Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 129)
Professional squatters are individuals or groups who occupy lands without the express consent of the landowner and have sufficient income for legitimate housing, including those who previously were awarded government housing but sold or transferred it and settled illegally elsewhere. It excludes those simply renting from such squatters.
Squatting syndicates are groups of persons engaged in the illegal business of squatter housing for profit or gain.
The committee is composed of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), Department of Justice (DOJ), Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP), Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), a representative of PCUP accredited National Urban Poor Organization, and a representative of a Non-Government Organization.
Its functions include overseeing and coordinating government activities against professional squatters and syndicates, recommending measures to curtail their activities, assisting local government units in implementation, and submitting reports to the Office of the President.
Local committees must include the concerned city or municipal mayor, the local chief of PNP, a representative of the PCUP, the president of the PCUP accredited urban poor organization, and a representative from the private sector.
LGUs, upon recommendation of their local committees, are authorized to summarily evict offenders and demolish their dwelling structures, monitor eviction activities, provide legal assistance to victims, and file necessary charges before courts.
The PNP is part of both the National and Local Committees, assists in monitoring and enforcement including eviction activities, consolidates lists of syndicates and squatters, and supports legal actions against offenders.
It directs the identification and registration of rightful beneficiaries, safeguards them from squatter syndicates through legal assistance and information sharing, and ensures that professional squatters are excluded from housing programs.
Eviction and demolition are based on compliance with Republic Act No. 7279 (Urban Development and Housing Act) and its implementing rules, with LGUs empowered to act on recommendations to remove new illegal entrants.