Noli vows crackdown on squatters

Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chair Noli de Castro has vowed to conduct a stronger drive against “professional squatters,” including prosecuting them and the organized groups that back them.

The HUDCC issued implementing guidelines that govern Executive Order 153, which created the National Drive Against Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates (NDAPSSS).

“It will facilitate the prosecution of professional squatters and syndicates making the process much faster,” De Castro said in a statement.

“The implementing guidelines will further strengthen the cooperation and coordination of NDAPSSS member- agencies since their roles are clearly defined, thus avoiding the overlapping of functions,” he added.

De Castro said the guidelines assign the HUDCC and the Department of Justice as the lead agencies to implement EO 153.

He said the guidelines also provide the procedures on summary eviction, demolition, relocation and containment of professional squatters.

The guidelines also strengthen the national police task force against professional squatters and squatting syndicates and direct concerned agencies to give their full support to the fight against professional squatters and squatting syndicates.

De Castro also said the NDAPSSS will work closely with its counterparts among the local government units and the local committees against squatting syndicates and professional squatters.  – Reinir Padua