In issuing Memorandum Order No. 74, Mrs. Arroyo ordered Secretary Michael Defensor, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), to draft a set of guidelines to govern the awarding of government housing to squatters.
The STAR has obtained a copy of MO 74, which was issued last Sept. 13.
Under MO 74, Defensor is empowered to coordinate with local governments in whose territories housing projects are located so the HUDCC could get a "master list of qualified beneficiaries" to prevent unscrupulous people from taking advantage of them.
MO 74 defined "New Settlers or Occupants" as individuals who enter or occupy portions of a proclaimed housing site after an initial survey and tagging by the concerned government agencies.
"There is a need to ensure that lands proclaimed by the President are disposed to the intended beneficiaries in the most expeditious, equitable and participatory manner," read the order.
Mrs. Arroyo said her administration’s priority concern is to provide land to deserving landless and homeless Filipinos based on the De Sotto principle that squatters be allowed to own the land they are illegally occupying.
"To the end that these informal settlers are finally granted the titles to the lands they are occupying at the earlier possible time and in order that these lands are developed as a viable community through participatory planning and utilization of appropriate development schemes," she said.
The complementary roles of national government agencies and local governments should be "orchestrated" to speed up implementation of Republic Act 7279, the Urban Development and Housing Act, and her administration’s National Housing Plan, Mrs. Arroyo added. –Marichu Villanueva