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Best Posts in Thread: need legal direction / help in land issue

  1. SkipJack

    SkipJack DI Senior Member

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    I don't know.
    “Informal settler” is the politically correct term for squatter. These are the terms you want to use as a basis of your searching on the Internet. Your friends in the informal settler community may not have the skills and resources to educate themselves quickly.

    “A 1992 law says demolitions and evictions will not be allowed unless the settlers occupy dangerous areas, when the site is needed for public infrastructure projects, or when there is a court order.”

    Land ownership and hoarding leads to artificial scarcity. The Philippine provinces are way too poor to support the rat race caused by artificial scarcity. Artificial scarcity is caused by land banking, the practice of hoarding land and holding it back from development until its price increases. I add this because you mentioned that there is a big land owning company involved.

    It is important that this become an administrative legal issue where it can be managed calmly.

    Here are some links relating to informal settlers and squatting.

    https://news.abs-cbn.com/-depth/03/12/12/life-constant-battle-philippine-squatters

    https://www.lamudi.com.ph/journal/q...quatters-or-informal-settlers-in-my-property/

    Here is a recent article about the negatives of land hoarding and artificial scarcity.
    https://www.theguardian.com/environ...wns-england-secretive-companies-hoarding-land
     
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    SkipJack, Apr 23, 2019
    #3
  2. furriner

    furriner DI Forum Adept Restricted Account

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    I am not a lawyer but I have been involved in land and to my knowledge, no law has ever been decreed that usurps the ownership rights of the titleholder. However, the owner’s options as to what he may do with the propert are another issue. Chances are, if people have been “informally squatting” there, the big issue will not be land ownership; the titleholder clearly owns it. The land owner’s problem will be evicting the people living there. People who buy land either 1) ensure nobody is living there or 2) they decide to buy the property and gamble that they can convince to informal “settlers” to move. They may pay a reduced price for the land because of this. It may be that the landowner will offer a small settlement to get them to leave voluntarily but Philippine law will not permit him to come over with bulldozers and plow down their homes as we see sometimes in other countries. Talk to a lawyer who may advise on the squatters’ rights. Also, I understand that the squatters may be entitled to free legal representation. A prescriptive lien may be involved since they lived on the land more than 7 years, possibly giving them the right to stay and never having to pay taxes (the landowner gets to do that). And yes, as a foreigner, best to stay out of it as your presence in court hearing etc.. will not be appreciated. However, it looks like a large company is involved, not an individual who might lose face. Land disputes between individuals can shorten foreigners’ lives.


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    furriner, Apr 25, 2019
    #11
  3. Edward K

    Edward K DI Senior Member Veteran Navy

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    One point for Roadwitch is that student lawyers don't scare officials, big attorneys do, but preliminary stuff is a good start.

    Remember here in the Philippines, more so than in the states, Filipinos generally, even corrupt ones, dislike confrontation, don't like offending, but very much don't like to lose face. I wish more foreigners were like this, but the downside is that a Filipino is more likely to have you shot if you make them lose face. The result of this is that officials are much more likely to let legal proceedings die a drawn out death than "dismiss" an action.

    We like Raymund Mercado corner of national and rovira. Good but pricey.
     
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    Edward K, Apr 25, 2019
    #10