but rather we need to coordinate our effort to solve the problem, government non goverment religious group and others., being poor is not a joke situation don’t make more harder for them, being abuse is not also joke situation, for those who is pro on squatting and arrogant should be punished for they drag the name of the poor to the weakedness and pisses all those who are law abiding citizen.
Just saying!
I’ve read an article about Bianca’s comment about these informal settlers and I’m surprised on how many stupid people got upset with what she said when in fact it’s true. these squatter areas are the birth place of criminals I’m not saying everyone of them are. most of them tend to have more offspring than they can feed. since most of them wont have a chance for a good education they will soon grow up to be criminals. again these doesn’t apply to all but the probability is huge.
I was wondering where these words go: “Fish for a man and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and feed him for a life time”?
I think it’s about time that we look at the real reason why our country is unable to progress. It’s not because we lack resources. It’s because our resources goes to places where it shouldn’t be.
it’s been said that most progressive countries had to go through a stage of civil turmoil or worse civil war before the nation is united into one common goal. civil wars are either ideologically or geographically motivated. i often wondered what would trigger such in the philippines and everytime i read the papers or socio-political-economic commentaries, i always arrive at the same conclusion. a civil war in this country will be between classes, the non-taxpaying, dole-out-dependent class, and the tax-paying, fed-up, thinking class. i’m almost convinced that it must happen, but i hope not anytime soon.
There is a moral hazard when we give people what they want…they tend to abuse it. It is better to give EVERYONE the opportunity to get what they want instead of handing it to them directly.
MATAKOT KAYO SA DIYOS! PUPUNTA KAYO IMPYERNO PAG DI NYO SILA BIGYAN NG FREE HOUSING AT FREE FOOD!
@abcd abcdef: Please don’t use the name of your God. This is society issue and religion should never be use in here. BE A GOOD PARENT. BE RESPONSIBLE AND PLEASE GIVE YOUR CHILDREN A GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE, FOR AT THE END THEY WILL LIFT THE SOCIETY UP!
God Himself is so annoyed at you right now katoliban especially when using His name for your self-righteous abuse.
abcd was being sarcastic.
if you can’t detect it, you’re not smart enough. deal with it.
isip-isip din pag may time.
I think he’s being sarcastic here 🙂
We shouldn’t be giving them anything for free! Let them work for it! Bigyan sila ng trabaho – maglinis ng mga ilog, yung mga kalbong bundok -pataniman! Sus! Maraming pwedeng ipagawa sa kanila!We’re working our assess of to get paid. Let them work as well – they’ll be happier instead of giving them dole-outs! Hayyy ang mga taong gobyerno involved dito- maging malikhain naman kayo!!!
These fcking freeloaders living off in some taxpayer’s property needs to be removed!
squatters should only be removed if people like the ayalas and other barons return their stolen lands. not until then. you cannot prosecute the poor while ignoring the rich criminals.
As long there’s a lot of crooked gov’t officials around, the problem of squatter and squatting will never be addressed. Its like a symbiotic relationship of some sort, both need each other to survive! You wanna get rid of squatters then get rid of those crooked government officials! Get rid of CORRUPTION FOR SHORT!
To be fair, everyone in the world are corrupt even us. We cannot eradicate it. We should just minimize it.
A twist on your article.
A lot of decent Filipinos are getting fed up with the arrogance of those in power
“Politicians, land lords, multinational corporations, including largescale mining companies in the Philippines have wreaked havoc in the country and they are out of control. The problem is quite obvious and the solution is staring everyone in the face; there are just not enough ordinary people with enough heart and courage to address the issue.
But someone has to put an end to the vicious cycles of impunity, poverty and inequality, particularly in Metro Manila where most poor Filipinos from the provinces seem to converge…
One video shows the police destroying people’s homes and wreaking havoc on other people’s lands to make way for another mall, mine, or real-estate interest and demanding to know when and if they can get rid of the people who resist their plans. Some even threatened to file lawsuits against them.
They appear on the media or business papers, where their side of the news plays right into their view of the world, and they appear to be enjoying their 24/7 fame in front of the cameras relating their tales of hard work and free enterprise and how they think the economy should work. One wonders why the news crews tend to focus only on their success and not the story behind why they were allowed to stay in power for so long in the first place.
There is a lot to be said about structural violence, political impunity, an economy that serves the interests of a few and co-opted democratic institutions.
The social crisis in the Philippines has been made complicated by misguided Filipinos who think that the poor are to blame for their poverty (4), and that the poor are dependent on the state to provide housing, education and healthcare for them.
Not only is this notion untrue, it is an unfair burden on taxpayers who pay not for housing, education or healthcare for our people– but on lucrative government kickbacks for powerful multinationals, private armies for the nation’s dozens of political dynasties, and other forms of petty corruption.
Retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno recently said that “Filipinos must be able to demand from their government their right to housing, education and health, or these socioeconomic rights would remain mere words on paper.” (5) Puno’s sentiments are noble, and there is in reality more than enough wealth in this country to lift millions of people out of poverty, should we choose to.
Many of the poor, despite living in tiny quarters no bigger than a box, have no qualms about working ten or more hours a day on slave wages just to feed their families. Perhaps they have been led to believe that they deserve nothing more and that their lives are worth less than those at the top simply because they have less in their wallets…
Speaking of babies for that matter, some people who have more than enough to feed themselves and buy the world five times over shouldn’t demand more wealth from the maternal state and ordinary citizens like us.
The reaction of the members of all oppressed classes is long overdue. We need to step up and challenge what the government is doing, which is simply coddling the elite. Philippine politicians need to quit being overprotective of people who abuse the system just to reap still more profits in the next election.
This abusive behavior from both the public officials who buy off votes using tax payer’s money and the rich who take advantage of the situation must end if we are to have any hope of ensuring a decent future for all of our children.”
https://www.facebook.com/notes/cj-chanco/a-lot-of-decent-filipinos-are-getting-fed-up-with-the-arrogance-of-those-in-powe/10151690295589720
@CJ
Using my article to express your anti-corporation sentiments is a bit trying hard. Next time use your own words to come up with an original article because what you did is tantamount to plagiarism. Your friends might think you came up with a brilliant article if they do not bother to read my article.
Your beef against corporations should be a separate issue from the squatter problem in the Philippines. You seem to be denying that most people from the slums are not depending on the government to provide for their housing, education and healthcare for them. You didn’t even comment on the issues raised in my article like how slum residents throw their garbage indiscriminately onto waterways resulting in water pollution and clogged drains. You didn’t even comment on the fact that a lot of these people have more babies they can’t afford to feed and pimp them to the highest bidder. Is that supposed to be the fault of taxpayers too?
CJ,
You study in one of the most expensive Unis in the country. We would like to know how your parents can pay for this? Are they working in or working for the corporations you demonize?
Corporations and the big bad rich may have their down side but they do pay their fair legally mandated share of taxes and largely law abiding.
They may not play by your definition of fair play but they largely do follow the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.
What we want the poor to be just law abiding like everyone else. Just dont infringe on the legally mandated rights of others rather than some romanticized idea of utopia.
Going back to your Uni, why not stop attending and donate your tuition to squatters who need it more than you?
Tough, aint it? 🙂
What is this Reynato Puno smokin’ man? Where does he think the government would get the funding for his “demand”. Who would foot up the bill, I’d like to hear? Yeah, I’d like my own free housing too! Samahan mo na rin ng kotse. Free for all indeed!
Slow clap for Joey Lina!
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2479&dat=20020423&id=4Vg1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=iyUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2611,10643096
Thanks for the link!
sa panahon ngayon, malayo na sa katotohanan ang maging ‘santo’, bakit ko naman ipamimigay ang pinagkakakitaan ko sa ‘abuloy’? obligado ka rin sa tax at dapat naman para sa tax payer din ang gastos – hindi sa para kanilang mga squatter.
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-si LGU na nakaupo ay nanalo dahil sa dami ng squatter na na-uto, entonses di nila gagalawin yan
solusyon: mag sama-sama ang mga nagbabayad ng buwis sa kani-kanilang lokasyon at pwersahan magpa-alis, YAN Eh kung may lakas ng loob gumawa ng grupo at mag demand sa LGU. tax payer ka at dapat si LGU sumunod kasi ikaw ang nag papa sahod sa kanya, kung ayaw nya – MUTINY! nakapagpapa alis nga ng presidente, LGU pa kaya sos! i-broadcast lang nang maayos sa publiko para d mapatay ung mag-dadala ng grupo, ma o obyus kasi na si LGU ang may gawa.
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-iyong mga mapag samantala sa cheap labor kaya naakit sila pumunta sa syudad at tumira sa kung saan na lang, entoses dumadami ang populasyon ng squatter
solusyon: pinaka simple ay WORK PERMIT (parang VISA lang). bawal na pumasok ng syudad kung wala ka nito, ang requirement address ng kamag-anak na HOST or bunk house na provided ng employer na silang mananagot kapag may expired na pagala-gala sa syudad. malalim pa ito partikular sa requirement at hahaba lang ang post, pero yan na ang pinaka simpleng explanation.
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-dumadami sila
solusyon: VASECTOMY AT LIGATION, no further explanation needed, common sense – ubos lahi nila at sigurado wala nang squatter.
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sa mga nabanggit sa itaas, ewan ko lang kung hindi ka matakot mag squat sa syudad. dyan na magkakaroon ng focus sa EDUCATION or else ubos ang lahi mo.
=================================
malaking gulo ito, at sigurado sila pa ang may gana magwala, matatakot ka ba at hahayaan na lang sila o papuputukan mo?
kaya mo ba?
kung minsan, karahasan ay kailangan mo gawin para sa ikabubuti – na kanilang rin naman ginagamit para sa kanilang kapakanan.
=================================
at sigurado sasakay pa simbahan dito at ung mga ‘pro-poor’ at ‘pro-human rights’ kuno. ganito na lang kaya, doon kayo sa isang isla mag-sama sama. madamot ako at hindi ako santo, sa kapwa ko lang tax-payer i share ang gastos na galing din naman sa tax na ibinabayad namin.
I guess it’s time for cleansing, time to eradicate this kind of people, the government doesn’t owe them anything, If only people would value their self and love-one, and take the responsibility to give better life for their children, if only they can learn self-pride, of independence, if only they can put in their minds that there’s no one here to help them but their-selves, that kind of mind-set would improve their lives, else. lets kill them all no other solution.
This site is as fake as the rest. So much for “getting real!”
I bet this is a propaganda arm of some interest group or politician.
If you can’t handle the truth, rebutt it properly and don’t delete it because it only betrays how fake this site is.
Ha ha! Argument of last resort… 😛
Pics or it didn’t happen!
LOL 😀
Running out of ammunition to attack us eh? Tits or fill my glass with your tasty tears of emo asshurt.
Really now? Resorting to another pointless whinning eh?
Seriously, you guys are already laughing stocks here.
Go play the victim card somewhere else okay?
hala pinaiyak nyo si setting it straight
@Setting it Straight
Don’t be lazy. Keep looking for your comment until you find it before you accuse us of deleting it.
Now you’re just TROLLING. 😀
Setting It Straight, you inconceivable moron! You just proved our point.
You’re butt-hurt because you think someone took away your words; words that you typed using a keyboard that you bought, attached to a computer that you paid for, connected to an ISP that you subscribe to.
Now think about the landowners that get screwed by squatters. How would they feel if someone “deleted” their rights to live on the land they worked hard for?
By the way, your comment is on page 6 as of this moment. And if you’re as stupid as you sound, remember that it’ll get pushed back as more comments are posted.
Talk about a beaten down dog! Hindi na malaman ni Setting kung san siya susuot LOL
You can’t put all the blame on Pnoy.. All these informal settlers are the result of years of lenient law implementation. All these problems were just transferred on his shoulders as soon as he stepped into office.. And you expect him to fix it just like that? Instead, we should seeking out our local government officials who’s responsibilities are much more concentrated on certain areas.
But don’t get me wrong.. It’s about time that someone addressed this issue. Kudos
pnoy’s had 3 years already, but all he’s done is diddly squat.
Is 3 years enough to right every wrong that’s happened in the Philippines? I guess PNoy should’ve been able to address all issues by the 7th day of being in office; because that’s what gods do, and we’ve voted a god to be our Pres. right?
A lazy god to be sure. In three years, he hasn’t started anything worthwhile he promised. And insecure to boot.
It is not enough.pero depende sa iyo kung sinu ang iboboto mo na susunod na presidente….si binay iboto malamang dadami pa yang squatters…
He already had 3 years. 3 YEARS to get things right with our country but what he only did was enrich his KKK while the rest of our countrymen grow poorer each day. Do you seriously think that no one will notice this president’s inaction on reducing corruption,poverty and prices?
The people won’t be fooled much longer by this president’s propaganda.
I don’t blame Pnoy for not being able to successfully resolve this – drastic resolutions tend to backfire in the Philippines (I’d love to believe he’s at least trying to do something – no proof that he’s not doing anything at least)
Honest (solid) answer here is for the thinking class to shove them out – even if it means taking it by force. It sucks I know but sometimes, the only way to fight fire – is really fire.
you think if the current administration wasn’t doing anything, this issue wouldn’t have gotten attention?
to think that this problem has been evident in the past, it is actually a breath of fresh air that this issue is now being looked at…
How can the middle class contribute to the solution PROACTIVELY? I’m tired of complaining. Complaint alone gets us nowhere. Also, I’ve grown tired relying on the government. Though I still believe that the government can do something, if there’s anything we can do aside from complain then I’m going to do that now.
unfortunately, the government doesn’t want to solve this problem because they’re using the squatters as their pawns during the election. These people are stupid enough to take a 500 peso bribe from these corrupt politicians..sigh
May gumawa na ng paraan dyan,tinawag pa nga syang berdugo e…tumakbo sa pwesto…at siyempe hindi nanalo…hulaan nyo kung bakit!
I am apalled by the fact that my hard earned money, which I painfully part with in the sorry duty of paying taxes, sustains the living of these good-for-nothing urchins and vermin of society.
They should be sent (no, shipped) back to the provinces where they came from, or if these were the kind who were born and who grew up in the slums, send them back to where they can trace their roots to originally.
If they refuse, make it a law for them to provide their services pro bono with activities that will contribute to the betterment of the city – think North Korean labor camps – for them to at least ‘earn’ their so-called illusory claim to a square inch or several of land that they hold no title to. Even with that, it still does not merit their illegal settling activity.
Harsh but, come on, don’t feed off my blood you low life uneducated parasite pests.
Also, the right to vote should be revoked from people like these who have no positive economic contribution to the growth of society.
What did you do to earn your place in society? Did you have to climb out of poverty? Do you believe it is your God-given right to enjoy the standard of living that you do? I’m sure you’re even happy to sit in church and proclaim yourself a Christian when these are your true feelings. Just because someone was born into poverty does not mean that they deserve such a life. You take fore granted the life that you enjoy not realizing that it is much easier to climb to the top of a ladder when you are placed half way up rather than having to start at the very bottom. Your parents clothed you, fed you, sheltered you, and paid for your education. The real question is, what did you do to earn this privileged life and if you did not have the benefit of all those important ingredients, could you climb your way out of a life of squatting by yourself?
Oh puhlease! May rich people started out as very poor. They worked their way up by mere determination and perseverance. Working part time to fund their education. Don’t give me that excuse you lazy ass 🙂
Hi Darryl, it’s not Amadine’s fault if she is “living a life of privilege” because this was handed down to her by her family. Yes, it’s also not the fault of a squatter if he was already born as a squatter. But what was handed down to you is not as important as what you will do with what was given to you. Should you strive to have a better life or should you be contented with what you have? Yes, I understand your point that it’s a million times harder for those who started at the bottom to move up the ladder but it will NEVER be right to do something illegal to get what you want. I wasn’t born rich. I was, in fact, born in a family, which used to be constantly struggling financially. BUT my dad thought and showed to us that there are a MILLION LEGAL WAYS to solve our financial problems, and, therefore, we graduated and are now financially independent. Having said this, I KNOW that it’s so much harder for the poor to get what they want than those living in privilege. But this doesn’t give the poor the right to break the law.
Some of us are too engrossed with empathizing with criminals that we forget to empathize with the victims (and notice that I don’t just limit this to squatting but to all crimes so we can better understand that a crime is a crime no matter what). I, for one, bought a property, paid/pays its taxes and I would go nuts if I find someone else illegaly living on it. Why? Because the money that I paid is thru my hardwork and the reason that I worked hard is to have a better life. Let’s say that, unfortunately for me, some squatters just conveniently picked my property, lived there, refused to leave, and therefore, requires me to give them a property and living allowance. Will this be fair for me? If YOU are the property owner, will you just give up on the land and merrily give them to the squatters?
In addition to this, some squatters merely have a problem with their priorities. Instead of paying for a good education, a decent house, good/nutritious food for their family, they buy flat TVs, dvds, computers etc. etc. And these are not the “professional squatters”. These are the same people who whine to the government that the government does not provide for them. Needless to say, this was one of the reasons we survived. My dad made sure to prioritize our basic necessities and/or education rather than being updated with the latest gadgets. Instead of buying a betamax, for example, he gave us second-hand books to read…etc. etc.
My parents were born into slums but they made sure they had an education even when their parents (my Dad’s anyway) wanted them to work instead of study. My Dad finished and became a diplomat and my Mom taught in a private school. Don’t condemn us for the choices we made. WE OWE NOBODY! Most especially people who only care about making double digit babies with no means to support them!
This article should be in the independent unbiased newspapers. We taxpayers should only be paying taxes for projects that would benefit all, not just the poor. Put railways, mass rail transits, monorails in every major thoroughfare in the country, put trash bins in every street corner and cleanliness campaigns. Pay taxes to create more parks in the metropolis. Not to pay taxes to simply give these money to the professional squatters who receive doleouts from the government and get back to their old ways after renting or selling the place out.
Better yet, enact a law that those only who pay taxes can have their voting rights exercised, in that way politicians can not harvest votes from illegal squatters..
Amen to that!
yung relocation site dito sa may samin front lang para makapag corrupt ulit. urban poor ang tawag pero if titingnan mo ang mga bahay pwede na syang urban rich. mga 2 stories na concreto, meron pa ngang may swimming pool. hindi naman yung mga deserving families ang nakakuha, marami dun may ari is mga pulis, govt officials/employees. sila sila din ang bumili. Di na nakaabot sa mga “squatters”, sila na mismo nag bentahan sa murang presyo tapos ipapngalan sa indigenous nilang kamag anak or sa kanila mismo kasi nasuhulan yung mismong ng aaprove ng applicationf or free lot. YUng iba naman na namudmudan na kapos sa buhay, binenta pa din yung lupa sa mayaman so andun pa rin sila sa lupa namin ng ssquat, pinarerntahan namin ang lupa pero ayaw ng marami mg bayad kasi karamihan daw hindi naman ng babayad so bat sila mg babayad. Tapos pag pinapaalis namin makikipag kasuhan, minsan makikipag deal. hindi na daw lalaban sa kaso basta bigyan sila ng 15k (or mas mataas depende pa yan sa kapal ng mukha nila). MInsan pumapayag nalang tatay ko para less hassle, so kami pa nagagastusan. Na dyaryo pa dati tatay ko na kasali sa hindi nakakabayad ng tax sa lupa, eh kapos na din tatay ko kasi wala nmang nagbabayad sa renta ng lupa. May magbabayad kakarampot lang, eh yun yung main source of income ng tatay ko kasi retired na. taeng mga tao yan.
isa pa pala, karamihang nag ssquat sa lupa ng tatay ko ay pinarerentahan din ang bahay nila or nag papa room rent ng ilang doors. sila nag iincome sa bahay na naka tayo sa lupa namin pero sila ayaw mg bayad ng renta sa lupa. luging lugi yung tatay ko. ngayon sabihin nyo na deserving sila? ang kakapal ng mukha.
ganon din sa amin.. pinatirahan ng mga walang hiyang kandidato sa lupain ng lolo ko. ngayon kami ang me problema paalisin. Sila pa ang nagaaway sa amin. Nagpapaupa sila sa bahay nila na illegal naman nakatayo sa lupa na minana ng mga nanay ko. Dapat bigyan na ng solution ang squatting. Masyadong ginagamit ng mga kandidato etong mga squatters para manalo eh namimihasa pareho
As you’ve said, ” In life, things are not always what they seem.”
There are professional squatters and there are decent, hardworking informal settlers who have been working their butts off for so many years but are only earning minimum wages. So, dont generalize. With the high cost of living, how do you expect them to pay for rent and live in decent houses? We, tax payers should feel blessed that we have the money to pay for taxes. Whereas these people have barely enough to feed themselves.
The danger of making sweeping statements is that you encourage people to be biased towards certain groups. Not all poor people are uneducated and not decent. The same way that not all rich people are decent and “thinking”. Some rich people got their riches by taking advantage of the people that you want to call squatters.
Stupid ka ang plastic mo
The article did not say otherwise. Unfortunately, a lot of them don’t act very decent most of the time. Poverty is not an excuse for breaking the law.
How many movies do we need to watch to see the true nature of humans when it comes to life versus death? Squatters face an economic crisis every day. They live the laws of the jungle because it’s all about survival. Can you blame them for breaking the law when they have been provided with no alternative? What would you do if you were starving and nobody was willing to help you? You just can’t make something out of nothing. People can only move forward with the help of others. So for all of you enjoying the comfort of your own home and hiding behind computers, please reflect on who got you to where you are today. Don’t blame the poor for not having anyone to help them. How can you expect an animal to behave decently if you don’t look or treat them with the dignity of a human?
francesca,
Squatters are squatters. Let us go with the legal definition rather than some half ass politically correct term created to deodorize the crime.
Equating these hard working informal settlers to pedophile priests. They’re still pedophiles even if they officiate the Holy Sacraments.
The title is about squatters, not the poor. There are poor people who pay their fair share of taxes and do not squat.
We don’t generalize. We zero in on those squatters who think the land they are stealing are theirs for the taking!
finally an article that smacks right through the issue. sharing this Ilda 🙂
Thanks!
Squatters are concrete example of Pinoy parasitic mindset and arrogant laziness which embolden their being more wily in almost everything they do most especially in dealing with others.
Politicians and most government leaders are the work-of-art products of this squatters’ mindset.
Squatting is a failure of society and the people within it to provide opportunity for its people. If even the educated citizens who have managed to earn jobs as security guards, police offers and nurses still remain as squatters, what does that say about the challenges of life in the Philippines? Less for self, More for Others, Enough for All. Give a squatter a chance to do better in life, and then tell me how lazy they are. But what have you done to help?
“Give a squatter a chance to do better in life,”. And how exactly do you propose to do that? I have an idea. Invite some of them to live with you. Brilliant! LOL
These “Informal Settlers” must realise and understand they are breaking the law and are not above the law either!! Akala nila ang buhay ay parang “movie” or “telenovela” na napapnood nila sa sinehan at telebisyon. They do not have any right to take the rights of others and then use their own rights to avoid facing the consequences of their WRONG DOINGS. Wala silang KARAPATAN na tumira sa lupa na hindi nila pag-aari at isa pa wala silang KARAPATAN na ilagay sa panganib ang kaligtasan at kalusugan ng nakararaming mga tao sa kanilang kapaligiran like for example the risk of heavy flooding because they clog the waterways with their wastes and “basura”, they are putting people at risk of developing outbreak of infectious diseases because of the way they conduct filthy living – the breeding ground for bacterial and viral infections which can cause an epidemic of airborne and waterborne diseases in the environment, they are also fire risk to everyone, they are also the breeding ground for criminals and prostitution..please stop protecting these parasites..our country needs a proper balance between RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES and it is time to put the RULE of LAW. Kamay na bakal dapat ang iharap sa mga taong ito.
In an almost perfect country, all of these people are sent back to their provinces and provided with land to farm and nets to fish. Some may even become teachers and doctors for the benefit of their province.
Well, everything is easier said than done.
We will all miss her but Pres Monson will feel pretty lonely without his wife of over 60 years.
“The reaction of the members of the thinking class is long overdue.”
I sincerely hope you’re not representative of this ‘thinking class’ if your thoughts can only go as far as demonising the poor. Picking out a few bad examples and using them to judge every squatter in Philippines is really poor form. I’d also ask where this so-called thinking class have been hiding for the last 30-40 years?
Do you really believe millions of Filipinos have left their province to enjoy squatting in Manila?, of course they haven’t. They left their province hoping to gain employment as there was nothing in the province. Solve this problem and you’ll go some way to solving the squatter problem!
A good place to start would be to stop making it so damn difficult for foreigners to invest in Philippines, give us more rights to land ownership etc. Allow us to build affordable homes and set up factories, manufacturing plants etc.
If you have better ideas then great, let’s read about them rather than demonising the easy target without solutions.
@The real free-thinking class
Which part of the article made you think I was demonising the poor? Did I say “all poor” are arrogant? Please be specific.
Where do you think? Just because the older generation didn’t do anything to stop the proliferation of squatters doesn’t mean the new generation has to stand back and shut their mouths too. It’s never too late to unite the Filipino people against tyranny and arrogance.
It doesn’t really matter where they came from. What matters is that they are squatting on other people’s property and they should leave peacefully when asked to do so.
Since you are new to this site, I suggest you read up on the previous articles addressing this issue. You can start with this: Manufacturing can be a key to Filipinos enjoying a free and healthy life
That’s another issue that has been addressed on this site many times. You should really do your homework before commenting here.
[quote]Which part of the article made you think I was demonising the poor? Did I say “all poor” are arrogant? Please be specific.[/quote]
Where do I start? Not one positive word for the many many hard working squatters who simply have nowhere else to go. You seem to think they have “long enjoyed” squatting which we all know isn’t true. “the activities of the people squatting are foul. They have no concern or respect for the rights or property of others and have total disregard for the environment and welfare of other people”, that sounds pretty condemning of whole group of people, doesn’t it? I’m sure they’d prefer not to live in their own mess if it could be prevented.
[quote]I’d also ask where this so-called thinking class have been hiding for the last 30-40 years?
Where do you think? Just because the older generation didn’t do anything to stop the proliferation of squatters doesn’t mean the new generation has to stand back and shut their mouths too. [b]It’s never too late to unite the Filipino people against tyranny and arrogance.[/b][/quote]
But in this story you want to unite against the weak. I call that bullying and isn’t going to solve a problem that needs to be addressed with the long-term in mind.
[quote]Do you really believe millions of Filipinos have left their province to enjoy squatting in Manila?
It doesn’t really matter where they came from. What matters is that they are squatting on other people’s property and they should leave peacefully when asked to do so.[/quote]
In the ideal world, yes they should. We live in the real world though, where do you expect these millions of squatters to go? Without real alternative solutions you’ll just displace them where they become somebody else’s problem.
[quote]They left their province hoping to gain employment as there was nothing in the province. Solve this problem and you’ll go some way to solving the squatter problem!
Since you are new to this site, I suggest you read up on the previous articles addressing this issue. You can start with this: Manufacturing can be a key to Filipinos enjoying a free and healthy life[/quote]
Thanks for the link
[quote]A good place to start would be to stop making it so damn difficult for foreigners to invest in Philippines, give us more rights to land ownership etc. Allow us to build affordable homes and set up factories, manufacturing plants etc.
That’s another issue that has been addressed on this site many times. You should really do your homework before commenting here.[/quote]
You do realise newcomers will only become newcomers & 1st time posters when they see a particular article that appeals to them and reading every blog, post & comment to avoid repeating something previous is highly unlikely. If you have to run stories like this one then it’s for you to add workable solutions, you failed. Just saying they should move without saying how or where just leaves you looking ignorant & arrogant (oh the irony).
PS I’m hoping [ quote ] & [ / quote ] work here as they do in forums. Apologies in advance if this post comes out a complete mess.
Here you use HTML. Just Google it.
And, yeah, that’s the problem with the poor — they have this bad habit of becoming somebody’s problem.
@The real free-thinking class
I suggest you stop putting words into my mouth. Just because I didn’t mention the hard-working squatters doesn’t mean that I believe there aren’t any. The title of the article already says it all. It is referring to those who are “arrogant” and abusive of the system.
Who are the “weak”? Once again, the taxpayers are totally helpless in the way the government gives the funds away and a lot of the squatters are abusing the system. The taxpayers also work hard to have a decent life but they have to live with the cost of the way the politicians are coddling the squatters. This includes living with the polluted waterways that result in floods during the rainy season.
Unfortunately, the government’s program does not even solve the problem. The government has to look at giving assistance without making it look like it is a privilege. They have to make people work before giving them cash like asking them to clean up their surroundings or something. There is nothing like being rewarded for a job well done and this can give their existence meaning and boost their self-esteem. Not to mention, if they are involved in cleaning up the environment, it can make them appreciate it more. That’s just an example. I suggest making the “tambays” pick up a broom once in a while.
The result of the failure of the government and the old generation’s apathy is already evident. It’s undeniable. It’s high time the taxpayer’s speak out against tyranny.
I see articles like this all the time in the UK and what isn’t said can be equally as important to what is said when there is a set agenda. This article is clearly biased towards all squatters, you want them removed. You’ve painted them in a bad light, I don’t need to put words in your mouth, I’ve already quoted you in my previous reply. Your article as writen only serves to fuel hatred as can be seen from many of the replies here. No doubt you’ll deny this but the omission of any balance is proof enough.
The helpless taxpayer?, that’s just laughable when you then go on to blame the Govt, the same Govt you taxpayers voted in. At least the “arrogant” squatter is trying to make changes but unfortunately you only hear what is being said and not what isn’t being said. They might appear arrogant but the reality is they’re angry, disenchanted and have lost all hope. You’re all to blame for this and you would be better all working together on how to resolve these issues rather than casting them further adrift.
At least this time you do attempt a solution. I’m assuming they receive money from the Govt?, if you’re suggesting they clean up the area in return of a livable wage I agree, if you’re suggesting they clean up the area to receive a pittance which keeps them where they are then I disagree. They’ll remain as disenchanted as ever, all this ‘boosting their self-esteem’ is just corporate BS spoken by people who have never done a day’s hard work in their lives. Real jobs with a real livable wage with real hope of an improved life is the way to boosting their self-esteem.
@The real free-thinking class
You are overreacting, Mr. UK. You keep insisting on something that wasn’t even in the article to begin with. I don’t even have to paint them in a bad light because the result of their actions, well at least the actions of those who are arrogant and abusive is blatantly obvious. Just look around you. The polluted waterways and squalid conditions in the Philippines are not due to the hardworking Filipinos. What is really baffling are the people who keep defending these lawbreakers. Why are they always painting them as “victims”? Nobody forced them to have more babies they can’t afford to feed. They were already allowed to stay in somebody else’s property and yet they cry foul when they are asked to move on.
Huh?!? What changes? Please cite specific examples of the “changes” you are referring to. The masses are notorious for selling their votes to the highest bidder. Millions of them are responsible for putting incompetent celebrities and popular figures in power.
Now you’re the one who is being judgmental. Just because some people don’t do manual labor doesn’t mean they are not doing real work. Excuse me, but you are the one who is being too biased against the taxpayers. If you manage to convince millions of office workers into thinking that they are not doing “real work”, then they’ll soon say to themselves that they are better off living like squatters; that if they become one of them, maybe they’ll finally get some sympathy from the likes of you. Isn’t that right? Because that’s what you are trying to say – taxpayers are useless!
Sure, we can all wax poetic about paying “livable” wages for doing “real” work (whatever that means). The trouble is the Law of Supply and Demand will always trump such notions of what should be no matter how loudly we proclaim the righteousness of such notions.
Quite simple, the Law of Supply and Demand dictates that when there is an ENORMOUS supply of a commodity, the value of said commodity is reduced. For every squatter who gets paid to use a broom, there will be HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of others who are waiting in line for the same privilege. Tough shit, yeah, but real shit just the same.
When you have MILLIONS of people whose livelihoods depend on readily REPLACEABLE work, guess what: you get a country of MILLIONS of people who have NO CHOICE but to work for a pittance.
There’s no doubt Philippines has a lot of problems with a growing population and a lack of opportunities but bitching at squatters isn’t going to resolve anything. They’re not the only ones breeding and it certainly isn’t their fault if one person is fortunate enough to be paid for using a broom there’s hundreds of thousands waiting for the same ‘privilege’. That’s down to the people you vote for and the taxpayers are as much to blame here.
Sorry to say but as an outsider looking in, you’re all too happy to play the blame game but you now have to all take collective responsibility if you want to see improvements. Philippines is rich in natural resources and there really ought to be opportunities galore but the small minority holding all the power are holding you all back.
@Ilda
No I never said taxpayers are useless, see how easy it is to put words into ones mouth though? I said they’re as much to blame, they don’t use their vote wisely.
Why am I defending squatters here? Because they’re easy targets. We have a similar campaign against the poor, the sick and the disabled in UK, it’s disgusting. The corrupt Govt have wasted £billions bailing out failed bankers, fighting illegal wars and allowing the rich to evade paying taxes but it’s somehow the fault of the poor and the unfortunate. It’s no different in Philippines with the elitist minority creaming off all the wealth while the poor starve.
The picture above depicts angry squatters, out on the street protesting, that’s how you attempt to make change. It’s sad they have to sell their votes to the highest bidder, for many it’s their next meal. Are you saying they’re the majority over the taxpayers? What a mess huh!
Do you know what ‘corporate’ is? They’re not your average Govt office worker who I agree do work. They’re the capitalists, the bankers who lend out our money never to see it again and then pay themselves huge bonuses. The politicians who syphon off taxpayers money to their high-flying business friends and then receive ‘donations’ in return. The already filthy rich who just keep getting richer. Like I said, never done a hard day’s work in their lives.
@The real free-thinking class
You should quit comparing UK welfare problems with the squatter problems in the Philippines because what you have is nothing compared to ours. I’m not campaigning against the poor. I’m just telling it like it is. The comments from fed up taxpayers that agree with me should be enough proof that I am not making things up. A lot of people have first hand experience dealing with arrogant and abusive people from the squatter areas.
You are talking nonsense. You don’t know anything about Filipino dysfunctional culture but you quickly point the blame on taxpayers who have tolerated this situation for so long. Now that they are speaking up against government negligence and those who take advantage of the system, you brand them as “elitist”. Give me a break.
I think it is pointless to engage in a discussion with you because you can’t even explain yourself properly. One moment you mock hardworking people by saying they are not doing real work and then the next thing you say is that you were referring to capitalists. Gees…think carefully before you write your comments down because I don’t want to waste time waiting for you to clarify your point.
Well, this article is about arrogant squatters. Your beef with “capitalists” is a separate issue. Go write your own article about it and stop accusing me of being biased for or against anyone.
Good grief. Where on earth did I brand the taxpayers as elitist? You’re quite correct, it is pointless trying to engage in discussion. If you can’t read and digest then you really shouldn’t be writing blogs and inviting comments!
I agree with this:
“A good place to start would be to stop making it so damn difficult for foreigners to invest in Philippines, give us more rights to land ownership etc.”
But that’s another topic.
@TRFTC, man you’re just wasting your time with these insensitive twerps… what they’re zeroing in is the literal word “squatter”! and not the real problem of squatting… and how it affects the philippine society. now, how can you argue with these TWERPS?
And nobody agrees with TROLLS like you. Don’t you notice that people who use EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS are the real TWERPS?
Please deal with that.
An opinion piece came out on Interaksyon and I know it is a satire piece but my complaint is that the satire bit actually is being insensitive to what the middle is saying.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/66189/poor-judgment–3-reasons-why-the-poor-should-not-be-babied
The middle class (for me) are okay with helping. They themselves do not want to be in a situation where they are unable to provide shelter and food to their family. But to simply decide to give them for free when everyone else is not is unfair.
To provide a sample situation. If the free housing and dole out of capital is meant to help those earning less than 5k php a month total, how come those earning 6-7k php total a month are excluded from the same opportunities to help them grow and improve their situation? If you include them as well, those earning 8-9k php total then? And so on and so forth. The cycle of unfairness will never end.
Help should be extended by means of having the housing ready where they can move in. Check. But this is not free and should never be free. They should however be given a more lenient payment method and they can back the government a year or two after they have settled in and gotten jobs etc.
As for the capital dole out of 18k or whatever, this should not even be a dole out but a capital loan treating it like an SME venture. However, again, you can be lenient say they pay after three years of the loan with monthly staggered payments and not one bulk.
This gives them the opportunities that were not there before, helped them with using taxpayer money interim but the government is eventually paid back.
This also gives the former informal settler the chance to learn to save and value something as it is now theirs (hopefully).
But if they don’t, then there should be a next step? Jail is too extreme as for slackers, a minimum security prison where food and entertainment is in reach and not a problem (assuming the jail system is already fixed by then) will create unnecessary strain by these individuals who don’t give a D*mn.
This is already being hopeful that once you do help them, then they are going to help themselves do better and eventually move up in life as well.
And I do agree that a child policy should be put in place so that it is determined beforehand based on your capacity whether or not you can support X numbe rof children.
True it may be a bit restrictive but it will also help the couple/family from digging their own holes.
@!7Sphynx17
I think a lot of Filipinos including journalists cannot or refuse to address the squatter problem directly because in our society, to speak ill of the poor is considered bad taste or taboo. Which is why some writers use satire. Unfortunately, a lot of Filipinos do not get satire. The message just gets lost on them.
I totally agree that giving cash to the poor without them doing anything in return just gives them a sense of entitlement. The CCT program should actually be a loan and should be repaid in x number of years. I don’t even think the gov’t has a good system to track the progress of those they give money to. The poor should be given an incentive to work.
As Benign0 said, Filipinos tend to give the poor a certain moral ascendancy that they don’t really have. Being poor gives no moral ascendancy.
Unless the government has a political will to solve the squatting problem,we won’t find a way to the right solution. my observation is that politicians are exploiting this dire situation to serve their personal whims and political ambitions. the squatters are not called that anymore. they are no longer “illegals”. They are “informal settlers”. hey, they are social victims, the poor,homeless,and helpless folks and voters who need your christian compassion.i am aghast.
IT IS WRONG TO SQUAT ON SOMEONE ELSE’S PROPERTY. Stop all the arguments. Squatters are the problem. Get rid of them, no ifs and no buts.
OK, for a last and FINAL word on the subject: in the immoral words of James Hetfield, “Kill ‘Em All”. it won’t be pretty BUT it will solve the problem.
Think of the possibilities.
YES!..I got ur point…not litteraly..it might be the best solution!
Tama, “Kill ‘Em All”, hindi naman natin kailanagn ng mga tricycle driver, katulong at construction workers! Kaya natin gawin lahat yun!
Ship them back to their provinces and decongest the metropolis.
Lagyan ng mga business capitals ang mga probinsya para di na sila nakikipagsiksikan sa Manila. :))
I find it incredibly hard to believe that the vast majority of landowners in the Philippines actually did anything to earn the land they are on. Most of the land has been handed down through generations just as poverty has. The perpetuation of poverty has been a failure of Filipinos as a society, not just government, to care for the majority. The arrogant and selfish elite of the Philippines must be so ignorant to keep blaming the poor for a life they have never asked for. How can you expect more than what they can give in a country that is like the desert of opportunity. Most modern countries were built by its citizens on a desire to create a better life for all. It involved everyone coming together to support one another. But most of the elite are cowards and would rather have the poor just disappear rather than do the right thing. When was the last time any of them made a contribution to help the poor? I would behave like an animal too if that’s how I was being treated. Filipinos lack a sense of volunteerism for the common good. While everyone remains blind to what is so obvious to many, all Filipinos will continue to suffer in this problem. If you want change, then be the change you wish to see in the world. HELP PEOPLE RISE OUT OF POVERTY – one family at a time! It is nothing less than shameful that the majority of people caring for street children in the Philippines are foreigners. What does that tell you about this country? So perhaps if Bianca would invest less in designer clothes and more in the poor, then she wouldn’t need to be so concerned about these “eyesores” in the backyard she never earned. She gets paid outrageously for work that isn’t anywhere near as backbreaking as what the poor must endure for a few pesos a day.
I agree with you Darryl ilson! There are so many selfish people in the world! There are so many selfish people in my country! Shame! Shame! Shame! & we call ourselves Christians!
Are the two of you watched too much telebasura in which the poor and elite are always good and evil respectively?
Hi Daryl,
You have just written the “words of wisdom” on the issue of poverty, and the role of the elite in eradicating it. Majority of the well-off Filipinos do not understand that the fight against poverty is not fighting it’s helpless victims itself. A humane society has the responsibility to care for other-especially those who are less fortunate.
If the Philippines claims to be the only Christian country in Asia; then let us all remind every Filipino what Jesus said in Matthew 25:40: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Marron, et al,
You are all welcome to help these people out. Share your homes if you please. Just don’t shove it down other people’s throats. Hell, if you own some lands, offer them to the squatters that are being evicted. I would applaud you for that.
I agree. These pro-squatters should give their lands to the squatters and not force the rest of the landowners to just give up on their lands. OR if they don’t own lands yet, I suggest that they purchase a land (read: Pag-Ibig loan if you can’t pay for them in cash) then give them to the squatters. THEN there’s more credibility to what they say.
“I find it incredibly hard to believe that the vast majority of landowners in the Philippines actually did anything to earn the land they are on. Most of the land has been handed down through generations just as poverty has.”
So what exactly are you proposing? That the government seize all Philippines lands and redistribute to all Filipinos equally? Sounds communish to me 🙂
I agree with you. Lets start helping this group one at a time– while the system will do the rest of the work. How? Education is one way out. Lets help children from these families get to school, get to high school, train them skills. Lets put up workshops, invest in small enterprises, local. There are groups that consolidate individual’s efforts. We can join these groups or we can support these groups so they can support others. I think we should renew the bayanihan spirit.
The people we see in the television and in newspapers, are already beaten down by the culture of poverty, but the children can be educated so they will have another future, and they can join the sector of Filipino society that is productive with a sense of patriotism.
We do not want to promote bigotry in the country. We do not want to divide our society, rather we want to promote a society when one helps one another. At one point, I share Bianca’s opinion, that the lower middle class I belong, is being expensively taxed to support programs for the poor, that seem to be doomed from the start. If you, or anybody is interested to make a dent, even one child/family at a time, please contact us.
Maraming mga nonprofit organizations sa bansa na itinatag ng mga Pilipino. Ang problema sa atin, naghihintay tayo ng tagapagligtas. Kung sana naisip ng mga tao na kailangan nilang tulungan ang mga sarili nila para makaahon sila sa kahirapan, baka nagkakaroon ng change one family or one individual at a time.
Nasa kolehiyo pa lang ako, andami ko nang na-attendan na outreach. Okay lang, kahit ako mismo nangangailangan ng pera para ituloy ang pag-aaral. Nagbibigay pa rin ako para makatulong. Pero ang ugali ng karamihan ng natulungan namin, pag inabot mo ang kamay mo, gusto nilang kunin pati yung isa mo pang kamay, hanggang sa maubos ka na nila.
Masyado nang umaasa ang mga informal settlers sa magliligtas sa kanila, na merong kapalit na salapi yung pag-alis nila sa lugar na hindi naman talaga kanila.
@AD
Thanks for sharing your experience with squatters who have a sense of entitlement. I can understand why you got turned off. Some of them think that society owes them a favour.
@Darryl Wilson
There is only so much the taxpayers can do to help the “poor”. There comes a point when only the individual can help himself. The poor outnumber those who can help. They also make their situation worse by making more babies they can’t afford to feed. The situation is like trying to stop water gushing out from a burst pipe using bare hands. The taxpayers have a life too. Having said that, I do agree that there are lot of members of the elite who care more about partying or having fun than spending some time helping solve important issues plaguing the country.
There is a saying that goes: “You can lead the horse to water, but you can’t make him drink”. Based on my own experience in trying to raise awareness against corruption and our dysfunctional culture, most Filipinos from the poor are very stubborn. They are beholden to celebrities and popular figures. They don’t listen to ordinary people who tell them to stop voting for incompetent public servants. The ignorant voters’ choices in leaders have resulted in the country remaining one of Asia’s basketcase.
Like what I said to someone earlier, Philippine society has been conditioned to treat people from the lower class as the “victims”. You can even see how they are portrayed as the hero/heroin in every Filipino soap opera. Never mind that “some” of them ended up where they are now because of poor choices in the past. Their illegal activities now greatly affect the rest of the members of society in a very bad way. Most of them expect the small number of taxpayers to fund their growing number. Ignorant voters who have the power to put incompetent individuals in power hold the taxpayers hostage. No sir, they are not always the victims.
Noble cause.. Now why don’t you wake up and propose something REALISTIC. Nothing’s gonna stop these people from cranking out 10-15 babies and expecting taxpayers to pay for them! Don’t you dare talk to me about “modern countries”. I live in LA. Nobody cares about the homeless here!
“Most of the land has been handed down through generations just as poverty has.” No Darryl. You are obviously a foreigner who hasn’t lived here long enough to understand what’s going on. We’re not talking about the few landed elite here whose property was inherited from generation to generation. They own most of the country’s big businesses. We’re talking about the middle class, working professionals who toiled and saved up to own the house and lot they live in. They’re the ones who are threatened and compromised by these informal settlers who seem to think the government is obliged to grant them these privileges without owning up to the duties of responsible citizenry.
you are a saint, sir! i hope there are more people like you. a blessed sunday to you!
I agree with the author in most part about blaming Politicians. It is true that they harbor squatters so they can vote for them so they can win the election. My Heart goes out to these poor Kababayans who converge to the Big cities particularly Manila to find opportunities to work so they can provide for their families, most of these people is a victim of floods and other natural and social disasters in their respective provinces.Instead of allowing these people to illegally settled in river banks and other vacant Government and Private lands,there should be a Government agency they can go to register so they can be directed to a government public housing place and provided a job instead of uprooting them from illegal squatting and offered P18-20,000 thousand as I saw in TFC just to agree in relocation to Government public housing. It is more expensive and chaotic. The Government should secure it’s vacant lots and riverbanks and prosecute illegal trespassing in its properties.
INFORMAL Settlers, a formal nomenclature for urban poor squatters, my 3 yea-old grandson called them “homeless guys” exist primarily because of necessity.
Condemning them, like the way Bianca Gonzales is writing, is depriving them of their human rights to have a place for shelter to live. It is like depriving them of water, food, and air. It is like fish depriving them of water.
LIke Bianca and 1% A B people, they are also dreaming to have decent homes, but certain factors have constrained them (lack of formal and informal education, manipulated by politicians, confused by relgions teachings, etc.)
Instead of condemning them, Bianca should do something, just like what Gawad Kalinga is doing. Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle to see the end of the tunnel.
I hope Bianca should write with his pen full of kindness, understanding, and love for the poor.
It is only in the Philippines where revolt did not originate from the poor. EDSA revolt was AB class struggle. Revolt against Spanish was rekindled by our well to do families in the like of Rizal et al.
We should not wait for that, otherwise, AB will be beheaded.
Suggest Bianca should write with social responsibility, not only for the sake of writing, to get attention.
it’s called insensitive rant… irresponsible too! those who praise her, are called hypocrite morons! the ones who employ and take advantage of the so called “squatters”…
“insensitive, hypocrite, irresponsible, morons, taking advantage”. that’s funny. either your statement is a dreadful irony, or you are referring to yourself. “insensitive”, this word is usually used by butthurt hypocrites to describe someone who tells the uncomfortable truth. irresponsible, now i don’t even know how you get around to this word. i mean, Bianca does stand her ground. that is responsibility. we speak out, we let others know what we think, instead of just sheeping along with the flow. that, imho, is responsibility. morons? that you can call people this word is astonishing as it applies to your “well-defended and articulate statement”. post some facts, so we can talk about it. taking advantage, this is the clincher why i wonder if you are being sarcastic or not. you seem to be looking at a mirror and describing what you see. defending the poor state of the nation instead of opening your eyes to the truth about our living reality is a pathetic way of living. the people cannot go on living the the conditions where the they who act to make a difference becomes the antagonist. and simply because the “bida” is the cliche underfooted community, as often portrayed by their household entertainment. if you think the working class will sit by while the rest eat away at their hardwork, then you are wrong.
“speak out” – so f*cking reactive! we “speak out” against your retard rants and all you ever do is react! i can go on forever bursting your bubbles… 😉
@Manny V:
“i can go on forever bursting your bubbles…”
And I would love to see your comments being totally deleted because you just want to ‘burst bubbles’ than to make a discussion.
It’s cool to be a HYPOCRITE, right? 😀
@foxtwerp, if that’s how you feel then you must be really cool… 😉 delete my comments? i don’t really care… just shows you really enjoy and love kissing each other’s *ss!
@Manny V:
Why you can’d admit that you’re a BIGGER hypocrite since your intent is to FLAMEBAIT than to make a discussion?
Flame baiters like you shows who’s the real asskissers here! Am I right? 😀
Why don’t you sell all your properties and give it to the poor? Put your money where your mouth is, so to speak. Problem is you are all words and no action!
And if you come back here and you say you do help them, then good for you! Again, please don’t force anyone to give up what they have. You don’t have the right to do that. If they want to give what they have to others is THEIR prerogative. Forcing someone to part from their properties is called stealing!
yes ikulong na natin sila dahil sayang tax natin, ubusin na natin sila dahil masasama sila at wala na talagang chance…..teka? if kulong mas talo ang tax ko kasi papagawa pa ng malaki at maraming kulungan kasi 99.99% sila ng pupolasyon, tapos libre pagkain, damit, tubig, lahatlahat libre me gwardya pa. teka ulit ubusin na lang silang lahat, uuuuum mahal bala mahal kuryente mas mahal ang gas chamber. watdapak teka kilan ba nagsimula ito(itlog o manok?) before US colonization(globalization)kunti pa, kasi lahat ng work halos meron housing, food, transportation, etc.. allowance, malaki pang retirement. kahit namamasukan sa bukirin ganun din ang benefits. ngayon casual na nga minimum wage pa,to attract foreign investor daw. squatters = poverty = criminality, solution true education, country be self sufficient (bakit kasi di nalang tayo gumawa ng pera at huwag ng mangutang) sino ba mahirap america, europe, middle east o tayo, ang sagot sila, bakit? umulan ng yelo at masyadong mainit sa kanila in short mas madaling gumawa ng pagkain sa atin. bakit hinde ba tutubo o lalaki ang pananim pag walang gasolina at pera. in short ang pinoy at asia ay parang batang paslit pinapalitan ang kende natin ng tansan o balat ng kende. to the author check pictures of civil war in syria, libya, .etc….. at sabi ng russia at china pag nag airstrike sa syria ang NATO at Etc.. world war 3 will happen coz they will use thermonuclear, hopefully walng mangyaring civil war sa pinas dahil kawawa tayong lahat… http://www.globalissues.org/issue/2/causes-of-poverty
Now you are being more idiotic with your reasoning.
Here’s something…Now, why would govt. officials kick them out? Why would the goverment alleviate poverty? In my opinion.. nowadays, the government controls the country they just say or show to everyone that “the people” controls it.. Have you been in Tacloban lately? Ive seen officials win a campaigns without doing any rallys… They simply pay the masses and stay in their current positions… Some Officials want them there to stay poor.they want them to stay hungry so all the masses can think of is tomorrow’s meal… not what the govt. can do for their long term future..
The middle, the upper class or even the thinking masses are just a mere piece of the population pie… The people in this country are the masses (I mean the E and lower D clas).. and it’s clearly being controlled by our government… Sometimes i think democracy isnt good for the country :r..
Inject each and every squatter with trackers that will kaboom! when they come within 100 meters of mega manila
something to think about…
http://8list.ph/mind-blowing-realities-about-informal-settlers/
Here’s my reply: The squatter problem in the Philippines cannot be solved using a squatter mentality 😉
think outside of the you’re in, you’ll get the big picture…
i mean outside of the box…
Please be specific. You are not very convincing.
You heard the author. Or maybe SQUATTER MENTALITY is a new term for YOU?
@foxhound, yup surprisingly, very new to me… only in the philippines? if you think inside the box, i guess… if you react to the problem you become a part of the dysfunction… you’re no different from the “squatter” reacting to eviction…
@Manny V
You’re not making any sense at all. You should quit talking in riddles and go straight to the point. Some of us don’t have time to guess what you are trying to say.
@Manny V:
POINT F*CKING MISSED but what do I expect from an ignorant Pinoy pleb like yourself? If anything, you’re also supporting the said dysfunction by attacking the author with EMOTIONAL-ridden ad hominem attacks.
The way you are reacting is no different to the “squatter” eviction. Accept the fact that you’re just TROLLING. Be honest. 😀
Choice nila ang magpadami. Ang gumawa ng bata kaysa magbanat ng buto. Tapos sisisihin ang gobyerno? Maging realistic nga kayo! Marami namang mahirap na kung nagsusumikap gumiginhawa naman pero sadyang masmadami ang pinipiling maging tanga at tamad, kasi masmadali yun diba? Mga hipokrito. Pagbinato kayo ng tae ng skwater sa mukha tignan ko lang kung mapagtanggol mo pa rin sila. Bwisit ang mga iskwater na yan!
answer me this, “why do we have squatters?”…
@Manny V.
I hope you realise that the Philippines is not the only place with squatters. You can also find squatters in first world countries but the problem is not as bad as ours. The real difference is corrupt politicians in the Philippines and misguided Filipinos promote the proliferation by coddling the squatters in the country. The problem should have been nipped in the bud by evicting the first few before it became out of control.
Since the poor’s purpose for going to the cities is to find work, the obvious solution is to develop other regions in the country so the people in the provinces can find work locally. Like I said in my recent article, to address this perennial problem, instead of spending too much money on relocation of the squatters, the government should allocate the funds to develop industries in other regions in the country to create jobs for the unemployed. This will encourage the squatters to move out on their own. At the moment, the country’s projects are too focused on developing infrastructure within the capital region. This naturally compels people to converge in the same areas to look for work.
Using band-aid solutions cannot solve the squatter problem and break the cycle of poverty in the country. Giving money away in exchange for nothing is not going to help inspire the poor to achieve independence. It has been proven in the past that money that is earned through hard work is better appreciated than money received for free. In considering this, the government can also run an initiative by paying the poor only after they have provided some services to the community. This can be in the form of asking them to work for several hours a week cleaning up the environment or helping out in beautification projects in their local areas. That can make them appreciate and care for their surroundings in the long run. They can also develop life-long skills that they can use for future employment.
In typical ‘shallow class’ Ilda style, she refuses to answer a perfectly valid question. A wannabe politician if ever I saw one!
Among the many reasons you have squatters, including the hideous corruption & corporate greed of the elite, is you’re re-active and not pro-active. In the West, we avoided similar situations by building affordable social housing and high-rise flats, decades ago, in places they were required.
Now it appears Philippines is finally coming around to the idea of building more social housing, you’re bemoaning it. Just to correct you on your latest catastrophic article, taxpayers aren’t ‘spending’ P3.4-billion in low-rise housing projects, they’re investing it, assuming of course the future inhabitants will be paying rent.
@The real free-thinking class
What makes you say that my answer isn’t valid? Wait…are you saying that there aren’t any squatters in the West?
The article didn’t say it is against social housing. It is against arrogant and abusive squatters, yes but not against social housing. My latest article also highlighted the generosity of the taxpayers for funding the NHA projects too. I felt the need to highlight it because misguided people think that the taxpayers aren’t doing enough for the squatters.
BTW, the taxpayers are still going to shoulder the rent or part of it. Each squatter family to be relocated will be given P18,000.00 as rental subsidy. Please read the article again before you comment. You should really quit accusing me of being pro or against anything without doing your homework first for your own sake.
And don’t think that the housing projects will stop squatters from converging in the city because there is very little job creation being done to end it.
PS. Housing projects in some countries were not planned well because it merely turned into ghettos where criminals are born and bred. If the Phil government doesn’t plan their housing projects well, it will end up the same way.
@Ilda
Manny V asked “why do we have squatters?”…
Your reply acknowledged there were squatters and you offered solutions how to ease if not eradicate the problem. You didn’t answer why squatters are there to begin with though.
Yes they come from the provinces looking for work, but why were the provinces so neglected to begin with? Given the Govt would’ve been fully aware of the poverty and lack of employment in the provinces, why wasn’t Manila better prepared to deal with the influx of people seeking employment? I’m guessing Manny was seeking answers to these types of question and not looking for resolutions. Hence my own Philippines being re-active and not pro-active response.
You say you’re not against social housing, sorry to say it doesn’t come across that way. You say “The National Housing Authority (NHA) is spending P3.4-billion in low-rise housing projects”, you make it sound like a gift, which in turn sounds like resentment. If these projects are managed correctly then it’s an investment, not a spend. Let’s just hope the P3.4-billion goes exactly where it’s meant to go and you don’t end up P1-billion worth of shoddy workmanship which becomes unfit for purpose within a few years, or worse still it doesn’t get completed at all 🙂
I’m also curious about this P18000 payment each family receives for leaving the squatters areas. If it’s private land then the landowner should be paying. If it’s Govt land marked for development, the developers should be paying. Is it possible the taxpayers are being scammed?
I’ll agree with you housing projects aren’t perfect, not so sure I would say they weren’t well planned, more a case of environments do change over the years as employers/businesses come and go, new houses & blocks become old and delapidated, the people lose hope. That said, they should never be seen as some sort of permanent residence, they’re basically a starting point and the successful people will want their own homes and move on. Let’s not blame criminality solely on the poor though, they exist in walks of life, rich or poor, from many differing neighbourhoods.
@The real free-thinking class
Hello?!? I did address it. You’re just being difficult. My answer was very simple. There are squatters everywhere you go. They exist for various reasons that have been addressed many times before in the past and in my article as well. Like I said in my recent article, aside from professional squatters who try to cheat the system, there are squatters who keep returning to squat near the cities because they say there is no livelihood in the provinces. You’re beginning to sound like a troll. Even though I found Manny’s question pointless, I still responded to it. But despite that, you still referred to me as “shallow class”. Unfortunately, there’s a lot to be said about a person using name-calling to argue his way in forums.
You don’t know a lot about our dysfunctional culture so stop defending folks who have contributed significantly to the electing to office of public officials who are not really interested in uplifting the poor people’s conditions. You can’t say that all of us are just “re-active”. Some of us have been trying to raise awareness against the government’s incompetence and the voter’s ignorance for years. Most of the people from the squatter areas are responsible for why the country remains Asia’s basketcase. They keep electing the same incompetent and corrupt celebrities every election. They are the cause of their own misery.
BTW We had a different type of ‘squatting’ in the West. Squatters didn’t occupy land and build homes, they looked for different opportunities and occupied empty homes and buildings. They used to have rights in UK but a couple of years ago it became a criminal offence. Homeless are now just left to die of hypothermia in the cold winters, assuming they don’t get stabbed or whatever in the summer months.
@Ilda
“Unfortunately, there’s a lot to be said about a person using name-calling to
argue his way in forums.”
Yup, tell that to your supporters. Let’s be honest, a satirical play on words, your self-professed “thinking class”, is hardly up there in the higher echelons of name-calling. Compared to some of the abusive name-calling that has been dished out by your supporters, which you seem to have no problem with, it’s very tame indeed. Also, there’s 2 sides to every story, just because somebody disagrees with you, it doesn’t make them a “troll” (another common tactic used in forums).
A couple times now you’ve stated I don’t know a lot about Filipino dysfunctional culture. Seriously, what is there not to understand about corrupt politicians, politically motivated murders & massacres, vote selling, the huge imbalance of the nations distribution of wealth? Don’t even get me started on the problems in Mindanao with the MILF, Abu Sayyaf and NPA’s to name a few.
At the end of the day though, it doesn’t matter how much or little I understand, I’m just another commenter. It’s more important, as a blogger and member of the self-professed ‘thinking class’, how much YOU understand. The problems I mentioned above are just a few, ongoing long before the squatter problem exploded as it has done. If you really want to unite a whole nation (whom a huge proportion live in poverty) then you’re going to need to be a whole lot more empathetic to squatter’s situations. Realising squatters are a result and not the blame for the country’s ills seems a good place to start.
@The real free-thinking class
What’s so offensive about the term “thinking class”? Obviously, some people did not think before having too many babies they can’t afford to feed and they certainly didn’t think when they voted for politicians who weren’t even interested in uplifting their miserable conditions.
Supporters? What supporters are you talking about? It’s not my fault there are a lot of Filipinos who are fed up with arrogant squatters and the people who make excuses for them. I can’t control others’ penchant for name-calling. It’s impossible to call all their attention because I don’t have time to respond to all 500++ comments.
Philippine society has been conditioned to treat people from the lower class as the “victims”. You can even see how they are portrayed as the hero/heroin in every Filipino soap opera. Never mind that “some” of them ended up where they are now because of poor choices in the past. Their illegal activities now greatly affect the rest of the members of society in a very bad way. Most of them expect the small number of taxpayers to fund their growing number. Ignorant voters who have the power to put incompetent individuals in power hold the taxpayers hostage. No sir, they are not always the victims.
You keep missing the point, indeed. Simply giving them handouts will not solve the problem with squatters. I’ve already written an article about what I think is a more sustainable solution to the problem but it seems you still think I simply want to keep insulting them.
@Ilda
Where did I say ‘thinking class’ was offensive?, I didn’t. In fact I even adopted it as a part of my username, wakey wakey.
Your use of the word ‘some’ is getting very tedious, why not just say ‘all’ and have done with it. You clearly see all squatters as acting illegally and you clearly want them all removed. Loosely using the word ‘some’ here and there isn’t fooling anyone.
You continue to play the “too many babies” card, well not all families have too many babies, some can’t manage any. Some families have been poorly advised to play the numbers game, the more you have the better the chance of one getting a job abroad in the future. Others have been brainwashed into believing contraception is wrong and is frowned upon by influential leaders, in fact contraception has even been prohibited in some areas. Others perhaps had babies in better times, circumstances can easily change. I see it as a societal problem moreso than poor personal choice and some empathy is needed. As you obviously feel so strongly about this issue, perhaps you could lead the way and highlight the importance of family planning, that church leaders are wrong and nobody is going to hell for using a condom.
I wouldn’t expect you to reply to 500+ comments individually but it’s noted how selective you are when you do decide to complain about name-calling. I also wouldn’t place too much importance on the number of comments here. 500+ is a very small sample size compared to 90 million + Filipinos, many of whom cannot afford or cannot access the internet (which is a pity as you might actually see how far from reality you really are 😉 ).
Finally, no I’m not missing any point but you clearly are. When I say you need more empathy, nowhere does that suggest “Simply giving them handouts”, they require much more. They need to be heard, the many that do work hard need to see proof ‘hard work gets rewarded’ (what better way to get the message across to those who don’t?), they need hope. Continually highlighting the “arrogant squatter” whilst ignoring the plight of the decent hardworking Filipinos who find themselves in a bad situation, through no fault of their own in many cases, isn’t going to win you any favours come election time.
@ The real free-thinking class
Awww…don’t feel so bad that I happened to notice that you used name-calling in trying to put me down. I couldn’t help noticing how hypocritical you sound, you see. You keep talking about the plight of the squatters but you don’t even care about the plight of the taxpayers who are totally helpless in choosing the country’s leaders. Every body else is held hostage by the “masa’s” penchant for choosing incompetent leaders who can’t even help them.
Whatever, Mr. UK. You have too many excuses for the squatters anyway, (i.e., not all families have too many babies and etc). You also have a problem with my use of the word “some”. There’s just no pleasing you, is there? Why don’t you lead the way to whatever you think is the best thing to do and stop expecting others like me to do it for you? Go ahead and immerse yourself in the squatter communities and see for yourself how stubborn “some” of them are. You seem to think that doing the same thing over and over again will result in something different. Please, feel free to keep coddling them. To quote Albert Einstein: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
You are free to believe whatever you want to believe in, Mr. I have explained my point thoroughly but you refuse to acknowledge that taxpayers have a right to express their concern for the environment, their future and a right to protect their properties.
I have already outlined some solutions to the squatter problem. If you do not want to accept it, that is fine. I am not one to shove my ideas down other people’s throats. Just a reminder, you’re the one who came here to participate in this discussion thread. I didn’t go to you. If you can’t stand the heat, you can get out of the kitchen anytime.
Brilliant! The above is another example of your lame attempts at changing the topic. You really think I mentioned the number of comments just to brag? Oh my…you are sounding more and more like a desperate kid with every comment you post. You’ve lost the plot, Mr. UK.
PS. You can stop the BS too because you’ve had a problem with me referring to the hardworking taxpayers as members of the “thinking class” since your first comment here.
Ta-ta!
Ooooh the anger. Step forward the real ‘my way or the highway’ Ilda.
The working & middle-class taxpayers had their chance to vote who they wanted years ago but didn’t take it, clearly happy with the status quo (I’m alright Jack). Since then the poor (whom nobody ever cared about) & the working class got poorer and the middle-class are going down with them and now you decide to stamp your feet. You’ll have to excuse me for not giving a flying one and I wouldn’t bank on the poor giving a flying one either, not least until attitudes change. Tata.
Tata! 😀
Tsk tsk…thanks. In your desperate attempt to insult, you finally confirmed your bias towards one group. At least the taxpayers still care enough to help give the squatters a chance in life. Meanwhile, people like you don’t even give a “flying one” to those who fund the government’s program for the poor. Nice one.
You also confirmed you have no clue who has been voting the likes of Erap and Noynoy in power. No, the “thinking class” never had a chance to put competent people in power because the number of men and women who don’t use their heads outnumber those who do. Please do the math.
A lot of taxpayers have had enough of misguided folks like you who promote dependence on dole outs. Just remember Einstein’s words about insanity because that’s what you folks keep doing.
Now have a nice life. 😉
Where did I confirm I’ve no clue who has been voting who? Yes Filipinos vote for who’s popular and who will pay them, I get that. In times gone by when Phils was more prosperous and the middle-classes had more power, you could’ve consolidated, instead your middle-classes wanted more, they emigrated and lost their vote. Now you’re where you are, the poor hold the cards.
You’re now demanding the poor vote for your ‘thinking class’ people whilst at the same time you want to evict them. It’s like asking turkeys to vote for christmas. It’s one thing to promise job opportunities but it’s another thing to deliver those promises. Who’s going to invest in Mindanao under the current climate?
Hey, Mr. UK. It’s so obvious that you know very little about our dysfunctional culture and it’s so obvious that you’re just making things up as you go. Now you are simply echoing some of the stuff you’ve read here without even acknowledging that you only realised them in the course of our discussion.
Like what I said before, just because the older generation was apathetic or indifferent to the problems of the country before, which includes the squatter problem, it doesn’t mean that the new generation should sit back and allow things to get worse. The advent of social media is making it possible for more decent Filipinos to be exposed to the truth or to be enlightened and there is nothing people like you can do to stop it. A lot of Filipinos now see the tyranny of the masses as one of the reasons the Philippines cannot progress.
The above comment doesn’t make sense at all. It’s as if you’re saying that only the “thinking class” will benefit from voting for the right leaders. The solution is simple, really. It seems you find it difficult to understand though. It’s because you are not open to other ideas.
If the poor want to uplift their condition, voting for competent public servants can make it happen.
@Ilda
“It’s because you are not open to other ideas.”
Straight back at you. Anyone who disagrees with your stance are placed into one big ‘squatter sympathizers who demand more dole-outs’ box, which really isn’t helpful. I’ve certainly never demanded they receive more dole-outs and from the replies I have read here (I’ve not read them all) I’ve not seen others make such demands either. Nobody disputes the squatter problem should be dealt with but it’s the approach we disagree with. Writing articles which paint them all in a bad light encourages comments like ‘they’re all lazy and deserve poverty’ and ‘kill em all’. None of this is helpful.
Expecting them to just leave peacefully when asked or told to do so is unrealistic when they’re faced with destitution. Branding them all as arrogant because they refuse to leave doesn’t help. Mass evictions wont solve the problem as they’ll either fill the streets as homeless people or they’ll move to somebody else’s land.
There is no quick-fix solution so a step-by-step approach is required IMO with the long-term goal being enough jobs and adequate housing for all. It’s the short and mid-term strategies that need revising. Why are there so many squatters and what can be done to stem the flow. One of the biggest contributors to the problem is Mindanao, it’s rife with problems.. It needs fixing once and for all. Meanwhile actually talk to the people in the squatter areas. Identify the criminals and bring them to justice. Identify the hard working and see what can be done to improve their lives, they might just need help with budgeting their finances and can indeed afford adequate housing. Ensure all kids are receiving education, they are afterall the future and the innocent victims in this mess. You could even extend education to some of the adults too. Well there’s a start.
There you go again echoing some of the solutions that were already proposed here, one of which is job creation. It’s so convenient for you to “suggest” these things now that you’ve read & finally understood what I have been telling you in the past few days.
Which part of the article encourages reactions like that? The commenters are just practicing their right to freedom of expression, Mr. UK. You should realise now how fed up some taxpayers are with the squatter’s destructive activities. They wreak havoc in the community and turn vacant areas into ghettos but you’d rather treat them like impeccable citizens. Some of these squatters will not think twice about killing others in real life. Meanwhile, the reactions you’ve read, like the above are merely comments made on the Net.
Gees…you had a problem with me using the word “some” and then insists that I painted them “all” in a bad light. You’re a real piece of work, aren’t you? Saying that my article isn’t helpful is YOUR opinion. A lot of Filipinos think otherwise. You should read what some of them said about it on Twitter and Facebook. They are thankful that finally, somebody wrote about the abuse the taxpayers are getting from the arrogant squatters.
Looks like you have too much time on your hands. Why don’t you go and talk to the squatters yourself? You keep expecting others to do it for you. Taxpayers have to work to earn money for themselves and especially for the moochers, ya know.
I’ll give you something else to read: Filipinos cannot progress if they cannot follow even simple guidelines
@Ilda
“It’s because you are not open to other ideas.”
The creation of jobs is blindingly obvious, something I touched on before your second article which you wrote after I pointed out you didn’t include solutions in the article above. The problem is you’re a long way from delivering this creation of jobs for reasons I highlighted in my previous reply, which you ignore.
Clearly “It’s because you are not open to other ideas.”, discussions cannot go any further with closed-minded people like yourself involved! Goodbye.
Tata (yet again)! 😀
Oh please. I wouldn’t be entertaining any comments at all if that were true. Likewise, I would have requested the webmaster to close the comment section under my articles. Your statement is another proof that you do not analyze things carefully before writing your thoughts down.
I distinctly remember telling you that job creation has been written about on this site over and over and I even gave you a link to one of my previous articles about it. The main problem with you is that you came barging in here with your guns already blazing, which set the mood of our discussion. Check your first comment again if you don’t believe me. You should change your attitude for your own sake.
Your attitude from your first comment clearly reflected that you assumed the article was putting ALL poor people down. You even insist on things that weren’t even there to begin with. You were certainly showing signs of someone suffering from tunnel vision. Your bias showed in your every post.
she can’t even answer a simple “pointless” question correctly… she’s like a broken pencil, pointless! 😉
@Manny V
Sige nga. Why do you think we have squatters? Please enlighten us.
FYI, here’s proof that even first world countries have squatters. The article also proves that “some” squatters ended up in squalid conditions because of poor choices in the past.
The tunnel people of Las Vegas: How 1,000 live in flooded labyrinth under Sin City’s shimmering strip
unfortunately, i am still waiting for that answer from Manny V.
TBH, that guy is a fraud. A flame baiter. A TROLL. 😛
What do you expect?
@Manny V:
It seems that you’re the bigger hypocrite and the bigger moron because you’re intent is to just ‘forever bursting bubbles’. 😛
To correct you: POVERTY is a CHOICE, not a circumstance or an excuse. The dysfunctional culture of this nation makes POVERTY even worse and these arrogant squatters choose to live in POVERTY instead of being successful because of excuses like ‘Kaya ako gumawa nito dahil MAHIRAP kami’ I could go on.
If anything, point f*cking missed but why we should believe on a real hypocrite and a moron like you a.k.a. TROLL?
Please no more strawman arguments, hypocrite. 😀
The poor should not use their poverty to do wrong. Squatting is wrong, period. Government should do its responsibility to right the wrong and keep order in society.
“It has been proven in the past that money that is earned through hard work is better appreciated than money received for free.”
What proof is that? The slavery roots of both Western Capitalism or China’s Communism?
Is that your proof? Ah, you mean, Jewish banking roots…slavery a la Mosaic times and Egyptian times…then review those times and you will see that the poor are well-provided for. Even debts were forgiven and some portions of the fields were left unharvested for the poor to partake on.
Every system ultimately becomes social and charitable, that is a natural morality that is never imposed but is gradually arrived at by any system, because everybody realizes that is the only way to go or be held in a stalemate.
If you are wise, you would have realized it by now, dear Ilda.
@Rob Tantoco
You are talking nonsense. I didn’t mention anything about slavery. However, the current dysfunctional system has resulted in the treatment of the poor like slaves, indeed. Unfortunately, people like you don’t want to think outside of the square.
I certainly did not design the system that promotes poverty. It’s time for you to open your mind to reality. Like I said in my recent article, the people from the squatter areas are known to accept bribes from corrupt public officials who are obviously inefficient and incompetent in the performance of their jobs. They get the politicians they deserve then. People from the squatter areas contributed significantly to the electing to office of public officials who are not really interested in uplifting the poor people’s conditions.
“Most of the people from the squatter areas are responsible for why the country remains Asia’s basketcase.”
But these squatter folks you call outnumber the landed ones. They are human beings too like you, and they are also citizens of the Philippines.
May I remind you Ilda, in all your glorious ignorance of the constitution of your own country that in ARTICLE XII NATIONAL ECONOMY AND PATRIMONY Section 6 of the Philippine Constitution, “The use of property bears a social function, and all economic agents shall contribute to the common good. Individuals and private groups, including corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective organizations, shall have the right to own, establish, and operate economic enterprises, subject to the duty of the State to promote distributive justice and to intervene when the common good so demands.”
The government may buy private lands to allocate to them because the goal of the Philippine constitution is NOT to follow your brand of SADISTIC and SLAVERY-LIKE morality but “Section 1. The goals of the national economy are a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth; a sustained increase in the amount of goods and services produced by the nation for the benefit of the people; and an expanding productivity as the key to raising the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged.”
Your ilk, my dear Ilda is already dying, purged naturally by natural selection. We are grateful your kind is already becoming extinct so that the next generation does not pass-on your type ideology which may cause again the untold suffering of countless lives.
You can be certain that people, especially crappy “celebrities” already going flop nowadays, who tweet your asinine views will go down the same road of infamy and loss.
I hope you don’t end-up becoming a squatter some day. It can happen to anyone you know, especially in a country with no reliable social safety-nets. It happened to foreigners stuck in the country already begging these days…it can happen to you too. I’d be entertained to read what you would probably write when you become one…that is, if you could even afford to write by then.
“The use of property bears a social function, and all economic agents shall contribute to the common good. Individuals and private groups, including corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective organizations, shall have the right to own, establish, and operate economic enterprises, subject to the duty of the State to promote distributive justice and to intervene when the common good so demands.”
Why does that remind me of something…
http://fvdb.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/we-are-a-fascistcorporatist-state/
“Section 1. The goals of the national economy are a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth; a sustained increase in the amount of goods and services produced by the nation for the benefit of the people; and an expanding productivity as the key to raising the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged.”
Charming, if one takes that as “unzipping one’s trousers and pissing on the free market that brings prosperity.” No wonder we have welfare state-like tendencies–it’s actually Constitutional!
And people wonder why there are those among us who advocate Constitutional Reform. Abolition of protectionism, perhaps trimming down the size of our government…
As a parting shot, consider Aristotle:
“The worst form of equality is to make unequal things equal.”
Funny how you’d highlight squatters as being “also citizens of the Philippines” then proceed to type in a keyboardfull without once citing how ALL citizens are subject to the law – including property laws – regardless of social class.
@Rob Tantoco
That’s another emotional outburst from someone who missed the point of the article.
Which part of the article actually claims that the squatters are not human beings? You are putting things that aren’t there. Do not assume that people who are fed up with arrogant and abusive squatters want to treat them inhumanely. As far as I am aware, it is not against the law to speak out against the tyranny that is happening in the Philippines. The taxpayers who shoulder the CCT and the relocation program of the squatters have been very tolerant in the past and they have suffered enough from the illegal activities of those who have no regard for the law and the environment. It is about time they put a stop to the abuse they have been getting from organised criminals who help with the proliferation of the squatter colonies.
People like you seem to be the ones who prefer to keep the status quo. I would rather find a permanent solution to the squatter problem than continue doing the same thing over and over with very little result. By creating jobs and opportunities for them in their local areas in the provinces, they don’t have to be forced to squat in cramped areas in the big cities.
What is your interpretation of the law? Is it for landowners to give up their land to squatters?
What kind of society do you want the Philippines to have when squatters who are obviously wreaking havoc in the environment are tolerated by people like you just because you feel they are above the law?
No one is above the law. If the people from the upper and middle classes have to face the consequences of breaking the law, the people from the lower class should feel the brunt of the law too. You should quit being too judgmental of people who are voicing out their concern for the Philippines and are fighting for their own rights.
Here’s my recent article just in case you missed it: A sustainable solution to the squatter problem in the Philippines
To Ms. Bianca Gonzalez: I’d really want to hear what Pope Francis has to say to you regarding your thoughts about our squatters! I hope you realize that there are 1% rich in our country & about 98% are poor. Maybe instead of complaining, you could be a part of the solution. Do you realize what could happen if the 98% of the poor turn against the 1% of the rich? What will be left of this country? But luckily for us, our poor are a God-fearing lot. These are Filipinos who want to survive & have a chance at life. A lot of our squatters go to school, go to work as pedi-cab/jeepney/bus/taxi drivers, house helpers, factory workers, etc. Not all of them are bums & beggars! We Filipinos were all squatters at the time when the Spaniards, then the Americans were grabbing our lands! Within the walls of Intramuros were the elite, & outside of Intramuros were the squatters then. So can’t you see that after all this time the majority of our countrymen still do not own homes they can call their own? It is our poor that’s saving all our asses now! They are our OFWs who are bringing in the much needed revenues by enslaving themselves in other countries, again because they want a better chance at life! No gov’t can do this alone! We & the likes of you, have a responsibility to help in the plight of our poor! That is what we should teach our children! That is what your parents & your school should have taught you! With less unsympathetic people like you, we stand a better chance of uplifting the lives of our ‘kababayans’! Thank God your not my daughter! I would have dis-owned you! Shame on you!
@cory varela-luarca
And yet you expect the 1% to shoulder the cost of providing food, shelther, clothing for the 98%. Gee…do your math.
I don’t think Bianca said anything againts those who try to earn income as “pedi-cab/jeepney/bus/taxi drivers, house helpers, factory workers”. These people get low paying jobs because of the law of supply and demand. There are just too many unemployed who are willing to work for peanuts. If they didn’t have kids they can’t afford to feed, they would have better options.
Try not to change the topic. BTW, not all OFWs come from the squatter areas and not all OFW’s work menial jobs overseas. There are OFWs in Singapore who work in the IT department too. Some OFWs work as engineers and scientists in other countries because they get higher wages compared to what they get in the Philippines.
Forget about the Spaniards and Americans. The Filipino people wanted their independence and they got it. Unfortunately, Filipinos chose to create laws that they don’t want to follow. Now the country is run like hell. Shame on Filipinos who don’t want to uphold the law! Some of them coddle squatters who grab and trash other people’s property.
@cory varela-luarca
thank your god you are not my mother or i would have changed my name immediately.
– i really want to know what the Pope thinks of the really rich churches in the RP living surrounded by slums.
– and yet you want the 1% to bear the burden. isn’t it time we stop taking responsibility for those who don’t want it?
– what solution? do you realize if the 1% who pays taxes stop doing so? what will be left of the country? if we can voluntarily stop paying tax, many would have done so because look where it’s going??
– not enough fear to stop them from taking other’s properties madam.
– there, you said it yourself, not everyone is a bum or beggar, whereas Bianca is talking about the squatters.
– no we weren’t. we were a divided lot because we refused to do something about it.
– my ancestors too did not own lots during the times of occupation, but they did not squat. they rented. and we worked. we worked our assess off so we can have our own. we paid for it with blood sweat and tears, and now you want others to take it without paying?
– please, stop glorifying OFWs. do you think they like it? do you think they’d rather work here? going abroad is supposed to be a temporary setback while there are yet jobs to be created in our country. but noooo, the government sees it fit to not create jobs so we are perpetually going out. OFW is not the solution. create jobs in the country so they can go home.
-there you have it, we cannot do this alone. we are but the 1%. what are we compared to them? but, think about how you want to help them. you think spoonfeeding them will teach them how to feed themselves? you think the 1% can continue to shoulder the entire dependent 99%? you call her unsympathetic, i call you ignorant.
Squatters are behaving the way they do because for many years now they have been used and abused by our politicians. Who do you think deliver the votes for them? Who does their dirty work in enabling cheaters in elections? Of course those who do not have choices or have very limited choices in life — the squatters. It a socio-economic problem that is difficult to solve. We need a leader with political will and moral ascendancy to solve the squatter problem. And a leader like that is hard to find.
ok ito po ang solusyon sa squatters, for our current system, since you think im idiot thinking of resource base economy. first bigyan sila ng trabaho na bagay sa kanila at bigyan ng tamang benefits tulad ng housing allowance o housing loan, transportation allowance, etc. yung sahod po(kwentahin mo kahit good for 3 person food a day na lang.) tamang minimum wage a day. sa mga brgy. official at purok president always monitor ng lugar nila ipagbawal ang pagpatayo ng bahay kung hinde kanila ang lupa. sa mga mamayan ereport po pag my nakitang nagtatayo ng bahay sa police station(mas maganda if my text hotline), sa mga police po dapat aksyonan agad at ipatigil ang pagpagawa ng bahay. government and private should have a ready housing para sa mga empleyado nila without this bawal mag operate. marami pa pong solusyon depende kung gaano kana na mind control ng systema. huwag tatanga tanga 2013 na po me google saka youtube na, huwag po tayo magtiwala lang sa mainstream media.
Im not an intelligent person, but in my opinion and experience as former squatter… Their is nothing you can do about these squatters problem because even our government cannot give a solution into it or maybe something wrong in our government itself. So Lets forget the government, let them mind their own business & hidden agenda. Just mind yours.
Im not saying their is no solution or shall we say their is no hope for them (squatters), but I know every problem has solution. And hope and solution are not for all, only for those who willing to listen and determine to help themselves. And this is the character should to establish to themselves (squatters). Because we cannot educate them if they would not listen, we cannot help them if they don’t want to help themselves… and nothing you can do.
And lastly, if you have a desire to help these poor people in their poverty, you can help them as long as you want in any method of support without comments. Help them according to your heart even though they are arrogant.
Poor filipinos victimized their own. They always blame the government to save them. Well, did the government told them to be lazy and to produce many babies?
I would like the government to form a place for this illegal settlers. Like china town in ny. Build houses..community for this opportunist illegal settlers. This is for the benefit that manila will be a pretty place. No squatters area but a community, china town like community for this illegal settlers. The government will buy a place or the same place, they will beautify it. The government can provide housing projects if they really want manila to be squatter less. This sounds like babying this settlers, but these settlers are already dumb, explain things to them and they wont understand. They cant be changed. So the government should stop battling with them. They should just build housing for this people for the benefit of manila view.
And now, the hard-working, law-abiding, tax-paying middle class is burdened with having to provide their maids, drivers, yayas, etc with insurance etc. I am not against the Kasambahay Law; I am against the nerve-wracking, time-consuming procedures the government requires us to undergo in abiding by that law! The SSS themselves are not clear on the procedures, and so we have to keep coming back to their overly-crowded, hot office for additional requirements. One cannot pay quarterly because we are not allowed to pay in advance, yet if you are 10 days late, you pay a fine. Once you have paid through the bank, you still have to go back to the overly-crowded SSS office to submit papers and have your receipt stamped. Now, I am told, we should also have a usb so they can upload a document R3 for payment. Does this enable us to do away with coming to the SSS each time we pay (like, do it online?). No, we still have to pay the SSS that monthly friendly visit…Haaayyy! I am 69 and my husband is 77 – we can no longer stand the crowd and the heat and noise (tempers rising) in the SSS office! Can the kasambahay be the one to go to the SSS to submit his/her receipt and R3 form? No, it must be the employer – never mind if she is ageing or sick!
Most informal settlers blame the government for being poor.
Most squatters in manila came from the provinces because most of them believed that the future is in manila as their future is bleak in their home town who offers little or nothing.. they came, arrived and believe thay can conquer only to end up squatting… Some of them are called part of the squatter dynasty.. They believe that their bloodlines are destined to be squatters.. Accepted that they cant do something in improving their lives that they were born squatters and will die squatters… Some are professional squatters.. Who used stupid politicians and stupid policies to get stronghold in squatting and benefit at the same time.. They just dont care.. They occupied spaces without considering implications and rights of others because they believed that they have a right to be squatters.. Squatting is now a cancer that plagued not only manila.. Cancer that spawned numerous crimes and issues… And the cure seems to be nowhere to be found.. Unless the government and the people will help each other in finding ways to create livelihood in the provinces… That politicians will not use them in their campaigns etc… Squatting will flourish if we will not do something about it..
Kasalanan ng Mga nakaupong Politiko yan, mga bayaran sila, kasi botante yang mga yan, kaya malalakas ang loob kasi protektado yang mga yan..
Hindi sila bayaran ng pulitiko…karamihan sa sqautter madaling maniwala at umasa sa pulitiko pero Hindi sila nabayaran at Hindi sila binabayaran.. eh kung bayad Yang mga yan..sana wala ng sqautter…ang batang Squatter ay kulang sa gabay. may mag pangarap ang mga yan… tumulong nalang tayo para maiaayos naman ang buhay nila. im not saying na bigyan ng tulong pinansyal ang mga sqautter… ikaw??? kung may hinanakit ka… magiisip ka at kikilos. tama na muna ang sisihan
Ironic, as it is those same government that paid them to vote them.
I can only share what I know is true based on what I experience and observe within our baranggay.
You only have to observe and talk to the poor to see the difference between those who ended up squatting because of bad decisions and unfortunate circumstances, and those people with what I call “squatter mentality -” i.e. a severe case of entitlement.
The prior receives and treats government assistance as a sort of “kickstart” in getting the better life they came here for in the first place. They take advantage of TESDA, education projects, co-ops, etc. The latter lies back, drinks, shouts profanities, and then think that they deserve government help.I believe it’s the latter that pisses most people off.
Also, another argument that keep popping up is that the squatters take on the jobs that the middle class refuse to take. Again, this is only based on where I currently live, but most tricycle drivers, house help, factory workers, etc, etc pay rent on legit properties. Those that aren’t yet, are working on it.
It’s that woman begging at the Cubao MRT station everyday saying she needs money to get home. Someone gives her the full amount she says she needs and more, yet you still see her at the station day after day. Versus the grandpa who asks for exactly P5 so he can ride a jeep home and went home right after he gave his thanks.
My point is, those who remain dirt poor for decades are either not looking or don’t want to look for a way out. It’s a choice.
Almost all of them are not poor, as most of these squatter have access to tapped electricity, water, cable television, etc. that we the subscribers are paying on their behalf. I already went to one of these squatters’ communities and I’m not surprised – Ang gaganda ng mga TV nila, may mga flat screen pa nga. yung iba may monthly subscription sa Cignal (nagtataasan kasi mga Cignal Dish dun sa napuntahan ko). Marami rin akong nakita na may iPhone (not sure kung GSM, Galing sa Magnanakaw). Imagine? Gaganda ng appliances nila at kaya nilang kumuha ng luho. Pero wala silang matinong bahay? Di nila gustong tumino buhay nila. Ang gusto nila, ibigay ng gobyerno ang lahat sa kanila ng libre, yung wala silang pinaghihirapan.
mali ka dun.. ofcourse gusto nila tumino ang buhay nila.. most of them Hindi nakapag ara kaya hindi nakakapag isip ng tama, Hindi marunong mag Budget..Hindi iniisip ang future after 10 or 20 yrs.. tambay! walang gumagabay sa kanila. kung meron lang sanang gumagabay Hindi sila dadami ng baluktot ang buhay.. instead na puro negative lang ang sinasabi natin bakit Hindi tayo mag isip ng tama at kumilos.. kasi in the end dadami pa sila… dadami crime at madadamay ka. Hindi ka na sure sa buhay mo. yan ang results ng kurap na gobyerno…
Hahah, at nakakagulat din kung gaano sila katataba. Hindi ka maniniwala na kulang mga kinakain nilang mga squatters, kasi, pag may pera, diretso sa fast food. XD
Matapobre na kung matapobre. Ako araw araw akong nag trabaho para mabigyan ng edukasyon at pagkain pambaoon ang aking mga anak. Halos kulang na ang aking kinikita due I’m a tax payer.
Grabe ang kakapal ng mga mukha ng mga squatter na to. Kung hindi aalis yung owner ng land is may right silang sunugin.
Sunugin na lang para umlis lahat yang mga salot na yan! Nanggaling kami sa mahirap pero kung kikilos at mag pupursigi kayang bumangon.
Itong mga squatter na to masyado na silang umabuso dahil sa libreng bahay, libreng serbisyo ng mga gobyerno dahil napatakbo dahil may funds from tax payers.
Kahit idaan nyo sila sa legal hindi nila maiintindihan yun dahil sila ay mga walang kwentang tao at abusado at makakasarili.
Dapat patayin na lang sila.
wala naman silbi yang mga yan kung di dumihan ang pilipinas.
binibigyan nila ng mga maling impressions ang mga dayuhang bumibisita dito. nakakaiya sila.
Sunugin ang bawat squatters’ area pag bumalik, sunugin ulit.
Squater man kmi tawagin pero pare-pareho po tayobg pinoy. Hindi po ba dapat naagtulungan tayo? Hindi naman po lahat ng squater ay brutal tulad ng nasa larawan. May dahilan kung bakit nag kaganun..tulad ng lack of education. Kmi po hindi nkapag aral dahil sa kakulangan ng budget at karamihan po samin isang beses lng kumain sa mghapon. Hindi po kami tamad.. tulad po ng sinabi ko kulang kmi sa edukasyon karugtong na dun ang desiplina.. diba po may kasabihan tayong ang maling ginagawa ng matatanda ay tama sa mga bata.. dekada na po ang narating namin (mula sa ninuno) sa pagiging squater. Hindi po kmi proud maging squater gusto po nmin makaalis sa mabahong lugar at masikip. Tulad nga po ngsinabi ko edukasyon at desiplina ang kelangan namin.. paano po matututo ang batang squater kung puro mali ang nkikita nya. Paano nman po maitatama ang maling gawain ng nkakaedad? Eh eto bang nkkaidad alam b nya na mali sya? Lahat po tau pilipino. Walang mahirap walang mayaman. Bilang tao gumawa nlang po tayo ng tama kesa sabihang patayin kming mga squater. Eh ano p ba pinagkaiba mo samin kung papasunog niyo po kmi. Magpasalamat po kayo kasi hindi niyo kelangan makipagsiksikan sa squater.Hindi ko gustong maging mahirap hindi ko rin pinangarap humiga sa pera ang gusto ko po mag mahalan at magrespituhan ang bawat isa.
Heh. Ang tanong is: anong ginagawa mo para maiahon mo ang sarili mo at ang pamilya mo mula sa kahirapan? May karapatan kang galangin ka namin, oo, pero hindi ibig sabihin nu’n eh hindi mo na pagsisikaping i-earn iyon mula sa aming mga taxpayers.
Sorry na lang sa iyo, naging squatter ka. Ginagalang namin dito ang mga squatter na nagsusumikap umalis mula sa kalagayan nila–na hindi utak-squatter. Sana hindi utak-squatter.
Kung pwede lang kung buwis ko, ispe-specify ko na hindi mapupunta sa mga utak-squatter na gaya mo, samangel. >:)
Samangel, ang gusto lang namin iparating is many of the squatters abuse the situation by receiving money from the government which is really from the tax payers, bukod pa yon sa libreng pagtira sa lupang hindi naman inyo. ang pag squat ay illegal. so please if you really want to do your part sa ‘pagtutulungan’ ng sambayanang Pilipino, lumugar tayo sa tama at legal. may nagmamay ari ng lupa na tinitirikan ng mga bahay nyo, might as well care to respect their right for the land.
I agree with the article with regards to the informal settlers. What I did not like was the example that you have given with the punching of Mayor Sarah Duterte. She did intervene with the demolition but only because she doesn’t want any blood shed to happen during the demolition. Also at the end of the punching scenario the informal settlers demolished their illegally built houses upon the Mayors request.
Pag ako presidente magpapatayo ako ng stadium, iipunin ko lahat ng squatter, mag lalaban laban sila matira matibay hangang magkaubusan (gladiator style). Ang hindi lumaban, ipapakain sa mga lion habang pinapanood ng mga nagbayad na audience! :)) Mawawala na squatter, bababa population, bababa crime rate, tataas pa ang tourism! hahaha!
Sounds like The Purge for the Squatter
Tao kmi hindi robot na pede niyong paglaruan. Kung magsalita kayo masakit. San po napunta ang utak niyo? Eh yung puso niyo po kaya? Bigyan ko po kayo ng halimbawa. Paano po kaya kinabukasan ng sanggol na isinilang na squater?? Kasama po ba sa tinutukoy niyo? Kung ako po yung sanggol at ikaw ang magulang ko.. mas gugustuhin ko pa isilang sa squatter. Instead na isa isahin nio kming ubusin. Mag isip po kayo ng tama. Sa batas ng tao o ng diyos maling mali po naisip niyong paraan pra mawala ang squater. Respeto po pra sa inyo. Salamat.
Hehehehehehe. Alam naming tao ka. So?
Kumikilos ka ba na parang responsableng tao? Ano trabaho mo? Yung kinikita mo ba, bina-budget mo nang maigi? Kung oo, sige, you earn our sympathy. We’ll treat you like a human.
Kung hindi, okay, tao ka pa rin, pero asal-hayop ka. Hindi porke’t tungkulin naming galangin ka, ibig sabihin na nu’n, may karapatan ka nang bastusin ang mga taxpayers na gaya namin. Stop whining.
the squatter mentality vs. the elite mentality: ignorance vs. arrogance. who’s who?
Sino kakampihan? Wala. Tsaka nakalimutan mo ba yung point sa article na ito na arrogante din iyang mga taong may squatter mentality?
:))
Long live the middle class.
Huwag ng Pabotohin ang mga nasa squatters, tiyak tatanggalin yan sila ng mayor o tongressman, as long as pinakikinabangan sila ng mga Kumag na pulitiko, di aalis ang mga yan… Gumawa ng Batas na bawal bumuto ang mga squatters, para di na sila protektahan ng mga Mayor at Tongressman.
tama ka ferdz. tutal wala naman silang nakocontribute sa bayan. di ba si thatcher nga nagsabi na pati ang mga mahihirap ay dapat itax din kasi nakikinabang din sila sa bayan. pero ang mga wlanghiyang mga politikong gumagamit sa mga iskwater tulad ng mayor namin ay tlagang makakapala ang mga mukha.umikot ka dito sa amin at makikita mo ang mga iskwater na sila pa ang mga naghahariharian….bianca gomez saludo ako sa yo.
Yan nga sabi ni Miriam Defensor-Santiago, taxpayers na lang daw ang dapat pwedeng bumoto. 🙂
Naaliw lang ako isipin yun no, ang dala mo sa precint pag boboto ka, yung latest tax form mo? Tapos Passport at thumb mark verification para sa ID verification.
*pardon the redundancy ng “verifcation” LOL
talagang kawawa ang mga middle class oyung mga marunong magbanat ng buto. kukubain ka ng gobyerno para magbayad ng buwis tapos ang nakukuhang buwis sa atin ay ipangrerelocate sa mga squatters o ibibigay bilang conditional cash transfer para masuportahan ang mga iskwater na walang trabaho pero anak naman ng anak .tuloy tayong mga middle income ang kakarga sa kanila. samantalang tayo ay nangungutang para me mapambayad sa matrikula ng mga anak, magamit na panggamot o panghospital sa ating mga kapamilyang me sakit. samantalang ang mga iskwater na mga ito ay wlang problema dahila ng lahat ng biyaya ng bayan ay sa knaila napupunta. naghihirap sila dahil hindi sila marunong magbanat ng buto. alam lang nila ang maghintay ng biyaa mula sa gobyerno. samantalnag tayong mga nagbabaya ng buwis ay idedeny pag humingi ka sa charity. yan ang sistemang napakabulok dito sa pinas, kasi dahil sa mga bugok at mapagsamatalang mga hinayupak na mga politiko…
ilda keep it up…
This move towards government-sponsored socialism has been met with severe backlash from Philippine society. The outrage expressed by most people was how come these, to use their terms, ne’r-do-wells,
Wow. Nkkainsulto naman po kayo. Squater ako at kinaiinisan ang pagiging aquater pero ni minsan hindi ko nagawang mang insulto lalo na ang insultuhin ang taong hindi sapat ang kaalaman. Gawa po kayo ng survey. Tanungin nio po kaming mga squater kung proud b kmi na nang isquat lng kmi? At tanungin nio po sana kung mananatili na lamang ba kming squater? Kesa sinasabihan nio ang squater ng arrogant bkit di nalang natin pagtulung tulungan ayusin ang gobyerno. Sapat ang budget mula sa tax (mas maraming ambag ang squater sa tax) hindi nman po kmi aroganteng squater ang nkkarami samin kulang na kulang sa edukasyon kya kmi ngkaganito. Salamat.
What duh…? mas maraming ambag ang squatters? What’s your basis in saying that?
If you’re not one of the arrogant squatters, then you shouldn’t feel insulted by this article because the article didn’t say that all squatters are arrogant.
marahil nga po ay mali ang tantsa ko na malaki ang naiiambag ng squatter sa tax pero nagbbayad prin ang squater ng tax. tulad po ng pagkain.. may 12% value added tax bawat pagkain at bawat bagay naman po may karagdagang tax. maraming squatter ang empleyadong ngbabayad ng tax.. lahat po ng batang squater gustung makapag aral. Hindi po tamad ang sqautter. kulang sila sa kaalaman at desiplina kaya yan ang resulta ng buhay. Hindi po namin na ikinahihiyang squatter kmi kung tawagin at Hindi rin po namin ipinag mamalaki na kami nakatira sa squatter. sorry po kung may nasabi man akong mali.
tinamaan man po o Hindi..squater o Hindi sqautter..masakit at nakakainsulto ang artikulo at ang ilang kumento.. Hindi prin tama na isisi sa squater ang kapangitan ng pilipinas. tayong lahat, bawat isa may pananagutan. bilang pilipino ano po ang maiaambag niyo upang mawala o mapigilan ang squatting? tama ba wala talaga silbe ang sqautter? sang ayon po ba kayo sa ilang commentator na patayin o sunugin nalang ang sqautter.
“tama ba wala talaga silbe ang sqautter?”
If all they have done but living in a land that they don’t own legally, why not?
domo says: If all they have done but living in a land that they don’t own legally, why not?
to domo:
ganun ka na ba kadisperadong mawala ang Squatter? sang ayong ka na patayin at ipasunog ang mag Squatter. alam mo na maituturing na crime ang pag sang ayon sa maling gawain? naisip mo ba ang sanggol na ipinanganak na sqautter? Hindi mo na nga sila binigyang ng pagkakataon magbago, pinatay mo pa agad. anong pinag kaiba mo sa kurap na pulitiko eh diba ang mga kurap na pulitiko pinapatay nila ang mag humahadlang sa pag-yaman nila. may pananagutan sa paligid mo. Hindi sulusyon ang maling paraan sa pag ayos ng problema.
Masakit at nakakainsulto ang article na ito. Yeah. Tama. GRP ito, eh. Dito, samangel, intellectual toughening ang nangyayari dito. Di nagtatagal dito ang mga in denial sa actual na hitsura ng lipunan natin.
Kulit mo rin, nuh. Sabi ni Ilda yung mga mayayabang na squatter yung mga tarantado. Di niya sinama dito yung mga squatter na nagsusumikap sa buhay para makabili sila ng mas disenteng housing.
Tip ko sa iyo, man: Basahin mo nang sampung beses itong article na ito bago ka mag-react nang paiyak, ha?
Sige, iyak ka pa. 😛
Sana yung mga squatter, di na binibilang yung tax mula sa pagkain. Lahat naman nagbabayad nun.
Hindi lang sa squatter sinisisi ang kapangitan ng Pinas, kundi sa mga pulitikong kumukunsinti sa kanila.
Bilang Pilipino, nagbabayad ako ng tamang buwis. Wala akong flat screen tv o iphone o kahit pa-party sa kaarawan ko, dahil inuuna kong bumili ng bahay. nag-iipon muna ako bago magkapamilya, hindi yung nagpaparami na lang basta-basta pero wala namang makain.
Hindi po magkakaroon nang resolution kung parehong nag babangayan ang dalawang panig. Dapat po ay magka isa tayong lahat dahil tayo’y mga pinoy.
Sa hanay po nang mga Squatters. hindi nman po lahat sila ay arogante o mangmang.. biktima lamang sila nang sitwasyon kaya sila naging squatter. Domino effect ang nangyari dyan.. at namana na rin nang mga kabataan ang pagiging mahirap nila dahil na rin na di nag sikap ang mga magulang nila. Isama nyo pa dyan na nagamit sila at inabuso nang politiko.. kaya ngayn sila naman ang umaasa sa mga politiko. di nman po tama na sila ay patayin o sunugin.. gawain po yan nang taong sinaniban ni Satanas.
Sa hanay naman po nang mga middle class at tax payers.. hindi nman po fair na sila nang nagbabayad tapos ang pera ay iba ang nakikinabang. Karapatan po nila na mag reklamo dahil nga sa dami nang Squatter sa pinas.. naabala sila sa mga araw araw na trabaho nila.. minsan biktima pa sila nang holdap at krimen na ang kriminal at produkto nang mga taong nakatira sa Squatters.
Ako po ay hindi mayaman.. middle class lang nman ako at tinaguyod ko ang pamilya ko sa hirap dahil nag sipag at tiyaga ko. Hirap nang kalooban ang kalaban ko sa trabaho ko dahil nandito ako sa Saudi at iniwan ko sila dyan sa pinas.
May suggestion lang po ako sa Gov’t na sa tingin ko magiging epektibo para ma solutionan ang problema sa Squatting. Sana mag karoon nang systema ang gobierno na magkaroon nang ID system tulad d2 sa saudi. Alam ko matagal nang na panukala yan. Pero di pinapasa sa senado at congresso sa kadahilanan ayaw nila malantad ang kanilang mga sekreto.
Ano ba magagawa nang ID system.
1. Sa bawat pinoy na mag ID. makaka tulong po sa NSO na malaman ang tunay na bilang nang mga Pilipino.
2. Mapipigilan sa eleksyon ang mga flying voters.
3. Madaling malalaman ang pag kakilanlan nang bawat isa at madali mahuhuli ang mga kriminal.
at marami pang iba..
Ang isa pang gus2 ko ipatupad, eh yung magkaroon tayo nang travel permit kung tayo ay pupunta sa Manila. Ano ba ito:
1. Dapat ang mga taong nasa labas nang Metro Manila, ay dapat na may travel permit bago pumasok nang Manila. Makakatulong ito para maiwan na basta na lang pupunta ang mga tao sa manila nang wala naman kalakalan at pag laon eh magiging squatter na rin. Lalo na un mga tumatawid nang dagat. Aminin natin na karamihan Squatter ay galing sa bisaya at mindanao. Isang paraan ito para mabawasan ang daloy nang taong nagpupunta sa manila at mapigilan ang pag dami nang Squatter.
2. Income generating pa ito sa gobierno na ang kikitain ay puedeng magamit na fund sa biktima nang kalamidad.
Dalawa lang po yan na dapat gawin sa pinas na tingin ko ay magiging epektibo sa pag control ang dami nang population sa Manila at pag pigil sa pag dami nang mga Squatters. Salamat po.
The squatters’ issue is a clear example of how the rule of law is being trampled upon.
The violent resistance against legal authorities by those squatting on public/private property is a clear example of how people brazenly violate our laws.
Time to take our laws seriously.
Alamin dapat ang batas.. I don’t like to put the blame on our Leaders pero sila parin ang may kakahayang puksain ang paglaganap ng crimes at squatting. Kung kinakailangan maghigpit…GAWIN but don’T kill the Squatters…kawawa mga batang walang alam. Gumawa nalang ng mabuting paraan ayon sa batas ng tao at batas ng DIYOS. a child Squatter doesn’t Need financial assiatance.. what he Need is a guidance to lead him to the right path.
violent squatters usually have guns, something law abiding citizens have no access to…
Kundi baril, mga paltik, pillbox (tama ba spelling?), granadang gawa sa dumi nila mismo at tubig-kanal.
I am a foreigner, and I am effected by squatters too. I live in a condo in Cebu, where the access to a main street is blocked off due to a squatter house. In order to get to a main street, one has to go far in the opposite direction where you need to go, and you need to make a big detour. The squatter family has been offered money by the developer of the condo, but refuses to move on. So it seems many are being held hostage in the building due to the arrogance of the one. Alot of foreigners are going to be pissed off in this building!
The British government used to provide housing. They managed to build 4 million Council housing for people after the WW2.
Then the 1980’s the neo-liberal ideal came and Margaret Thatcher sold off the housing, over 2 million of them. Also eliminated rent controls and reduced the house building from 300,000 to 100,000.
Thirty years later, the house prices have sky rocketed and most cannot afford a home. As for the Council housing sold off, one third are owned by the very governmental heads who sold them off (Can you say crony capitalism?).
To build a home in Britain costs about £125,000, but to sell the very same is about £400,000.
The government is now active in preventing the building of too many as that would plunge the house prices down and be bad for their voters. Mainly the older mortgage owners who realise what has happened.
They bought their council housing, not realising that none would be available for their children.
The socialist ideal that if you needed a large home for your kids, then you got it. If you needed a smaller place, since the kids have left, then you moved. That was eliminated.
The older generation are trapped into hoping the housing bubble does not burst, as their house has become their retirement pension. Another neo-liberal ideal was to lower the pension for retirees.
we have a1000 sqm lot at commonwealth, quezon city.several years ago the city government agreed to demolish the squatters structure. We gave money for the demolition. When the squatters were moved out of the lot, they transferred to the streets. We fenced the lot with G.I. roofing sheets. The next day they were stolen. We placed a tough guy to live in the premises. In a week even the remaining structures were wrecked by the squatters. Later we found out the the place was used as drug den. Who are living now in our lots. Informers told us government employees and policemen. The barangay officials tolerate the squatters. A city mayor dared to eject the squatters. He lost . Did it ever occur to the city officials and politicians that if the squatters are not allowed to vote they would spend less. One can never rely at the loyalty of the squatters. Whoever gives more money, he will be elected.
Our society says we should love the poor squatters. I have seen squatters with better appliance than I have. They consume more liquor and cigarettes and soft drinks than in other communities. They own tricycles, jeeps, and even SUVs. Almost all have businesses .
Quezon City is noted as the richest city in the Philippines.Why is it known as the city with the most squatters? Ask HB or is it herbertville?
taxi driver’s are perfect examples of squatter mentality. i hope to kill a taxi driver someday. by the way, miss bianca is so guapa…
informal settlers are additional votes for politicians what else is new..
What’s getting this worse? MEDIA!!! Everytime may demolition na nagaganap, its always the squatters na nagmumukhang kawawa. Wouldn’t wonder. Etong mga squatters na to ang biggest market ng gma, abscbn, and those cheap tabloids. BUSINESS 🙁
That effin’ stupid Lina Law must be abolished! Where in the world would you see a law requiring the land owner, whose property has been infested with informal settlers, to look for a new settlement for the trespassers to his very own property?! How did that law even get passed in the first place! Only in the Philippines…
Ano kaya ang gagawin ng Messiah ng anti-squatters kapagka may mga dumagsang biktima ni YolandaPH sa mga bakanteng lupain at mag panibagong buhay doon dahil sa kapaitang kanilang sinapit sa Tacloban, Cebu, Samar, Capiz, at iba pang siyudad na napinsala? Ewan ko sa inyong humahanga sa tinatawag inyong Messiah, basta ako ang alam kong Messiah ay ang ating Panginoong Hesus na magliligtas sa Kanyang mga nasasakupan lalo na kapag inaapi. Nakatuon ang Kanyang pansin sa Pilipinas at hiihintay Niya ang pagbabalik-loob ng mga Pilipino. Mungkahi ko lang, iwanan na ang pangmamata o pang-aapi sa mga naghihirap. Bigyan sila ng pagkakataong makaahon…tulad ko na pinalaki ng naghihikahos kong magulang sa squatters ng Makati. Sa ngayon ay narito ako sa Amerika at kapag nadalaw sa ating bansa, tumutuloy ako sa sarili kong munting condo unit sa Grand Soho Makati sa Salcedo Village. Hindi lahat ng informal settlers ay nagnanais na manatiling aba sa inyong paningin…at dahil malapit na rin lamang ang paghuhukom, maging mapagbigay na kayo lalo na kung ang pag-aaring kinalalagyan ng informal settlers ay hindi naman sa inyo. I’m sick and tired of your attitude, people who have no compassion in your proud hearts!!!
99.9% of those squatters are squatting because of disasters that demolished their home. Most of them are from provinces that went to city and then well.. they became lazy.
There are lots of solutions to this and those squatters are INDEED arrogant and rebellious. Something must be done or else. They weren’t existent decades ago.
Really? Where did you get these statistics from? If I can recall, the squatter infestation has been with us since after the Martial Law. Are you telling me that since then, squatters have been living off land that is not theirs primarily because natural disasters destroyed their homes? True, SOME of these people have been affected by natural disasters, but certainly not 99.9% of them.
IMO, most of these squatters are just lazy, arrogant and self-righteous. They have a false sense of entitlement and will always play the victim card whenever they are being removed from the land that they are squatting on.
There is no God. There is but the Oppressor who keeps us in our feet.
I don’t think I could fit in my foot, I’m too fat. And they didn’t teach me about this other all-powerful being who forces me to.
Wala pong messiah na darating. Ang tiyak na darating ay ang pag kaltas sa income tax ng middle class na pang finance sa lalo pang dumadami ng mga tamad, lasenggo at bobotanteng mga iskwaters.
This article and reactions that come from it are incredibly disheartening. Don’t get me wrong, I think the presence of illegal settlers are also problematic. However, the views espoused by Ms Ilda are way too simplistic to be taken seriously.
First of all, Ms Ilda places the blame squarely on the illegal settlers’ shoulders. If someone is making a good living somewhere else, do you think anyone will actually choose to be an illegal settler? While I am not saying that the illegal settlers are completely blameless, assuming that they are just lawless, arrogant, and defiant people is certainly counterproductive. This brings me to my second point.
Ms Ilda does not even explore ‘why’ we have a huge population of illegal settlers. In fact, at one point in her article, she derides why the news crews focuses on the illegal settlers’ plight. The answer ma’am is because understanding their plight is the key to permanently solving the squatter problem that has plagued us for decades now. Forcibly removing the squatters from where they are is not a permanent solution; doing this is akin to using band-aids on a flesh-deep wound.
Finally, the narrow-mindedness of the views presented in this article makes it especially disappointing. Ms Ilda at one point says “Filipino taxpayers simply cannot afford to fund the growing number of Filipinos living below the poverty line.” Did Ms Ilda even stopped and considered WHY a growing number of Filipinos are living below the poverty line? We must first strive to address these questions and then make changes in public policy such that we can eliminate rampant illegal settling. A decongestion of Metro Manila combined with simultaneous commercial and industrial developments in the provinces would certainly be a good first step. Meaning, if there are businesses outside Metro Manila there will be jobs outside Metro Manila and no one will need to squat. I’m sure there is more to this problem than what I’m suggesting but we have to think along those lines.
There is no easy way around this problem. But I am sure that blaming squatters, hating them, or forcibly removing them are incorrect approaches. Let us rethink the way we approach these illegal settling problem. Let us not lose our tempers in dealing with the inconveniences brought about by having illegal settlers. Let us make sure that no matter which walk of life our Filipino brothers and sisters come from, we treat them with respect and dignity.
GRP isn’t the only one “oversimplifying” this issue. When one sympathizes with squatters it’s all too easy to assume that the person who owns the land is always some fat capitalist developer. In a lot of cases, the only reason why we see a fat capitalist developer with bulldozers booting out squatters is because the guy who spent his life savings trying to buy that land, then tried to save money to utilize that land but it was occupied by squatters during that time, just gave up and sold that property (for probably barely any profit) to the fat capitalist.
It’s not always rich vs poor, but rich vs poor with the middle class getting quashed in the middle because at least the poor and the powerful can work together every three years. Since the middle class don’t have much in numbers, they’re worth a lot less. Not like they can protest by not paying taxes – they’d probably get a harsher sentence than squatters and Communists who maimed cops during protests whose leaders, btw, conveniently claim the technical definition of “chain of command” so escape responsibility (and repeatedly make the most out of) their supporters’ violent tendencies.
I appreciate your comment Ezra. However, I think you miss my point. I’m not framing this as an argument between rich and poor. I’m also not blaming people (i.e. thinking that they are fat capitalists) for wanting to remove illegal settlers. My point is simply that Ms. Ilda explores this topic without a lot of critical thought.
I agree with you that some investors use up their whole life savings for a piece of land and they deserve all that they can do with that land. I just didnt appreciate the way Ms Ilda basically just proposed to displace squatters without thinking of a possible long term win-win solution.
How is this oversimplified? Let’s turn the question around. Why do you make the problem overly complicated? Convoluted though it may be, the law on squatting is clear. That the state refuses to enforce the law either because it procrastinates or because it serves a political agenda is a fact of life in the Philippines. That news media lend a more sympathetic ear to persons living below the poverty line is evidenced by the fact that several programs on radio and television focus primarily on letting the “poor” air out their grievances. They’ve become the first venue the so-called down-trodden seek out; not the proper government channels or authorities. Rarely do these shows have “middle class” or “upper class” guests. Unless its in the context of some “lifestyle” or entertainment program. It’s also true that squatter colonies dispose of their wastes by dumping them in the most convenient location — usually an adjacent estero, or open lot, or the street out front, with the expectation that the local government will collect their refuse. (That practice, by the way, is devoid of any respect for their neighbors.) Are you denying this happens?
As Ezra implied, rpp, you are missing the point of Ilda’s article. It isn’t about WHY the squatter problem has gotten out of hand or what public policies should be developed to address the situation. Rather, the topic is the attitude and behaviour squatters have exhibited over the years and the effects these have had on the environment, on our society and our politics. While the points you raised are important in their own right, you shouldn’t conflate these other issues with the article. Incidentally, societal problems such as the root causes of poverty have been tackled by other articles on GRP. You should look them up.
Why make it complicated when it is actually that simple? squatters illegally built their houses on a piece of land disregarding legal ownership. The owner who bought the land or acquired it legally comes in to use the land and this arrogant parasites are more vicious and arrogant than the land owner himself because our rotten government’s law protects this criminals and trash of society. My words are harsh but so is reality.
There is no win-win solution in dealing with squatters because taxes of the middle class are being hijacked everytime. It is certainly not that kind of “win-win” Steven Covey had in mind. How can they when they don’t even have anything to offer on the table.
Lul. No easy way? Yes there is. The government get the taxes from the wrong kind of people. They should charge them taxes too from those informal settlers because:
1.) They’re the one who uses the government facilities. Public schools, public hospitals, you name it.
2.) People who are in middle-to-high class mostly prefers and can afford private facilities, as opposed to these informal settlers.
Of course, the government should still charge us some tax. A little. Or they could implement the tax police like most countries in Europe; If you are a high-money earning business man, you pay no or little taxes at all. You only pay taxes at a use of a public facilities.
Once you start charging them taxes, let’s see if they’re still going to lay down in their wooden homes and sat there like there’s no tomorrow. They’ll get jobs for sure.
Yep that’s the real problem the Philippine government encourages and favors laziness thru how they handle the situation just look at 4P’s that shit should never been implemented. instead they should’ve made something more reliable and consistent. instead they hand out money and squeeze the middle-high class taxes to feed this people who breeds like cockroaches.
“the growing number of Filipinos living below the poverty line…”
I agree with the people here, you’re complicating the discussion to appear humanitarian. Here’s what I think.
“Rich” people own the land.
“Rich” people have rights to the land.
Outsiders don’t own the land.
Outsiders have NO rights to the land.
We try to keep this simple and not involve the government anymore than they should be. We don’t want anymore “squatter” rights complicating everybody lives.
Here is my fix to the growing number of population below the poverty line:
IF YOU CAN’T SUPPORT IT, DON’T BREED!!!
should be common sense but a lot of people seem to lack it. What can be blamed though?
1. Catholicism and the “go forth, have sex make babies” slogan is misinterpreted by many, even priests
quote from internet: “God said in the Bible, ‘Go forth and multiply.’ That meant that God wanted man, not necessarily to literally multiply, but to go out to work with the rest of the human beings of this planet and to apply the stewardship theory.”
2. The Common media and the overrated value on SEX. This wasn’t a thing centuries ago. Subsistence breeding should be a thing for humans.
3. Idiocracy, false pride, feelings, etc… “I have 20 children I have no way of supporting basic needs. You don’t even have a wife/husband therefore I’m better human being than you.”
Actually, hindi naman magkakaron ng squatters kung magpupursigi sila maghanap ng trabaho eh. Fine, let’s say na hanggang high school lang natapos nila or grade school, meron namang trabahon na pwede for them eh. Pwede naman rin sila mamasukan muna as maid or boy, pwede rin na kahit sa 7-11 or Mini Stop muna sila magtrabaho. Pwede ring gas boy or girl. Ang nangyayari kasi, asa lang sila ng asa sa government. Ang gusto nila madalian, tipong pag-gising nila mayaman na sila at may magandang trabaho. Kala yata nila money grow from trees na pitas lang ng pitas. Hate to break it to you but people who gets to have a wonderful life here, works hard enough so they can give their family the life they didn’t have. They work their asses off to get to where they are right now. Kung yung mayayaman nga nagpupursigi pa rin magtrabaho para magkaron ng magandang future pamilya nila eh. The government is here to HELP provide our needs but majority is on us. Tayo lang naman talaga makakatulong sa sarili natin eh. If these squatters want to stay somewhere safer and permanently, they have to have the will power to look for a job so they can start somewhere. The Filipino mentality kasi they settle for “okay na” or “pwede na”. Instead of thinking of other ways to improve their life, they’ll just sulk and/or blame God for giving them this kind of life. Tapos when they’re really desperate, jan na papasok yung pagnanakaw, hold up, etc. Tapos when they have money to start saving for a better future, they’ll spend it all at once on booze and/or drugs tapos magrereklamo sila na wala na silang pera tapos minsan they’ll blame it pa on their kids and wife/husband.
I may be also anti-squatters pero I know life is not easy. I’ve been to places like that and even interacted with some of them. Kung tutuusin nga, kaya naman nila eh. They have sari-sari stores, they have halo-halo/mais con yelo stand outside their house, ice candy, etc. Some of them just choose to f**k things up a little and get their family stuck there. And by f**k things up I mean they don’t help their family on their small business tapos magbibisyo pa sila tas mababarkada pa. Sila pa may gana magalit pag pinaalis na sila because the owner of the property or someone bought it and will use it.
Yes, kahit temporary housing man lang mabigyan sila immediately before sila paalisin is okay lang rin tas within that housing area magkaron ng kahit small business na lahat sila pwede makinabang and be able to save plus help them get back on their feet.
Fuck this whole comment thread. The only comment that needs to be made here? Solution to all the problems of the Filipino people: BIRTH CONTROL.
I could also say mass sterilization, but then people are gonna say I’m too harsh.
Correct! BIRTH CONTROL! Kung sino pa yung naghihirap, sila pa yung anak-ng-anak.
I’m against birth control, not because I’m politically “Pro-life” or religious, I’m against it because of contaminants like EE2 is one causes of water pollution and costly to remove.
no I don’t want pollutants in my water. Many Filipino men already are androgynous.
-Housing for all. Planning well. Educate all Filipinos. Access to contraception by all families. All free. Politicians, public administrators, public workers, all positions backed by tax pesos must be transparent, honest, efficient, and smart.
What can we all do. Help your families get good education. Volunteer in public institutions. Be whistle blowers. Do not elect politicians who buy your votes. Do not exchange your vote for money. That’s short term. What else can you do. Create a true community of women who have access to contraception like IUD. Can not rely on public government. Can not rely on other Filipinos of means, those with money and resources. Do research on organizations that can help your community. What else can we do? All Filipinos must see one another as one. One people. One nation. One population that is expanding – we need to restrain that in a modern sense. Filipina women are strong. They want access to modern contraception (IUD seems the most effective and simple). Filipino men must show more discipline. Stop drinking. Stop just sitting around. Clean your surroundings even if you and your family are poor. For those with means, with some money, with resources… stop using your money for alcohol, cigarettes, unnecessary clothes, bags, shoes, etc. Stop eating. 20% of Filipinos are now overweight.
Access to birth control and distribution of it is key.
The article also talks about tax payers, why not get funding from the upper middle class and private enterprise. There’s a lot of money in the Philippines, the BIR just has to go out and hunt for it.
Poverty is the main cause of squatting. Everybody always has this hope in moving to the bigger city for better lives. But at the same time criminals and those that refuse to pay for rent and better their lives congregate together. It is sad and it also gives a bad image for our country. It deters foreign investors to come to our country and invest. This problem will only get solved if our government takes this matter seriously. Taking into account that we need to find solutions to end poverty. Poverty is catastrophic not only in the Philippines but also in other countries. It is everywhere. It is sad but it is real. I will never say anything bad about those that have nothing. I thank God for what i have everyday.
Solution: take out the role of the catholic church in family planning.
very offensive and rude. this article should not exist. philippines is one country. its people is one. the philippines is a very poor third world country compared countries in the western world and major countries such as america and the UK. i am born and raised in london england, and I think of philippines as a people who see each other as one calling each other kuya and ate. they know very well they are a poor country which is why they are tight nit. the people who wrote this article are the ones who have forgotten who they are and their roots. they are ashamed they originate from a third world country where poverty is the norm and instead of helping combat those living in such poverty to be a squatter they look down on them. there is a big difference between the western world and the philippines and pretending to be something your not and belittling your own people that are suffering and bleaching your skin will not change you from being filipino. how about you pull up these squatters living in poor situations and bring up your country from poverty instead of discussing the divide and maintaining it. these squatters are your people they are the real people of the philippines not fake pretending to be western bleaching themselves they are among the everyday people. help the poor don’t judge them. being a horrible snob makes you poor in character which is a very ugly trait.
I think you just saved the thread.
bianca gonzalez is an over bleached fake filipino. filipinos are famous to non-filipinos like myself across the world as people with big hearts generous and kind. however, as i mentioned before the wealthy filipinos forget their roots that their country is a third world country and in poverty. i hope bianca’s parents are ashamed of her as filipino parents she should have been raised to have a caring heart especially coming from a poor country. her wealth and bleached skin has made her a heartless imelda marcos. i think its absolutely hilarious to blame the poor for being poor and evading taxes. Gonzalez is hilarious. the government is in charge of the status quo of the country. the corrupt government. how dare! the well off pick on the poor who live in hideous conditions naming them such things as parasites. in london people are also divided into classes however our government is not so corrupt to let the poorer people live as squatters in sewage and be bullied by the wealthier people. thank god i was born British born and raised in london how very sad and horrible are the wealthy filipino people to look down on their own people and not fight against squatters to have better living conditions but to fight against them. and what a joke that one person said to kill them off like the holocaust. should we bring back slavery too? it is you with the ugly hearts that could type and say on the internet such heartless thoughts that should be killed off. western countries have freedom of thought third world countries are held down and controlled by things such as religion etc. the third world philippines is so controlled and backwards to normal not poor countries i do agree that they should scrap christianity and have abortions if they wish. it is all a plan to torture and kill of those in the third world slowly a slow and painful death rather than killing them off. regardless we need a mentality of how to help those less fortunate and not call them parasites!! bianca gonzalez is a knob head!
I am happy you were born in London too. But, if you lived here and bought a condo here, and lived near a squatter area, then you would understand the squatter mentality better. They don’t have consideration…. they blast their music, blast their dogs, hang their laundry and create all kinds of nuisance, and they are tolerated by the barangay officials because of their vote. It is the ones that don’t have to pay anything and live for free that gives birth to the squatter attitude. Yeah, they are poor boo hoo for them.. I don’t feel sorry for most of them. These are the thoughts of an unbleached foreigner trying to live a quiet life.
amen there David. so many people trying to justify the crab mentality going on here. so many people trying to be knowledgeable on subjects they are either partial, or ignorant about. try being a landowner of a squatter-infested land. too much butthurt for pro-poor pinoys, not even considering that these people they are defending will not think twice about them if given a few bucks
Really Henrietta you were born British born??? Lmao=D So what??? You are one bloody Mary and you don’t even know what you’re talking about. Just take a rest pulizzzzzzz=D. Stay away from Philippine politics since you were born British born. LOL=D
Fuck off! Bianca is not an overbleached filipino. Bianca is Morena. True color of a real filipina. Try living in the squatters area and get your butt fucked 100 times.
There is so much this article gets wrong and it perpetuates those horrible myths about squatters which are just plain ignorant… The article says “squatters don’t even pay anything to stay in illegally occupied lands.” This is categorically untrue. Most squatters are paying rent for the houses they live in… Here’s a great article based on actual research and a bit more understanding busting these ignorant myths about squatters:
http://8list.ph/mind-blowin-realities-about-informal-settlers/
But the article asks a good question when it says that we should look into why they were allowed to settle there and live there. The answer given by this writer is clearly just as uninformed as the rest of it is:
“The root cause of the squatter problem seems to be the lack of urban planning from each Barangay and weak enforcement of the law by members of various agencies who are not doing their jobs properly.”
It ‘seems’ to be, because from the writer’s privileged and wealthy position, where they never actually have to physically encounter any person in this huge group which the writer labels “arrogant” and more, because the writer clearly has no actual .
However the question is good… and if you look into the actual research you see that many squatters were encouraged to settle there by politicians wanting their votes, but more importantly by those government agencies and corporations who benefit from it. The squatter community in some areas works as self-employed to clean up garbage and trash at dumpsites and other areas. The government and corporations encouraged people to be “illegal settlers” in the first place, as it actually benefits you by. The problem is the only time you hear about it is when the media lambaste these “arrogant” squatters for not wanting to move on to another area from relocation and are typically paid off to write such badly framed, judgemental, and poorly written articles as this… (and if you think about it from their perspective it is a very rational decision not to move to relocation settlements because they have no skills or livelihood there – if you were given a house and lot, forgetting that it is typically in a disaster prone area as many of these resettlement locations are poorly planned to be in the ring of fire, you would turn it down because you had no long-term future there… you have no work).
Likewise many squatters are part of the general workforce, if you actually visit these areas perhaps the writer, and similar people, would not be so arrogant as they see so many security guards, shop assistants, policemen, firemen, etc. coming out of their homes in the squatter communities. Maybe they’d finally realise that most squatters like there because they have to… wages are simply not high enough to get better houses elsewhere so they must RENT the cheapest accommodation they find.
Simply put, this is obviously incredibly biased and poorly conceived. However it is the typical public sentiment of those people in the middle and urban class who refuse to actually learn about a person’s situation before judging them so horribly. Then go to Church on Sunday to pretend to be such lovely Catholics and human beings.
“Judge not yest le be judged”
@Roy
Please explain why you believe most squatters pay rent for the houses they live in and be specific about details like who benefits from their payment.
You assume too much about me. You come across as judgemental. 😉
You should read the article again because you missed some of the more important points. You have to keep an open mind though. Your statements give me the impression that you are a squatter apologist.
Tata!
I do not only believe that most squatters pay rent, it is demonstrable fact… Check out the link to the article I gave you for an easy introduction to the issue. Aside from that, and University studies, I’ve lived in an area without land titles for the last few years (in other words an illegal squatter). Practically everyone pays rent. There is a serious problem and a serious question about squatters, however if you wish to talk and write articles it would be best to learn the basics first.
Besides, when you call an entire group arrogant, foul, etc. you are clearly being judgemental over millions of people you do not know. You react to that comment of mine by realising it is an attack and you are offended, because I don’t know you and don’t know your situation. Now, imagine how millions of people you have called horrible things without ever knowing or understanding would feel…
You can’t even explain your point without that link. That’s just lame. You should give specifics when you write your arguments. I think it’s pointless to argue with someone who can’t explain himself properly.
Check your original post and see that you said “most squatters pay rent”. Now you’re saying that you don’t believe it to be true.
I did not call “an entire group arrogant, foul, etc…” Please read the article again because you missed the point. From the title alone you should have realised that your accusation is not true.
What makes you think I am offended? Your assumption is wrong again. You’d like to think I am but unfortunately, most of your statements don’t even make any sense to me.
There’s your problem idiots who pays rent to live in a illegally built house. And do you think the rent they pay gets tax deductions like the legit house rentals? I would assume you are one of those idiots who pays those cockroaches the so called “rent” that you are valiantly defending. And again the subject is the legality and enforcement of law governing illegal settlement. A good example would be buying a chair and the moment you stand up to take a leak someone occupies the chair you bought. What would you feel? I don’t think there is anything much simpler than that analogy, or I can just slam the chair at you so you I can atleast help the community of ridding a squatter loving idiot like you.
Most squatters are in slums, in government land, and have been either relocated there or encouraged to live there. Precisely because they save the government and corporations money – in other words squatters on average save tax payers money. Here’s the research: http://roymondous.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/the-credible-hulk-squatters/
In other words, to use your analogy, it would be more like someone from the government asking someone to come and build a chair. Then being told that they don’t actually own the chair they built and they can only sit in it for a while before they come and demolish it…
Of course not everyone can understand statistics or look beyond what is in the immediate media, and have to resort to calling everyone an idiot because of their own ignorance…
@Ilda.
1) You have misread/misunderstood… I said “I do not only believe that most squatters pay rent, it is demonstrable fact”. In plain English this means it is not just my belief, it is easily proven. You may wish to spend some time understanding something before commenting… take that logic to apply further to whatever you wish.
2) I gave you the link for an easy introduction because you do not yet understand the basic facts. There is little point providing academic studies and surveys to someone who doesn’t know the first thing on the subject – things that would be known by anyone worth talking to on the matter and anyone whose opinion would be valid and worth listening to. When dealing with a child, you must teach them to read the alphabet before they can read academic studies.
3) You said from the title alone it should be obvious you didn’t judge an entire group of people… this would be amusingly ironic if judgemental and offensive writings had no impact. “A Lot of Decent Filipinos are Getting Few up with Arrogant Squatters” is your title. You have framed an issue labelling entire groups of people simply within the title… one example of your judgement and clear prejudice exactly is the title.
However you are correct in one thing, it is pointless to argue with someone who cannot explain their points properly. That they are indeed lame. Pointless to argue with someone who cannot understand anything beyond their narrow-minded perspective, someone who has not tried to understand the very basics of an issue before writing about it, and so horribly condemned people. Most importantly, it is pointless talking to someone who cannot or will not learn – the most dangerous of them all.
So I hope you have a lovely evening.
@Roy
If you believe that it is “easy” to prove that “most” squatters pay rent, then how come you cannot even provide evidence? Proof, please or what you are saying is not true. And I wouldn’t use that 8 List as a reference because the article is also short on details.
I just asked you to explain your assertion but you couldn’t even do it properly. Here it is again:
What basic facts are you talking about? You are coming from a very biased point of view. You seem to think most squatters have every right to stay in their illegally occupied property because they are paying “rent” anyway. To whom are they paying rent to?
Of course my article did not judge an entire group of people. The article is referring to “arrogant” squatters not “all” squatters. Tsk tsk…
Just shut up. Your thread looks like its coming from an incoherent mor…tsk tsk tsk.
One of the reason why there’s a growing number of Filipinos that living in the poverty level, it’s because we don’t have a regulated prices of goods… They should match the price of goods to the standard of living in the Philippines. The government should regulate and know how to control the balance between how much people make and how much food cost. Its just too inflated in the Philippines right now…
I would like to ask a question to the author or anyone from this forum, what would be your solution to the squatter crisis? We simply can’t eradicate them for that would be violative of established norms and legal principles. So the only viable solution is to move these people somewhere, now the question is where do we move these people and how? Indeed i concede with the author’s point that public funds are scarce and must be wisely utilized, so if we were to make a massive relocation program it would be too burdensome to the taxpayers. If one were to say that, “it is not the government’s responsibility,” then i would humbly disagree, under the doctrine parens patriae, the government is the guardian of the people, thus, government must do what it can to uplift the conditions of these people, in addition, government has the means, connections, and power to effectuate a viable and sustainable solution to this problem. One could also argue “well these people should find jobs to uplift their conditions like us hardworking middle class,” again i would like to refute that point, the thing is, some of these people are born to be poor to begin with, and unfortunately they were not blessed with the financial means or intellectual capacity to get into college or get a decent job. There also exists a problem in the system, a system that drags these poor people further down, which then in turn makes their challenge of salvaging their lives from the misery of the squatters even more difficult. I also think that the job market is not big enough to accommodate every unemployed citizen. The unfortunate fact is, between the government and the poor there exists an impasse, the poor can’t help themselves out of their personal hell and government is either too corrupt or has no means yet to conceive a viable solution for this problem, so the challenge lies in us the more privileged class, I believe that we must give due consideration to these people and at the same time do what we can to help them uplift their condition.
Pesteng LINA yan.
Squatting is part of the problem. Have you tried hiring people? They give more importance to their day-offs than what they can gain working. True. There are those whose lives improved through hard work, squatter or not, but have you seen their relatives? Kung hindi istambay na pa minsan minsan may trabaho, parasite na tunay. Pag may isa kasing kumikita, aasahan na.Di ba kayo nagtataka bakit sa Pilipinas, maraming walang permanenteng trabaho pero wlang namamatay ng dilat ang mata? Kasi mabait tayo na nahahanay na sa pagiging kunsintidor.Asa na lang, kumikita naman si ______ e!
Tama. Mas masipag ang galing sa mayaman. Try mo mag-hire ng culinary school graduate at galing squatter. Mas masipag si Cono. Si squatter walang kwenta! Tamad! Maarte!
As I know it, the problem as you mentioned has to be nipped in the bud. Migration to big cities due to poverty in the rural areas. 80% of IRA goes to the national while the LGU is lucky to get 10%. I have seen poverty in the province of Bohol. I am sure that this is everywhere. 50% are below poverty level and the 5 to 10% are super rich who live in Manila. Road building is for cars not for good public transport system. Federal form of government?
This is a disgusting article, you may call them what you want but they are people too, have any of you ever thought about what it feels like to be in their shoes? I doubt it was their choice to live like that in the first place.If you have never experienced something like this in the first place then you should never judge the people who have to live in these conditions.Their behavior is simply the result of their hardship of trying to survive everyday on little money or none at all.The only real way to “get rid” of this problem is by having more jobs and actually giving them help to stand on their own.
Yes I know exactly how it feels like to live in poverty and to eat 1 meal a day, to take a shit in a plastic bag and bury it, to drink water directly from the public pozo. All this things are not reason enough for me to not work and study hard. I’ve been in and out of such community and all I can say is they choose to be there. And the fucking politicians who’s suppose to enforce the law are the enablers. It may sound harsh to just get rid of them and strip them of their “home” but have you ever put yourself in the shoes of the people who bought the land they are illegally settling in thru years and years of hardwork? You only sympathize with the so called “oppressed” cause thats what the general society would like to see. Reality is far from what you see in the idiot box we call TV.
Put your shoe being the land owner. Middle class citizens may suffer financial problems too. One thing they can do is to sell their property but to no avail because of people illegally occupying their land.
The squatters already benefited by staying there for free yet some of them were the ones asking for compensation. WTF.
FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDING THE SQUATTER PROBLEM:
Here’s a piece that’s actually researched and backs everything up. So we can learn who squatters really are and understand how they affect the economy and society at large
http://roymondous.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/the-credible-hulk-squatters/
Well this is really problematic, mostly petty crimes in the streets are committed by them. Gagamboys, snatching, robbery, and more..
Indeed the government need to do some action, it is one of the reason why investors are afraid to invest in the Philippines.
Kung pupunta ka sa ibang bansa makikita mo bago lumapag ang eroplano sa airport eh napakaganda.. dito sa atin sa NAIA puro bubong na de goma sobrang nkakahiya especially para sa mga investors kung makikita ay ganoon.
Hindi ko po hinahamak ang mga squatters or illegal settlers but some of them are way to rude and causing major problems here in Metro Manila
Dutifully paying taxes has never been more inconvenient in the Philippines.
Puerto Princesa, Palawan had a relocating program. Gov’t. provided housing with low rent to own. It’s not for professional squatters.
Every province has a relocation program. It’s the squatters who refuse to leave the area. Their reasons? — they will lose the convenience of being near their source of income. Convenience… tsk tsk.
Hernando de Soto, a Peruvian economist, stated that no nation can have a strong economy without a system that records ownership of property and other economic information. Squatters are killing that system and the politicians do not want to be voted out because of this. A banana republic I say.
I recently spent a few months in Metro Manila on business and ended up visiting a community under C3 Bridge. Since I got back to Canada I have been searching for ways to help the community. I did not know how some of the Filipinos feel about the illegal settlers. This article and comments paints a different picture.
What I saw was a group of people who have fallen through tough times, came to Metro Manila in search of a better life for their family. I visited the community three times for several hours each time. I met some of the nicest people I have met in my life and at no point did I ever feel unsafe. I do not condone the life style, squatting that is, however I can imagine when someone is desperate enough to make a home under a bridge.
My company is looking for ways to help the residents under the bridge. I understand that I may not know all the trouble some of the illegal settlers have caused for the law-abiding citizens of Metro Manila. We just simply wish to help. If you have any suggestions as to how we can help please feel free to post at http://www.underthisbridge.com. We simply want to help.
Sorry, but I have to say this:
Ilda, this is probably the worst article you’ve ever written and shows a lot of your true colors. You’re right. Ignorance can be easily cured compared to arrogance. And this article shows how arrogant you are.
Let me ask you something. How deep is your knowledge and understanding of the ins and outs of the squatter lives for you to paint them as the cancer of the society?
I truly feel sorry for your ignorant and arrogant ass. This is one hell of a myopic and bigoted opinion piece of an article coming from you.
I truly hope you will not find yourself in these squatters’ shoes one day, woman. Then, you will know how it feels to live in a shithole with less to zero opportunities knocking on your doors.
Btw, don’t bother to respond with your usual defensive stunts. I don’t and I wont buy you bullshits.
In our language, Ilda:
“Wala ka ring pinagkaiba sa mga arogante at mayayabang na feeling angat at desente sa bulok na lipunang to.”
People of your kind of mentality truly makes me sick!
Is there a valid argument anywhere in your comment above? All I see are just sad ad hominems. Of course, that explains why you don’t want to be responded to, because you probably lack a sound argument to address all the brilliant points raised in this article. Typical.
That’s is why the Philippines remains chronically wretched — because the only solution it sees to its pathetic poverty is to portray itself as a victim. Well, when one is imprisoned by that victim mentality, guess what: they doom themselves to victimhood for generations. The only argument Filipinos can field against people who point out their wretchedness is to say “come down to us so you can get an idea what it’s like to be us”.
Nah. There’s lots to be learned from the rich but not much to be learned from the poor. And that is a fact. Why don’t the poor try to learn from the rich for a change instead of telling the rich to walk in their shoes. All they will get from that tiresome script is lip service — which is why that is all they ever get.
First of, let us not commit ad hominem, especially when pointing out other’s ad hominem. :))
Ilda’s article is quite thought-provoking, and for that I will give her much credit. I do agree with her that government is milking “squatters” for their vote, instead of actually helping the matter. But I share her critics’ sentiments in that this is an extremely bigoted view of poverty.
Let me just put it out there, the problem of homelessness and squatters is very widespread, even in the wealthiest countries. I can attest to that, because I have had the incredible privilege to visit and live in some of these nations, and even they have a squatters problem in certain parts of cities. Arguably, there is no country in the world that has zero poverty/homelessness.
So contrary to Ilda’s popular opinion, poverty is not simply an issue of poor policy or government. It is a social, cultural, historical and even mental symptom, a culmination of our many neglects in society.
We can have the best government, and legal laws in place, and we can still have a problem with poverty, if WE as a people do not enact the change. For example, despite many anti-racism laws, and a black president, the USA still has one of the worst case of racism.
Yes, this victim-mentality is the bane of the Filipino culture, but far worse in my opinion, is our objectification of the poor (unfortunately, the majority of our country!). Off the top of my head, the incident of the “yaya meal” is the best example of our institutionalized discrimination. (I’m sure there are many more good ones out there). No amount of money or policy will change poverty and homelessness if we keep degrading these people. It will take a radical change in our society, from working class to zillionaire class, in order to resolve this. Simply being a taxpayer, legally owning property and whatnot, does not make you “decent.”
My biggest problem with Ilda’s argument is precisely that: In her commentary, she talks about these squatters (I really hate that word, sometimes) as though they are pests to eradicate. No, these are real people, like you and me, and we all deserve to be treated as such, even in our criticism of one another.
As for what we can learn from the rich, I have to take you down that pedestal, and tell you right out that is NOT fact. False. We would be fooling ourselves to think that all rich people became rich from hard work or smarts (By now the majority of wealth is actually passed down by nepotism and trust funds, and whatever privileges we take for granted). Ha! If that were true, we should have more Filipino billionaires. Because we really are some of the most hard working people out there. :))
I know this does not really answer the question of how do we end generations of squatters. But I want us to shake-off our idleness. Our criticism and debates can only go so far, but at the end of the day, it’s what we do that will matter most.
🙂
@JKYC
Excuse me, but your interpretation of my article is wrong. I didn’t just simply pin the squatter problem on “poor policy or government” as you put it. I discussed arrogant behaviour on the part of the squatters and squatter coddlers too. And I didn’t say there aren’t any squatters in other countries either. Of course there are. The difference is, most progressive countries nip the problem in the bud before they go out of control. You have to realize that the squatter problem in the Philippines is not the same level as other countries unless you are comparing the Philippines with countries in similar economic status. Likewise, the existence of squatters in First World countries is not an excuse to tolerate the behavior of arrogant squatters.
As discussed in my article, the proliferation of the squatters in the Philippines is due to a lot of factors and politicians coddling them and using them during elections is just one of them. Like I said, the root cause of the squatter problem is the lack of urban planning from each Barangay and weak enforcement of the law by members of various agencies who are not doing their jobs properly. Obviously, they did not nip the problem in the bud. Had they been doing their jobs, they could have easily evicted the first squatter before they multiplied and became the enormous problem they are today.
The corrupt system in our society promotes dysfunctional behavior on both the politicians – those who want to stay in power and folks in the squatter areas – those who allow the politicians to bribe them. You have to acknowledge that property owners are victims of this system too. You can’t just keep rooting for the squatters just because you feel sorry for them. If you do that, more and more people from the middle class will leave the country once they get frustrated for being ignored.
No, I didn’t say they are like “pests”. They are illegal occupants of other people’s properties and they need to move when they are asked to move out. They have no right to become violent when the time has come for them to go. The problem with some people is that they equate “privilege” with “right” and then demand more.
I’ll give you points though for disagreeing politely.
@JKYC, The humanity of these squatters is not on trial here. What is being highlighted is the illegal nature of their methods of establishing a household.
As to learning from the rich, of course there is nothing to be learned from people who got rich through illegal means just as much as there is nothing to be learned from squatters who are living illegally on property that they have no right to occupy.
There is a lot to be learned from rich people who acquired their wealth legally. Though I can’t say the same for poor people who are living within the law.
Oh…don’t look now but Ms Willyn is back and she’s back with more ad hominem…LOL
Judging from your reaction, you missed the point of the article. You probably assumed this is a condemnation of the “poor”. That has been clarified over and over in the comment section. Do yourself a favour and read the intelligent arguments from the people who agree with this article you call “the worst”, “myopic” and “bigoted”.
Sorry you do not agree with my views but it seems my views are more popular than yours. As Bart Simpson would say “Eat my shorts!”
Their arguments stem from your myopic article, woman. if you don’t want any ad hominem attacks, then, don’t start or provoke one. Painting them as leeches and cancer of the society tantamounts to an ad hominem attack too. I refuse to call all slum communities as pests –that’s a hell lot different from condoning squatting. And you and Benigno calling/painting them all as parasites is way below the belt. Who the hell do you think you are to insult them that low? You insist on your taxpayer’s privileges? Newsflash for you: Those people whom you love to call/paint as parasites are taxpayers too. Or you havent heard of Value Added Tax (VAT) and Community Tax Certificates? Just because these people are unfortunate enough to be forced to squat on other’s lands doesnt mean that all of them are not decent. There are many decent folks living in slum areas. But, of course, your arrogance doesn’t want to acknowledge that fact. If you think calling/painting them as indecent, leechs, parasites etc. helps eradicate the squatting problem, then, you must be out of your brains. There are many factors that pushed a lot of people to squat that you failed to note in your myopic and one-sided article. Puro ka opinion, ba’t di mo subukan pumunta sa slum areas at ipamukha yan sa kanila? I bet, you can’t even do that. Keyboard warriors. Don’t paint all slum inhabitants negatively. You are in no position to tell them how to live their lives. And, please! This is not a popularity contest so, you can go stuff you condescending stunt where the sun dont shine. I’ve had enough of the way you and Benigno are trying to paint the Filipinos with all negativity.
Provoke? What are you talking about “provoke”? Just because you don’t agree with the article, it doesn’t mean that you can attack the writer. This article is not about you. Why are you so offended by it? Are you a squatter? You seem to have a squatter mentality though. I didn’t call the squatters “pest” and “leeches” in the first place. They are your words, not mine.
Gees…after two days, you posted more of the same pointless arguments. Your use of ad hominem says a lot about your lack of breeding.
Tell me, how do you think the land/property owners should deal with squatters who do not want to leave the space they are illegally occupying and who are behaving violently?
What makes you think I haven’t been to the slum areas? That’s another idiotic assumption from you. Tsk tsk
You’re just embarrassing yourself. You don’t know anything about me.
PS. Do yourself a favor and try to ponder on things that you’ve done to help the plight of this country, instead of complaining endlessly and attack others that you feel ‘arent doing their part” to improve this country’s situation. Baka nga yung mga taong kinukutya mo eh mas marami pang nagagawang matino para sa bansang tao at sa paligid nila kumpara sa yo.
Oh please, try to be original. People who usually ask “what have you done to help?” actually have no valid arguments. They are just trying to divert the topic away from the real issue.
What makes YOU think I haven’t done anything to help? Your comments are baseless and pointless.
Instead of addressing the issue, you simply attack the messenger. You are quite fond of using “baka”. Well, guess what? You haven’t got any proof that “I am not doing my part to improve this country.” And it’s so convenient for you to ignore the fact that a lot of people appreciate an article that speaks on behalf of all the victims of arrogant squatters. You think the “squatters” are the only victims in this situation. That says a lot about your narrow-minded views and arrogance.
@Willyn T Trabajador
Your personal attacks will no longer be tolerated. They violate the site’s commenting guideline. This is a warning to refrain from attacking the writers of the site. Please be reminded that you are a visitor of this site and should observe the house rules.
Try to elevate the level of discussion by addressing the issues in the article. You can start by posting the following:
1. Politely state your opposing views.
2. Provide alternative solution to the squatter problem.
If you cannot engage in a civilised discussion, your comments will be sent to the spam folder.
Lol! Still you carry on your appeal to see these parasites as “victims”. And still you continue to sidestep the issue of the ILLEGALITY of their status as unauthorised settlers on property owned by law-abiding tax-paying people.
Why is the onus on normal people to come down to squatters to “understand” them. How about they step up to the task of understanding what it takes to be financially prosperous for a change.
Tsk tsk. Trouble with Filipinos is they rely on bleeding heart “activists” to sympathise with their imagined victimhood. You fail to see that this is the very same condition that makes those calling for the BBL to be passed feel so self-righteous about their “cause”, because people supposedly do not “understand” the plight of Filipino Muslims.
Same mentality. Same result — a culture of entitlement that is strongest amongst those who, in reality, have no right to any entitlements. It’s called Squatter Mentality.
Without condoning the obvious, I say that issues of legality are thrown out of the window when one is in survival mode! If you don’t believe it, try living in the streets without anything for a change and you’ll know what I mean.
If you’re familiar with the movie ‘Grave of the Fireflies’, it shows that even decent people, when pushed to the limit, will commit certain acts of felony just to survive! And what more in real life!
Konti p LNG yang nkita m. Infact wala Pa Nga Yan eh.
Why don’t u try to live with them… Yung tipong wala Kang ibibigay as kanila.
Kasi ako… Kami…. 32 yrs na ako ditto Samin. Mag nag squat. Sila Pa galit. Sila Pa maingay. Cla pwerwisyo. Jumper as kuryente jumper sa tubig. Binaha dto Samin dahil as kanila.
San Ka Pa.
Caloocan tanigue labahita st. Dagat dagatan Caloocan.
Kaya wag m sabihin na tulungan cla.
Ang best way pauwiin m sila Kung San sila galling, or I relocate m sila sa at turuan panu lumaban ng patas.
Kasi kami nagbabayad Ng tax sa kanila Lang napupunta
The root cause of squatter problem in the big cities, in Metro Manila particularly, is lack of employment and livelihood opportunities the provinces. Most of the economic activities are concentrated in the big cities, so people are attracted to settle in the big cities. Being poor, and dire need, and no education or skills, they take their chance in the ig cities. Of course, the politicians in the provinces, and in the big cities constribute much to the continuing proliferation of squatters. If the PPPP will be a success, we will see in 10 to 20 years time. Not too soon. Whoever will continue the so called ‘daang matuwid’ by hook or by crook will only delay the transformation of squatters to better situation in life. Meanwhile, long live the OFWs, they keep the economy going and afloat.
The squatters in Metro-Manila are the curse of Philippine society since the 1960s and they have mushroomed uncontrollably due to the INCOMPETENCE of our public officials whose mindset just revolves around the confines of a “poso negro”. The obvious solution is to relocate and uproot all these “cancerous” elements in our society.
Well said. I was just having the same thought process.
squatters problem solution has two fronts in politics. first if your barangay/s municipality residents are majority middle class and upper class residents and few squatters then majority will vote for candidates who anti-squatters second if it is vice verrsa, no candidates will dare go against these squatters for fear of losing the election!!! the worst scenerio is when politicians play both side of the coin!!!
I think kahit ano pa sabihin nating mga legit taxpayers, they will not care. I mean ganun na sila eh. Some of them are so arrogant to the point that they can kill somebody for their own benefit.
Kakaiba government natin. Yung mga middle class ang nagsusuffer. Sila, they don’t pay a damn single cent sa realty tax every single damn year. Instead government gives them money just to relocate and move out to the disputed land they have occupied for years or even decades. As an added bonus, bibigyan pa sila ng piece of land para tirhan then later on pag nabigay na, ibebenta naman nun squatter at babalik sa Maynila para mag-squat ulit. Grabe noh? As in grabe. Katwiran nila, wala hanapbuhay. Grabe lahat nalang ba iaasa nila sa gobyerno? Pati pag-aanak nila ng madami, isisi sa gobyerno pag nahirapan sila sa buhay.
Di sila marunong mahiya kahit nasa mabaho, amoy kanal na yung pamumuhay nila. They don’t care. They just don’t care. Don’t give me a reason that they didn’t want that kind of life. If they really do, hindi sila mananatili sa ganung buhay. Pag gusto, maraming paraan, pag ayaw at tatamad tamad lang, maraming dahilan. Tumira na din ako sa slums pero with rent. I swore that I will not rot in that kind of place. Galing din ako sa sobrang mahirap na pamilya at minsan, kinukulang pa ng pagkain sa isang araw. Determinasyon at pangarap na makaahon sa hellish place na yun ang dahilan kung bakit wala na ako ngayon dun. I know how life goes in and out in that place.
Marami dun may pagkakataon para umahon pero they chose to stuck in that place and be lazy for all eternity. Hindi nila pinilit umahon kahit may pagkakataon. Kaya wag nila isisi sa gobyerno ang lahat.
Beijing has a well planned program that discourages non-residents entering and living the city. May time pa, pwede natin mapag aralan and adapt their successful plan
Squatting is not the problem that keep us foreigners from investing in your country. Corruption within your government all the way down to poor is the cause. Do not blame the squatters because of us not investing in your country. Blame your education system! You would not have this problem if you were to invest in the education system. Giving free education to everyone and tax free loans to college and university students. Making available education to people in outlying provinces the guarantee of an education. Nearly all Filipino must go to work to support their families. Without proper education they have little choice! They cannot pay their living expenses and finish their studies. No choice but to enter the work force! Education is the key! No blame the squatters. Blame the corruption that put them on your streets first! Blame your government for not creating and education system for not just the rich but poor as well
I salute to the author of this article. You have voiced out whatever sentiments middle class have. However, I truly agree on the one who commented about Education. It is supposed to be a right for everyone, regardless of social status. But mind you people, we’ve been fighting for access to education for how many years, but still we haven’t moved on regarding that issue, so instead it is right to teach those illegal settlers how and how not to act and respect other people’s property. I am not generalizing the squatters as tamad society, But many of them are building houses on somebody else’s property, multipying as fast as they can even with the fact that they cannot even feed themselves properly, ilegally connecting water and electricity supply, and yet they do have Flat screen TVs and hell they can afford to use a satellite cable, not to mention using cellular phones and tablets, and yet they still preach that they are the “victims”. And I do believe we can learn from the rich, it may be passed down from generations to generations but then again how do rich people stay rich (mapangabuso ones are excluded)? Because they know the value of money, that it is not something you can just throw and give it away to people who do not even deserve riches. I for myself know how hard a poorman’s life can be esp in the province. No work? Or just too lazy to embrace agriculture or fishing? Need money for education? Scholarships. People need to know that they should not force themselves to have the luxuries in life when they cannot even afford to let their families eat decent meals, they can aspire those luxuries and use it as inspiration instead to get out of their unfortunate lives.
illegal settlers want free social benefits, how about the middle class working hard, paying taxes and yet they have limited access to social benefits? How could they demand something more than the hardworking tax payers can get? Not to mention the other illegal settlers disgusting attitude, they need to be taught how to have some manners. If they feel tired being pushed over then they should do anything to climb their way out of that foul pit. In other words, life, ladies and gentlemen, still works on the theory of survival of the fittest. It is not an excuse kesa walang matrabaho. Dude choosy ka lang. Gusto mo kasi makapanood ng TV samantalang pwede namang hindi at mag focus nalang sa pagpapakain sa pamilya mo, kaya kesa mag tiyaga sa low cost of living sa probibsya at magtrabaho ng kung anong available, magkakalat ka pa sa Metro Manila na mas mataas nga ang basic na sahod mas mataas din ang cost of living, e ganun din di ba? Nanira ka pa ng kalikasan.
It’s up to you guys, whether to babysit them and let them stay and make Metro Manila a living chaos or to make them leave and start rehabilitating whatever is left in our natural environment for us to have a conducive and productive working environment?
Any living organism that finds a way to survive will thrive and multiply. That is why the people in the squatter areas are multiplying. As Pope Francis would say, “People shouldn’t breed like rabbits” especially if they can’t afford to feed them.
you talk about squatters like they’re not human beings but rats. did it ever occur to you that you could have very well been born into that situation and someone else like you would have written this article? Admittedly there are professional squatters but the majority of these people are just busy trying to survive, day to day. the problem of squatters is not raw population but density, that is, concentrating work opportunities in one small place like Metro Manila. Squatters are a symptom of the political corruption and poor implementation of government economic policies. There are no arrogant squatters, only hungry ones!
There are no arrogant alcoholics. Only thirsty ones.
SQUATTING – Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land and/or a building – usually residential – that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. stress on the word LAWFUL…how can you defend an unlawful act? ilda is right. if only the authorities acted on the first sight of a post being erected on an abandoned or empty lot, then squatting would have never reached the massive problem that we have with squatters (that is the correct term to use because that is what they are, so live with it)right now.
i remember just a few days after EDSA 1986, a large tract of land on what today is Tiendesitas, just overnight and that place was swarming with squatters, new plywood, new GI sheets. the authorities moved swiftly and those squatters were gone in a few days. if they can do it there, why not everywhere?
the law is there but implementing the law is another matter.
Hear, hear!
“the law is there but implementing the law is another matter”
We have leaders who know what the law is, what kind of law the people needed, know how to make a law, but don’t know how to make the law work. That’s one important thing the people fail to look with the leader they are voting.
As for the squatters, I think it’s the politicians who fear to discipline them because once disciplined, hindi na nila sila mapapakinabangan (take away their freebies ‘di na ‘yan matutuwa at mabibili ang kanilang boto hehe). I think that’s the reason they don’t want to apply the law to them. And there are lots of illegal activities that the poor environment covers. And sino ba ang mostly involve sa illegal activities? Or sino ang takot madawit dahil nag-aalaga ng ilegal sa kanilang nasasakupan? (malamang may lead si Mei Magsino doon)
Good opinions all around. One thing to note though is being poor and being a squatter are two very different things. It’s also good to take into consideration that someone mentioned in this thread the gray areas of our laws concerning squatting – the activity being deemed a criminal act itself.
Question for everyone here though is, what steps have we taken as individuals in correcting this behavior? Has anyone wrote their congressman or lobbied changes outside of this blog or the ever popular Facebook? Has anyone here participated in NGO activities reaching out to squatters or the poor recently? I know I haven’t. I’m just too lazy to do anything about it physically so I’m here griping online sitting on my comfy office chair in this 19 degree airconditioned room sipping a stale cup of overpriced coffee *cough* Starbucks *cough*; about a problem that has existed before during and probably may exist well after I head on for the afterlife.
Or maybe…just maybe, by my incessant griping, whining, complaining about all that’s wrong would actually motivate someone else to initiate change for me! hmmmmm /ponder
Like JKCY said above, “at the end of the day, it’s what we do that will matter most” us, ourselves personally, and not what we want others to do. The best we can do here by voicing our knowledge and ideas is to give each other something to think about since a person would normally act on what’s on his mind.
Don’t worry, when World War 3 comes along there’ll definitely be a culling. And I sure do hope that when the time comes, most of the people here will step up.
One solution to ensure the decline of squatters is to create a law that would make it illegal for utilities and service providers to install water, electricity and such to houses/squatters. There should be a proof of ownership or contract from the property owner that they are allowed to stay there. Civil and human rights are not trampled upon by this law. squatters and those planning to squat will realize this and will make living uncomfortable then and only then squatters not just in metro manila but all over the country will decline. I hate it when CHR keeps on defending the rights of squatters and not seeing the rights of the property owners. Squatters also seem to think that if it’s a government land that it’s free to squat on.
Technically and indirectly, they are also paying taxes whenever they purchase any goods which have VAT. 😉 Technically, as OFWs, we are DIRECTLY exempted to pay income tax! 😉
And although there are professional squatters who make it a business to squat and challenge government, it may be safe to say that the majority are food poor and brain poor. It is not entirely the poor’s fault they are that way. We can all be blamed for allowing them to stay that way, considering we are supposedly a majority CATHOLIC country that’s SUPPOSEDLY charitable, caring, and giving. 😉 We allow dirty politicians to stay in power, not just by voting for them, but by not doing any thing against them. Ergo, expect a country with POOR services as well, especially in providing quality education to the poor. A Scandinavian i think said something like this: “Education is expensive!! Try ignorance!!” That’s so apt to our country. It is expensive to maintain a country of ignorant fools!! The poor are poor and destitute because we robbed them of the opportunity to have quality education to raise them from poverty. It is difficult to imagine a hungry stomach to care about what’s right or wrong. It only wants to satisfy its hunger. You don’t just give fish to the poor, you teach them how to fish. ROBBING them of social services and education exactly perpetuates their being poor.
It is wrong for the government to condone the existence of squatters area. It does have the recipe and conditions to harbor crime as well as threaten the safety of the surrounding communities with its squalid environment. Abolish the squatters area, but let’s try not to entirely blame the poor for it. 😉
Hitler type genocide would be an ideal one – you only do it once and it is done !
To further validate this blog, please see post in opnlttr.com –
‘I am a victim of land grabbing by the Catholic Church!‘
They contribute nothing for the betterment of society, so why should the hard-working cater to their needs? IMO, only the politicians benefit from these fast-breeding undesirables of society by using their vote. That’s why no politician has ever stand up to fix this issue. The solution should be, like others said, sterilization, limit the number of child per family, further promotion of family planning, education, etc.
Sadly, it seems like our rather backward culture would just get in the way. That’s also one of the reason why this country can’t move forward. What we need is an open mind, open to the possibilities, to become flexible. Many countries have prospered while we remain as one of the poorest. This cycle will only end if we for once set aside primitive beliefs and become an open-minded nation.
Ang problema sa squatter, kapag nagkaron na ng sariling bahay at lote ng ligal, e ugaling squatter pa rin. Walang konsiderasyon sa karapatan ng iba; magpapatugtog ng napakalakas, magvivideoke ng magdamagan.Pakiramdam nila may karapatan sila na tambayan yung tapat ng bahay mo o puwedeng mag-ingay yung mga anak nila sa harap ng bahay mo.
Sana mabura na lang sa mundo ang mga salot na ‘to.
omg, same here!
Ganun sila! Ganun na ganun!
Dati nung bago-bago pa, ninanakaw nila water at kuryente namin. Ngaun lumaki na ung mga bahay-bahayan nila at anak ng anak napakaiingay. Buti sana kung malayo kaso sa gilid ng bahay namin naglinta. Nakakainis na talaga! Yan ba ang mga taong dapat kaawaan? Ni singkong buwis wala silang binabayad sa pamahaalaan pero kung magdemanda sila sobra-sobra!
We have a family of squatters living on the wall of our house. They’ve used jumpers in the past but I am not sure what they have now since the once shanties are now becoming more of a house or building. They also made a little gate so as to prevent us from entering the premises. They are backed by a local politician in our place. What can we do to kick them out? They are literally a leech glued to the side of our house’s firewall which I notice has now cracks. I fear one day they’ll tear the wall along with us down. The property beside them is a government road. What can we do to stop them from spreading further and further like the pest that they are? Please help!
When France or the US is invaded by immigrants, its called counter colonialism. Same thing when squatters invade land that was grabbed by private hands, its called counter feudalism. How you want to tell this story depends on your leaning and bias.
I think politicians remain indifferent because they know the numbers of illegal settlers could give them the win during elections.
Scrap the current constitution and adapt the US constitution…first 10 amendments and run with it.