Thousands of squatters (informal settlers) are fleeing the Philippine capital to move back to their provinces. Half of the squatter population decides to stick it out though, maintaining their stand to stay in their illegal settlements all over the metropolis. Yet through the months, squatter colonies are dwindling in number, slowly becoming virtual ghost towns. What is happening in Metro Manila?
Well this is a scenario of the likely situation when my proposed solution to the squatter plague takes effect. No it’s not an explosive or bio-weapon targeted at these hapless yet self-entitled poorest of the poor; it’s a proposed law that will hopefully take care of this urban menace once and for all.
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The Squatter Family Law: Random Arrests
The first step is to replace the ineffective relocation-based Lina Law with a new law called the Squatter Family Law. This new law takes a radically different approach to attacking the problem by striking at the very foundation of the squatter – it’s relentlessly growing family. It is a psychological warfare strategy meant to instill fear in the hearts of these law breakers.
Squatting will be considered a crime. However, due to the scale of the problem, with roughly 140,000 households in the Metro Manila region alone (2010), there is no way to arrest all these people and put them behind bars.
Without dismantling entire colonies of squatters, which only leads to unrest and anarchic riots in the process, in the new law, the police only arrest randomly selected squatter families through surprise raids. The fear of becoming the next ill-fated family to be arrested will be so strong that neighbors who witness it will be scrambling to get out of the city.
The start of the implementation of household/family arrests will be announced in a massive info campaign by every form of media. Due to the fear factor of the possibility of arrest, an estimated half of the entire squatter population will leave the city. The remaining defiant families will be randomly arrested at a rate of 1000 households per month.
In addition, service companies/agencies will be penalized if electricity or water is supplied to a squatter colony or household. This will effectively drain and tire out these illegal dwellers to lower their resilience in resisting the logical move to go back to their provinces. This is the strategy in siege warfare – starve them out by closing them in till they give up the resistance.
The Penalty
The penalty for the crime will be twofold: (a) the permanent ligation & vasectomy of the parents at accredited health centers followed by their relocation; and (b) the confiscation of the children. The parents will be moved to largely typhoon-free Mindanao to settle in tent camps, doing mostly farm work for a fixed number of years. Meanwhile, the children will be sent to massive training centers for their basic K-12 education.
For the parents to later redeem their children back into their custody, they will need to show proof of ability to support their children (income tax return + job certificate + proof of land title ownership/house rental + bank balance certificate).
Once a squatter colony population is depleted, squatter structures/shanties will be dismantled by specialized squatter dismantling companies, which will become a lucrative service-providing business, to allow for the land’s development by its legal owner.
Training of Squatter’s Children
The children will undergo intensive training to become world-class COD (Clean, Orderly & Disciplined) citizens. They will become skilled in advanced technology and design, like IT/programming, CAD, electronics, graphics, and machine design. Proficient in English and Math, they will possess a superior first-world mindset, rendering them highly competent and incorruptible. They will be blocked from mind-dumbing local media.
These children will be released into society and back to their parents after completing the 13 years of mandatory education. Many will be absorbed as government employees, or recommended to interested companies.
The Positive Outcome
Hopefully, in a span of about a decade, hardly any squatter will be in sight within the metropolis. The program if successful will be replicated in other urban centers across the country.
The image of the mother and child in a mostly Christian nation is one of the most powerful and profound. Any mother no matter how poor has an innate desire to be with her children. Men on the other hand value their virility, the ability to generate offspring. The threat to these by ligation/vasectomy and child confiscation is the key to addressing this socio-economic issue. A determined couple will learn to work hard to gain one’s children back. Having had no genuinely effective solution to date, it is high time we consider a radical, realistic and effective approach to this daunting problem that is eating this nation up.
The removal of land-grabbing squatters will solve a host of other related problems, such as crime, congestion, and pollution. The eradication of eyesores and restoration of peace & order will boost tourism (jobs!), and the cutting of the link that passes on the dysfunctional squatter mentality from parent to child will be broken – producing a totally new generation of promising Filipinos.
Slowly the demography of Philippine society will shift to reduce the alarming 25% poverty incidence in this 100M-strong nation. This law will best work in conjunction with the lifting of the 60/40 local-foreign ownership restriction on public services/land, which will guarantee improved infrastructure and create jobs with the influx of foreign capital investment.
Note: The rail system will hopefully be transferred to Japanese operators, who will never allow “home along the riles” squatter encroachments due to their high safety standards.
One Small Step of Common Sense, One Giant Leap for Filipinos
A day will come when no Filipino will have to cry out over this grave injustice: “Landless in My Own Land.”
This will be a bitter pill to swallow, but this small step is for the squatter’s and the nation’s best interest. If Congress can allot as much money as they would have set aside for the mothballed BBL, it will likely be more than enough to set up the children’s training centers & parent’s farming camps, and maintain the program nationwide.
Let’s flush this squatter issue down the toilet once and for all. We are all sick and tired of living in a cesspool nation. It has hurt our image significantly to be known throughout the international community as a land of squatters and slums. Hopefully, even just once in a while, common sense will prevail in the Philippines. The Squatter Family Law has now been brought to the table. The next step is up to the Filipino people.
Here’s the video that inspired this proposal: The Slum – Episode 1: Deliverance
Zealous revolutionary advocate of bringing back common sense for the common good in a land of dysfunctional and delusional zombies.
Good try, but the solution is too totalitarian, and the implementation would bring massive violations of human rights.
Squatters have no rights. At least, they shouln’t.
It isn’t their fault that subsequent Governments prior to the current one and during the totalitarianistic Government of the Marcoses (and looking at the statement you’ve made, you’re likely a Marcos supporter yourself, assuming you aren’t a foreigner at all) implemented policies that stiffled education and promoted population growth.
That being said, a better way at looking at this would be to bring greater opportunity and commercial growth in each of their respective provinces, thus decreasing traffic in Manila, increasing wealth for the whole country, and increasing the general standard of living for all citizens of the state, all without the implementation of dictatorial like policies which leave no respect for civil or human rights for that matter.
The problem is that politicians have maximized it’s potentials to perpetuate them in powers.
You don’t expect the government can legislate increased wealth for the whole country do you?
I am not fan of Marcos but he passed EO that Guide Social Development, minus his Greed for Power!I hope DU30 can bring sanity to our antipathic gov’t officials. Revise Lina Law or Punishment for people who passed unlawful and prejudicial polices.
And the following case in the US isn’t a human rights violation right? Welcome to first-world democracy buddy.
BREAKING: Police Seize 10 Children From Homeschool Family Because They’re Off-Grid
http://www.offthegridnews.com/current-events/police-seize-10-children-from-off-grid-family-because-theyre-homeschooled/
An off-grid homeschool family of 12 in rural Kentucky was raided, the mother arrested, and the 10 children seized simply because the government disagrees with their lifestyle and their educational choices…
agreed with the ligation thing. we can follow the 1 child policy at the poverty level. after the delivery of the squatter mother ligation follows. this will also apply to teen pregnancy even not under poverty level.
I wish we had a senator like you andrew.
Why take it on the poor women? Why not implement compulsory vasectomy on rich men who can and are able to have as many sexual partners as he can to avoid having the poor women getting pregnant?
TEACH THEM REPUBLIC ACT 10068. AND USE THE AQUAPONICS METHOD, RAIN GUTTER GROW SYSTEMS OF LARRY HALL ON FACEBOOK AND OTHER FORM OF OLD AND MODERN METHODS OF FARMING.
I totally agree with this, until the Philippines tackles this issue head on there can not be an improvement on your World Economic growth and ranking. Your GFCI ranking went from 59 in 2014 to 62 2015, yet your optimistic economic outlook is higher than that of China and India within the Asian region. Reforms must happen in the highest level of government as well as the lowest level of the populous. My wife looks towards leaving her country where I as an American look towards you as a potentially beneficial investment into our future if you can fix the underlying issues that hinder your improvement towards becoming the Asian tiger on the world economic stage. It must be an internal solution for all Filipinos and Filipinas to embrace as external solutions will never work because it’s a hard sell due to the lack of input from the populous who are the ones that must abide by the rules of law enacted upon them.
Sure, and please drop a visit after 10 years of this law’s implementation – coz I can guarantee you – you’d be amazed how different MM will be: you won’t be able to tell the difference between MM and Singapore.
Wishful thinking.. MM will never be like Singapore or any other rich country/city.
The Only Problem With This Proposed Law ?, It Still Leaves Filipino’s In Control and Well That Is The True Problem Since July 4th, 1946 When The Philippines Became A Country. In 70 Years The Filipino’s Have Taken The Philippines From The Pearl Of The Orient (As A Colony Of America) To Something Lower Then Cockroach Excrement. A Good Solution To The World ?, Have ISIS Stop Fighting For A Part Of A Country And Simply Take The Philippines And Make It An Islamic Home Country.
Saw the documentary…
It’s informative but undeniably sad… 🙁
Well, Zaxx Man, tell you what, if you get that going somehow, I’d like to volunteer for vasectomy if I still can’t support a family by that time.
NO Grimwald! We need more of your kind on planet PH. Getting BAOG should be way below your list of options.
One Thaddeus Grimwald is all you need Zaxx. One Bloody Jester is enough to start a crusade after all. Leave the reproducing to more productive citizens out there.
Personally speaking, I’d rather be out there reproducing than being a “productive citizen” writing rants on the internet.
Hi zaxx. Just visiting.
Noticed you want to go Soviet Russia on squatters. Even use the slogan “Landless in My Own Land” without irony.
I know GRP is an endless echo chamber and all, but has it crossed your mind that 1) your suggestion is at least downright evil, and 2) this will have unplanned consequences?
Don’t worry, I won’t reply. May your mind rest in peace, and all that.
You just have to have to say your piece huh? Your ego must be the size of Jupiter.
At least he has concrete solutions, you enabler.
Hey Pallacertus,
Never fear, not one of these grp clowns ideas have ever gained traction in the mainstream.
Over the years they are adopting a bit more classist and extremist tone to their posts, like they advocate no rights for our less advantaged brothers, one day our govt should scrape out these fools and remove them from the gene pool.
But then again, better keep a bunch of ineffectual fools in place as your dissenters, lest they be replaced by a real adversary, hahaha!
Read it and weep right here!
Hi Pallacertus,
BTW, welcome back. I guess this article made your brain itch so bad you just had to scratch.
Very vague man: why do you think this suggestion is “downright evil” – did you even read the section on “The Positive Outcome”?
What’s all this hanging statement about “unplanned consequences”? No this will not lead to a civil war. Squatters (both parents and children) will in the end be thanking the government for implementing this law.
If you can’t reply to me (for your own peace of mind?). At least please tell your buddy Hud here to tone down those Ad Hominems. It’s in fact even very gracious that webmaster benign0 is allowing such posts to remain here like that.
Now that’s good sportsmanship – a stark contrast to what you see in PH politics nowadays.
Oh I thought you quit grp already? What’s the matter jon-ass? You are still asshurt on what grp always write?
How about you take care of those squatters? Use your own money for their food and shelter. And I don’t give a damn if you’ll even sell your whole body for those people because it seems that they are not a problem for you. You say the article is downright evil because you are still behaving like a drama queen. Ampalaya is still bitter for you failipino? Cry us a river.
is there any presidential candidate promising public housing for all as a right – or for that matter, universal medicare coverage for all as a basic human right?
if not why not? if other developing countries, like Uruguay and Costa Rica can do it, why can’t we?
someday, even an ordinary middle class person who’s always been lucky enough to find meaningful work may suddenly find themselves in need of urgent medical care because of a drunken driver running into them, or their homes burned accidentally and suddenly they’re homeless: so they’re suddenly social pariahs?
Come on, we can do better than that!
That’s basically the Lina Law mentioned in the article – housing for these poor slum dwellers. Where has it gotten us?
Been there, done that. We need a new experiment.
what only 140,000 squatter family in metro manila? well Senatong Tanda and his bribed and bacon barrel can take care of this problem, Sequester his long time senate loophole activities.
if a squatter stayed in government idle land for 7 years and more and developed it themselves, the government can’t just take them out. the government should pay them out, the land and the house they build. it’s the law.
Stupid law passed by stupid politicians. You can sense one when you see one. So China can have the shoals they have occupied after 7years.
Many of the ideas in this Proposed Squatter Family Law are based on YOUR Comments in Ilda’s article on Squatters.
http://getrealphilippines.com/2013/07/a-lot-of-decent-filipinos-are-getting-fed-up-with-arrogant-squatters/
It’s quite a chore to read through all those 700+ comments, so I summarized the first 25% of them…
Commenter’s Ideas on How to Solve the Squatter Issue:
POPULATION
> address overpopulation: 1 child policy for poor
> confiscate children; require proof of capability to sustain – to redeem children
> ligation/vasectomy
> use them as forced labor / provide manual labor jobs
EDUCATION
> educate them / brainwash them
RIGHTS
> no income tax / no permanent address – no vote
> remove right to vote for non-residents
> require work permit visa to move to a city
> require minimum wage for sponsorship of relatives to live in city residence
ENFORCEMENT
> apply iron hand; strong enforcement
> treat as criminal; stealing land is a crime
> apply rule: trespassers will be shot
> don’t give them democracy
> give deadline (2 wks), then bulldoze/burn their homes
> don’t treat them as babies
> nip at the bud
> landowner’s responsibility
> nuke them all
> penalize service providers who support squatters
> penalize mayors that do not remove squatters
> remove electricity/water
PROVINCES
> develop the countryside; decentralize industries away from MM
> private sector to support
> make them go back to their provinces; convince them
> have sponsors invite them to live in their house
> deport back to countryside
> convince them go back to their provinces
> encourage farming
PROBLEMS/MISC
> identify root cause first
> remove entitlement mentality – getting paid by land owners to leave
> church to address moral side; gov address economic side
> violence
> lazy
> get rich squatters too
> rich need poor people
> lack of urban planning
> weak inforcement
> harms tourism
> environmental neglect
> need to remove them from danger zones
Thanks to all the commenters for the above inputs. If there is any better idea, or anything that was missed out, please feel free to add. Please don’t bother repeating the ones already listed above.
The proposed law in this article reflects the general sentiment of GRP readers. You owe it to yourselves to push for the adoption of this law.
——
Many of the initial comments in this article are already crying foul for “violating” the human rights of these squatters (Note: squatters are criminals, because squatting is a crime).
However, we as law-abiding citizens of the land have rights too:
1. the right to live in an eyesore-free city
2. freedom from the crime, congestion, chaos, and pollution/environmental risks that these squatters bring
3. freedom to have our elections not decided by these vote-bought squatters who multiply like rabbits
So it all depends on who’s rights are more important – the criminal’s or yours.
You want to genuinely solved the problem of the Philippines. Tax heavily the Catholic Church. Separation of church and state. Failipinos are breeding like rabbits. My belief, you had no right to bring a child in this world if you can’t provide the basic necessities for a child to survive mainly shelter, food and education.
Anyone can get angry, but to do this to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not for everyone, nor is it easy.
If people actually knew about vasectomies, that would be a good start. I’ve talked to ‘educated’ Filipinos who didn’t even know what it is, let alone consider it routine. Instead, I hear about relatives who are happy with their two children and don’t plan to have any more… only for an update several months later.
Foreign missions visit major cities every year giving snips to the poor for free, but you can rely on the Catholics to head along and picket what’s good for them.
The proposed solution may trigger a war led resistance by slum-gangs, slum-lords and backed by communist party list.
After spending 4 years living in the Philippines, and vowing to never, ever return, my only comments to this and other articles and comment on this site are these:
There are no solutions to these problems. Why? Because the basic core of the problem in the Philippine is this: Filipinos, as a nation, do NOT want to improve. In fact, most of them don’t even comprehend what it is to improve.
It’s a bit like trying to cure an alcoholic. You can only cure them if THEY decide they WANT to change. Filipinos don’t want to change. As irrational as it might sound to westerners, Filipinos are happy being poor, dishonest, corrupt, totally selfish, uncaring, inconsiderate, lazy, and a long list of negatives.
There is no hope for the Philippines. And the only reason is because Filipinos don’t want anything different.
Sure, there’s the small (10%) of Filipinos who decide to actually do some work and become OFW’s, but the remainder of the population is happier to be poor and shiftless.
I am convinced that there is no hope for the Philippines. It can never improve. Improvement is not something most Filipinos even comprehend or care about. Yeah, they want money, but not if it takes any effort or self discipline to obtain it.
Sorry to say, but websites like this, telling Filipinos to “get real”, will never be more than a place for people to vent. Because Filipinos don’t even know what “real” is.
@FranzH,
I totally agree with you.
The only thing I dont understand is, that most Filipinos dont want to change and dont want change.
They dont have to “get real” (reality is what one sees every day when looking outside the window), they have to “wake up” and see and realize that this aint working.
There are people that say “money doesnt make one happy”, well I got news for them. Money makes things possible that without are is possible. It (having more money than needed for basic needs and epenses) also makes people independent.
Robert, that’s whats so impossible for westerners to comprehend about the PI, and why, IMO, westerners don’t belong in the PI.
The problem is that it DOES work for them. The total mess they see around them is fine for them. They like having no self discipline or work ethic. They don’t look at the deplorable conditions and rats and sewage and trash everywhere you look and think “wow, this is bad. Maybe we should show some pride and clean things up a bit”. That’s not something they think about or comprehend.
And that’s why westerners are such idiots about the PI. We tend to assume that poor people living in deplorable conditions naturally want to make their lives better right? NO. Not true.
You first have to WANT to, and second need to decide you are willing to do what it takes to improve.
Neither of those thoughts exist in the Filipino mind.
@FranzH,
despite you leaving this website, I still would and will respond to your message/comment.
What you stated, I saw and see myself first hand. And you are right, we – westerners – dont understand it. That is why I could not and cant live there or only under my own conditions.
I apologize, but I’ll have to step out of this forum now. I just stumbled on this site and saw some interesting comments, but there’s no way I want to get drawn into a lot of venting over the PI.
It’s no longer a concern for me, it’s their country and it’s not my place to criticize. Those are just my observations, and honestly I couldn’t care less what they choose to do with their country. I’ll never go back.
Take care all and have a wonderful new year!!
Well, I have another issue with this idea. There is no unlimited amount of farm jobs available in Mindanao. So if you put up tent camps there and let deported NCR squatters do the wok it would cause a loss of regular farm jobs.
Better idea:Let the ex squatters costruct a railway network in Mindanao.
This is harsh, ruthless and short-term. In practical terms, it is not realistic but implementable with ruthless politicians leading this law to sacrifice himself in hell and the rest of future generations will live in heaven.
I’ve toyed with a similar solution in my mind for some time. I would send parents to penal colonies in the south china sea. They can pollute all they want, rendering the area undesirable for the Chinese. The children would be trained in military camps for mandatory military service when they come of age, of course, I would incorporate lots of English and sciences since by the time their military commission expires, they would have to become perfectly functioning and law-abiding citizens.
I would not risk the environment just for enabling these pieces of trash.
Squatters are human rights violators. Unfortunately Commission on Human Rights has always been about Criminals Have Rights to crime instead of the citizens’ right to be defended from crime.
You may want to read this article I wrote:
To That Idiotic Commission of Human Rights, Squatters ARE Human Rights Violators Themselves!”
Alisin nyo na rin ang impluwensya ng simbahan sa mga mahihirap na Pinoy. Or obligahin nyong isaksak sa mga simbahan lahat ng squatters para malaman ng mga magagaling na paring yan ang resulta ng “humayo kayo at magpakarami.” Ang hindi sumunod, bubuwisan ng 50%.
Yes, as addendum: churches must donate 10% of their income for the food, shelter, and education of the seized squatter children (or absorb some into their orphanages).
This is the greatest comedy site in the Philippines ever.
Will laughing get you to get off your ass and do something to help?