Are there Informal Settlers in your place/area?

Yes, almost all the people here in our place are considered informal settlers or squatters, including us. The problem is, we have already built solid structures and buildings here, it will be hard for the real owner to demolish us. This used to be a hacienda owned by one man, Don Liboro. He acquired this for nothing, he just put some fence and claimed this land his own, since he was the wealthy and powerful during his days. Then the communist rebels (the New People's Army) came and made him leave. So he left, but so clever he pawned the title of the hacienda to a bank. Decades have passed, a thriving community have grown in here. My father came bought a land rights here and built a house. Someone sold the rights to him out of nothing, maybe some beneficiaries of the rebels. Then all of the people here did the same, bought rights from someone who is a beneficiary of the rebels. This is the reason why, almost all of the people of this town are informal settlers or squatters.

Yeah we have in our area. I really don't mind, it's just that lately they started crimes like stealing laptops and cellphones. They are really getting out of hand and what's more they used to be the kids I know then. They are slowly turning from little rascals to full pledge criminals.

We do have in many places in my country and you can really blame them. They have to live somewhere. The government should be more responsive in my opinion.

Hello Chiyo, Ive known a certain place in Manila were informal settlers are over populated and they were very harmful because they mostly caused crimes in the place. I'm not pertaining to majority of people there but most of them. I believe you know the place Ive been talking about. There place were demolished yet they still able to make houses after the demolition. However, I really felt pity with them especially the children who became beggars in the place and you will see them so dirty and malnourished. I think the government cannot control them anymore.

My family had been victims of these squatters for a long while. We filed lawsuit against them and it took a lot of our precious time attending to the court proceedings. The case should have been a simple one but the squatters took advantage of other problems we are dealing with the property. It was so annoying because being the owner, we are paying the government taxes imposed on the property and yet we couldn't get the land. Worse thing is that they are making it appear that we are grabbing their land, when in fact it is rightfully and legally ours. The lot had been an idle one and some of the settlers asked permission to occupy the land on a temporary basis. Some just settled without any permission. The temporary turned infinite. My grandmother being a religious and a compassionate woman, just let them be there. And when it is time for us to utilize the land, they are accusing us of not the real owners. It turned too complicated so we just decided to sell the property. Now they will have to deal with the new owner.

Two sides of the coin. The first is your side, yes they are a nuisance as they occupy space in which they don't own. They loiter, make a mess of the place and make their naked kids walk around. On their side they are just fighting for survival because they are humans and basic instinct is to survive and reproduce so they battle the police and anyone who makes them leave their place. So I think they are fighting for survival but they do not understand what land ownership means. Plus they stay a long time in that place which gives them the idea that that is their "owned" place since they have lived for a long time. They are like acne, they are persistent and keep popping up everywhere

Hi chiyosan! We have squatters in our barangay. Our place is located near a lake and there's a strip of the lake shore that has been occupied by a lot of squatters. I remember when I was a kid, that strip was inhabited. It's a little far from our house but I know it was inhabited because one has to go through it when going to a hot spring and I used to go to that place. We call that strip tibagan because it's rocky and perhaps people before used to mine rocks there. Now, it's full of squatters. It's really annoying because they destroyed the beauty of that part of nature. I once went to the hot spring with my friends and when we went through that strip, it's really messy and crowded. Not to mention that their domestic wastes all go through that lake. Sometimes I sympathize with these kinds of people but most of the times I don't. Because I know they came from a province and they left their place to look for jobs. They should have just stayed in their province and tilled their lands instead of going somewhere and living pathetically in a land they don't own.

I think they're called squatters because they "squat". Like how activists sometimes squat in front of trees to prevent them from being cut down. Just my idea. As for the squatters, people might think that they have no place to go. But there's socialized and economic housing for them. NHA is a government agency that is focused in providing assistance to low-income earners. There are also organizations like Gawad Kalinga. Maybe these people think moving to a different location is disadvantageous. It is a little farther to their jobs, or their old friends and relatives, but it'll be a land completely their own plus it'll be clean and sanitary, habitable and won't be fire hazards. There's also SSS, GSIS and Pag-ibig to offer housing loans. I don't believe that squatters really don't have a choice. Some houses in the squatter area are more furbished than an average house. And some of them are renting out houses as well. How could they have money to construct another house if they're that poor?

It is not surprised for most countries. In America, the illegal immigrants as you called informal settlers is huge problem in the border between Mexico and America. Those immigrants would use their relatives who already established in United States to help them immigrate to America. And it increases the difficulty on securing the boarder because the police has no idea that the illegal immigrants are citizen or a real illegal immigrants. They cannot just get into Hispanic community and said you are all under arrested due to the suspicion of illegal immigrating. No, it would violate the Constitution of United States. Those illegal immigrants have the protection from Hispanic group and thus have the place to stay. So, if your country wants to solve this problem then your country also needs to set a policy to deal with those people's settlements. If they have no place to live, they would cause trouble.