Occupation of derelict land or abandoned buildings
Urban areas in the Philippines such as
Metro Manila
,
Metro Cebu
, and
Metro Davao
have large
informal settlements
. The
Philippine Statistics Authority
defines a squatter, or alternatively "informal dwellers", as "One who settles on the land of another without title or right or without the owner's consent whether in urban or rural areas".
[1]
Squatting is criminalized by the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (RA 7279), also known as the Lina Law. There have been various attempts to regularize squatter settlements, such as the Zonal Improvement Program and the
Community Mortgage Program
. In 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority estimated that out of the country's population of about 106 million, 4.5 million were homeless.
Overview
[
edit
]
The Philippine Statistics Authority has defined a squatter as "One who settles on the land of another without title or right or without the owner's consent whether in urban or rural areas".
[1]
Local media and journalists refer to squatters euphemistically as "informal settlers."
[2]
[3]
Out of the country's population of about 106 million, an estimated 4.5 million were homeless according to the Philippine Statistics Authority; of these 3 million were in the capital
Manila
.
[4]
[5]
Causes of homelessness include poverty and destruction of homes due to natural calamities
[6]
and
climate change
.
[7]
The growth of homelessness and squatting in urban areas are linked to internal migration from poorer regions.
Rural poverty
, a major factor in internal migration, has been rooted on various factors, including farmer dispossession and
land grabbing
, violent suppression of peasant movements, decline of the agricultural sector, and the deterioration of living conditions in rural areas.
[8]
Residents of informal settlements tend to experience poor living conditions and may lack access to basic services as water, sanitation, and health care.
[9]
History
[
edit
]
Squatters build makeshift houses called "barong-barong" on unused land.
[10]
The occupations increased after World War II as people moved from rural to urban areas.
[11]
In
Cebu City
, colonies of squatters emerged after the city was bombed to ruin. By 1974, it was reported that Cebu City had 34 informal settlements and by 1985, it was estimated that there were 232,520 squatters, which had comprised 40% of the city's population.
[12]
In
Davao City
, there was a scramble for land previously owned by Japanese people and these occupations were legalized in the 1950s by the government. By 1968, there were an estimated 75,000 squatters living in informal settlements and inner-city
slums
.
[13]
At the
Port of Manila
, land was reclaimed in the 1950s in
Tondo
and quickly occupied by squatters. By 1968, there were over 20,000 households in the informal settlement.
[14]
Elsewhere in Manila, parks and military land were occupied.
[14]
The
Zone One Tondo Organization
(ZOTO) was set up in 1970 to represent squatter interests in Tondo and campaign for land rights.
[15]
It inspired other groups and the Ugnayan ng Maralitang Tagalunsod (UMT) was founded in 1976 to campaign for squatters on a national scale.
[15]
The first mass eviction on record in
Manila
was in 1951 and the largest took place in late 1963 and early 1964 when 90,000 people were displaced.
[16]
: 43
By 1978, there were estimated to be two million squatters in Manila, occupying 415 different locations.
[16]
: 77
President
Ferdinand Marcos
announced
martial law
in December 1972 and by 1975 he had introduced a decree criminalizing squatting in an attempt to stop the expansion of informal settlements.
[15]
[17]
The dictatorship often forcibly relocated squatters to sites 30 or 40 km outside cities. First Lady
Imelda Marcos
wanted to beautify Manila and therefore evicted thousands of squatters when the city hosted the 1974
Miss Universe Pageant
and the 1976 meeting of the
IMF
and
World Bank
.
[18]
She commented in 1982 that "professional squatters [were] plain land-grabbers taking advantage of the compassionate society".
[16]
: 46
The government attempted to resettle the squatters elsewhere, only for the squatters to return to their homes which were near where they worked, so the Zonal Improvement Program (ZIP) was started in the late 1970s. Slums were then
upgraded
in situ: The occupations were regularized and supplied with sanitation and electricity.
[15]
[19]
There were squatters at the
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay
and the
Clark Air Base
in the 1980s.
[20]
In this time, the government began to forcibly resettle squatters again, moving them to places such as
Bagong Silang
in
Caloocan
and
Payatas
in
Quezon City
. Resistance to evictions fed into the opposition to the Marcos dictatorship and resulted in the 1986
People Power Revolution
.
[15]
The
Community Mortgage Program
was set up in 1992, aiming to help low-income families transition from squatting to
affordable housing
. By 2001, around 106,000 families had found secure housing in over 800 separate communities.
[21]
: 54
In 1993,
slums in Metro Manila
were estimated to contain 2.39 million people, or 30.5 per cent of the area's total population and 706,185 people had been assisted by the ZIP.
[19]
Impoverished squatters lived on landfill sites such as
Smokey Mountain
and
Payatas dumpsite
, working as scavengers.
[22]
[23]
The urban poor organization Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay, or Federation of Mutual Aid for the Poor) was formed on November 7, 1998, with Carmen "Nanay Mameng" Deunida elected as its first chair.
[24]
[25]
On January 12, 2000, informal settlers living along
Circumferential Road 4
(C-4 Road) in
Malabon City
were forcibly removed from the area by local policemen, who were conducting a clearing operation to make way for the Camanava Mega-Flood Control project, and squatters who refused to cooperate were temporarily sent to the Malabon police station via dump trucks. Up to 93 squatters and policemen sustained injuries from the operation.
[26]
Kadamay carried out the
Pandi housing project occupation
in March 2017, which is considered a part of the global
Occupy movement
with its opposition to
social
and
economic inequality
.
[27]
[28]
The occupation of over 5,000 housing units built by the
National Housing Authority
(NHA) in
Bulacan
was at first condemned by President
Rodrigo Duterte
and then regularized.
[29]
[30]
The group then attempted to squat NHA property in
Rodriguez, Rizal
, the following year and in 2019 it picketed the NHA offices in Quezon City.
[31]
[32]
The number of informal settlers in the Philippines is believed by government officials to have increased during the
COVID-19 pandemic
.
[33]
Legal
[
edit
]
The Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (RA 7279), also known as the Lina Law after its proponent
Joey Lina
, criminalized squatting yet discouraged evictions except in certain cases, such as when the occupation was carried out by "professional squatters and squatting syndicates".
[34]
[35]
The Marcos decree which had previously outlawed squatting was annulled by the Anti-Squatting Law Repeal Act of 1997 (RA 8368).
[17]
The Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, created on December 8, 1986, through Executive Order No. 82, is tasked to formulate policy and implement programs for the urban poor.
[36]
The Community Mortgage Program, set up following the
People Power Revolution
(EDSA I) of 1988,
[21]
: 56?7
aims to help low-income families who are
squatting
find secure tenure by establishing community associations to buy land, set up infrastructure, and build houses.
[21]
The
Philippine Commission on Human Rights
recognizes adequate housing as a basic human right and provides guidance for the humane treatment of informal settlers.
[37]
In 2021, the Philippine
House of Representatives
declared a housing emergency in the country through House Resolution 1677. The resolution called on the
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development
and other government agencies to address the
housing gap
by providing housing to the homeless population and to families living in informal settlements.
[38]
The department estimated the government's housing backlog at 6.5 million units in 2022.
[39]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Squatter (or informal dwellers)"
.
Philippine Statistics Authority
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2021
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
"From 'Squatters' Into 'Informal Settlers'
"
.
Philippine Human Rights Information Center
.
Pinyahan
,
Quezon City
. September 6, 2014. Archived from
the original
on November 23, 2018
. Retrieved
March 2,
2016
.
- ^
Shahani, Lila Ramos (April 10, 2012).
"Manila's biggest challenge"
. Views.
Rappler
.
Oranbo, Pasig
.
Archived
from the original on March 1, 2016
. Retrieved
March 2,
2016
.
- ^
Chandran, Rina (March 28, 2018).
"Manila's homeless set to move into more empty homes if official handover delayed"
.
Reuters
.
Archived
from the original on October 19, 2021
. Retrieved
June 20,
2021
.
- ^
Fealtman, Erica (July 24, 2020).
"The Impact of COVID-19 on Homelessness in the Philippines"
.
Borgen Magazine
.
Archived
from the original on June 27, 2021
. Retrieved
June 20,
2021
.
- ^
Ellao, Janess Ann J. (March 16, 2021).
"A year since lockdown, the poor struggles against homelessness"
.
Bulatlat
.
Archived
from the original on June 28, 2021
. Retrieved
June 20,
2021
.
- ^
"CCC on World Habitat Day: Enable Sustainable and Climate-Adaptive Systems for Housing Sector"
.
Climate Change Commission
. October 5, 2020.
Archived
from the original on June 24, 2021
. Retrieved
June 20,
2021
.
- ^
Pagaduan-Araullo, Carol
(October 7, 2010).
"No Titles"
.
Bulatlat
. Retrieved
February 17,
2023
.
- ^
Silverio, Ina Alleco (February 10, 2012).
"World Bank funds project to address housing crisis as demolitions continue"
.
Bulatlat
. Retrieved
April 15,
2023
.
- ^
"Manila: National capital, Philippines"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
.
Archived
from the original on January 18, 2017
. Retrieved
January 17,
2017
.
- ^
Poethig, Richard P. (1969).
"The Squatter Community: A dead end or a way up?"
.
Philippine Sociological Review
.
17
(3/4): 132?135.
ISSN
0031-7810
.
JSTOR
23892169
.
Archived
from the original on December 17, 2021
. Retrieved
December 17,
2021
.
- ^
Thirkell, Allyson (September 1994).
"The informal land market in Cebu City, the Philippines; accessibility, settlement development and residential segregation"
.
A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor Philosophy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
: 72?73 – via CORE.
- ^
Feldman, Kerry (1975).
"Squatter Migration Dynamics in Davao City, Philippines"
.
Urban Anthropology
.
4
(2): 123?144.
ISSN
0363-2024
.
JSTOR
40552681
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2021
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Jackson, J. C. (1974).
"Urban Squatters in Southeast Asia"
.
Geography
.
59
(1): 24?30.
ISSN
0016-7487
.
JSTOR
41414282
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2021
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Karaos, Anna Marie A. (1993).
"Manila's Squatter Movement: A Struggle for Place and Identity"
.
Philippine Sociological Review
.
41
(1/4): 71?91.
ISSN
0031-7810
.
JSTOR
23898158
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2021
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
Hardoy, Jorge Enrique; Satterthwaite, David (1989).
Squatter citizen: Life in the urban third world
. London: Earthscan.
ISBN
9781853830204
.
- ^
a
b
"Republic Act No. 8368: An act repealing presidential decree no. 772 entitled 'Penalizing squatting and other similar acts'
"
(PDF)
.
Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC)
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on June 28, 2021
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
Berner, ErhardJ. (September 2000).
"Poverty Alleviation and the Eviction of the Poorest: Towards Urban Land Reform in the Philippines"
.
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
.
24
(3): 554?566.
doi
:
10.1111/1468-2427.00265
.
- ^
a
b
Aiga, Hirotsugu; Umenai, Takusei (August 1, 2002).
"Impact of improvement of water supply on household economy in a squatter area of Manila"
.
Social Science & Medicine
.
55
(4): 627?641.
doi
:
10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00192-7
.
ISSN
0277-9536
.
PMID
12188468
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2021
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
The DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management
. DISAM. 1988. p. 60.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2021
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
Mitlin, Diana; Satterthwaite, David (2004).
Empowering squatter citizen: Local government, civil society, and urban poverty reduction
. London: Earthscan.
ISBN
9781844071012
.
- ^
Comerford, Mike.
"
"It breaks your heart"
"
.
Daily Herald
. Archived from
the original
on June 15, 2007
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
Pena, Rox (August 24, 2017).
"Pena: Payatas landfill is permanently closed"
.
Sunstar
.
Archived
from the original on September 23, 2019
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
Pena, Kurt Dela (July 21, 2021).
"
'Nanay Mameng': Activism that showed nothing changed"
.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
. Retrieved
November 28,
2023
.
- ^
"About Us"
.
Kadamay
. February 8, 2023
. Retrieved
November 28,
2023
.
- ^
Raymundo-Claveria, Gardhen (January 13, 2000).
"Police clash with squatters; 93 hurt"
.
Manila Standard
. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 4.
Archived
from the original on June 21, 2022
. Retrieved
June 21,
2022
.
- ^
Besana, Steven (February 3, 2020).
"Beyond housing: The urban poor occupy movement in PH"
.
People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty
. Retrieved
October 19,
2021
.
- ^
Dizon, Hazel M. (April 2019).
"Philippine housing takeover: How the urban poor claimed their right to shelter"
(PDF)
.
Radical Housing Journal
.
1
(1): 105?129.
doi
:
10.54825/LDXD9655
.
- ^
Vibar, Ivy Jean (April 4, 2017).
"Duterte lets Kadamay have Bulacan homes"
.
ABS-CBN News
.
Archived
from the original on January 23, 2021
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
Umil, Anne Marxze (March 14, 2017).
"Urban poor group vows to continue barricade in gov't housing projects"
.
Bulatlat
.
Archived
from the original on January 26, 2021
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
Lucasan, Athena (June 14, 2018).
"Kadamay does it again, storm Rizal housing"
.
The Manila Times
. PNA
. Retrieved
December 17,
2021
.
- ^
Cabrera, Rhodina.
"500 Kadamay members storm National Housing Authority"
.
Philstar
.
Archived
from the original on February 8, 2019
. Retrieved
December 17,
2021
.
- ^
Balaoing, Benise (September 7, 2021).
"Population growth, migration, red tape: Philippines faces housing crisis"
.
ABS-CBN News
. Retrieved
November 28,
2023
.
- ^
Dizon, David (September 1, 2011).
"Lina clarifies misconceptions about 'Lina Law'
"
.
ABS-CBN News
.
Archived
from the original on August 10, 2018
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
"Philippine Laws, Statutes and Codes"
.
www.chanrobles.com
.
Archived
from the original on February 11, 2021
. Retrieved
April 1,
2021
.
- ^
Medina, Marielle (December 8, 2016).
"Did you know: Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor"
.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
.
Archived
from the original on January 5, 2023
. Retrieved
January 5,
2023
.
- ^
"HRA (CHR IV No. A2011-003) On the Right to Adequate Housing and Humane Treatment of Informal Settlers"
(PDF)
.
Commission of Human Rights
. 2018
. Retrieved
April 16,
2023
.
- ^
"House of Reps. declares housing crisis in Philippines"
.
ABS-CBN News
. August 31, 2021
. Retrieved
February 16,
2023
.
- ^
Recuenco, Aaron (August 18, 2022).
"Gov't housing backlog now at over 6.5M units"
.
Manila Bulletin
. Retrieved
February 16,
2023
.
|
---|
By country
| |
---|
Movements
| |
---|
In culture
| |
---|
Related topics
| |
---|
|