Abigail G.

Mendoza

A53A

Problem-solution Essay

Informal Settlers being too Informal in City

Informal Settlers have always been a problem in the Philippines, which is one of

the leading problems of a third world country. They are usually found in Metro Manila

since it is the center of culture, economy, education and government. The number of

informal settlers from 2007 to 2011in Metro Manila has reached 7.3 percent consisting of

556,526 households (Buban, n.d.). Many informal settlers squat on lands, which are not

suited for human habitation. Many live in low-lying areas, which are prone to flooding.

Some live near railroad tracks that endanger lives. Others live under the bridge with no

electricity and no source of potable water. Informal settlers in the Philippines continue to

increase in number despite the solutions made by the government which didn’t give

enough help, thus, to prevent this unabated issue new possible solutions such as

allocating of more funds for the housing project, more effective location planning and

building more infrastructures near relocation areas will surely be an improvement.

Informal settlers in the Philippines could easily be spotted because they can be

found in every city. They are later forced to move to other places for they cause social

problems connected to garbage disposal, health and safety, traffic and over population

(Shahani, n.d.). The current population in the Philippines is 105,516,227 million as of

November 16, 2017 based on the World Meter. With a country so small, it is one of the

most overpopulated countries in the world and the informal settlers takes a huge part in

adding up the amount of people. They do not have a permanent place which leads to

clustering of their made up houses in dangerous areas such as under the bridges, along the

roads, beside or on the river and railroad tracks. They have no choice but to accept it

since they are the one’s living on the land that is not even their own. It is for free so they

can not complain about it. Every time after a typhoon hits the country, they are always

the victims since they could easily lose their homes made of light materials. Also,

everyone and everything is affected by the tax they don’t pay because it is unfair for

those who do. Tax is used for the country and is benefitted by everyone but the informal

settlers are who benefit more from it. Informal settlers get to live for free and they don’t

have to worry about paying their place of stay while other people strive to work just to

pay what needs to be paid.

It was during Marcos’ time where many infrastructures and projects were

established such as hospitals, schools, roads and bridges, cultural, tourism, heritage sites,

Bagong Lipunan Improvement of Sites and Services (BLISS), etc. BLISS is a project that

aimed to help the poorest of the poor in Metro Manila and in rural areas. Its ultimate goal

is to develop a strong and solid economic base for the community, thereby inculcating

self-reliance among the beneficiaries (Arillo, 2015). The construction went on from 1975

to 1985 consisting of 230,000 housing units in total, despite the terrible acts Marcos has

done, he still made a legacy by improving the situation of many poor Filipinos.

The informal settlers are seen as “nuisance” to the society. First, they hinder the

improvement of the land they squat on. The landowner cannot develop the property
because they refuse to leave their shanties and use force to protect the land they occupy.

They seek protection from the government so that the landowner will not eject them.

Also, they have illegal connection of electricity, which makes their houses prone to fire.

Since their houses are made of light materials, fire can easily spread to the neighborhood

and to other nearby communities. Lastly, they have improper waste disposal. Their

garbage clog the water systems and this is the reason why we have floodings in Metro

Manila. They also throw their garbage in the nearby river making the river clogged and

contaminated as well (Palatino, 2016).

There are already existing solutions to the informal settlers’ problems. Such as

transferring them from urban areas to rural areas, employment or livelihood opportunities

and cash allowance. The NHA provides housing communities for them in nearby

provinces to decongest their population in Metro Manila. It is a way to help them settle

and also to improve the country’s economy. Another solution is employment or

livelihood opportunities wherein the government gives them work or livelihood trainings

so they don’t have to fully rely on the government assistance. Last is the cash allowance

that the government gives so that they can start a new life in the relocation sites (Pasion,

n.d.).

The given and made up solutions does not work because of their mentality. One

reason for ineffectiveness is that they refuse to partake in the programs prepared by the

government. They refuse to transfer from urban to rural areas because their source of

income is in Metro Manila and the work available in the new site are not suited to their

expertise. Another reason is because the new housing does not have electricity. Some
refuse to work and would just want easy money. They resort to commit petty crimes that

affect innocent people. Last is the misuse of government fund by government officials

who pockets the money intended for informal settlers (Affairs, n.d.).

All existing solutions will not be effective until there is proper implementation of

housing programs. Informal settlers should also cooperate and learn how to adjust to their

new community. Allocations of more funds are needed for the housing project through

the use of “Affordable Housing Reserve Fund” (AHRF). Allocation of the AHRF has a

specific policy that sets out guidelines for the allocation and distribution of funds held in

the AHRF for projects that include the provision of affordable housing units. Preference

will be given to projects that provide housing units for low-income households. The

government through the NHA will mobilize the project. According to Professor Soriano

III, the Philippines currently have a housing backlog of 3.9m housing units. For a low-

cost house of 200,000 pesos each, the total fund required to build the houses is 7.8 billion

pesos. This should be implemented immediately because the number of informal settlers

is growing and a basic necessity to have a roof under one’s head. The government should

be the one to take action since they have the power to amend the situation. Enough funds

should be allocated to build for the target community. This will only be possible if and

only if there would be no corruption and the allocation funds are given to the right people

who need them.

Additionally, more effective location planning should be implemented by NHA to

ensure that they could still continue their normal lives in proposed site. The government

should secure the proposed budget so that they could build low-rise buildings suitable for
human habitation instead of residing in hazardous places in or along danger areas in

Metro Manila. One project is the Disiplina Village located at Valenzuela City with an 11-

hectare lot area with 800 informal settler families. Relating to the 3.9m households of

informal settlers, 50,000 hectares of land is needed to accommodate and should be

provided by the government. Informal settlers should be able to move in the low-rise

building as soon as they can for faster improvement of our country. They should be

relocated near or within the city, which will give them easy access to their workplace,

schools, hospitals, marketplace, etc. This should also be done with the help of the

government by allocating enough land. It should be in or near metro manila for them to

be able to continue their livelihood. This will only be possible if and only if the NHA

would properly implement plans, policies and programs along with other agencies of the

government.

The objective is to build infrastructures such as roads, schools, hospitals, markets,

etc. to encourage them to move in. The government can allocate funds for this purpose.

Adequate infrastructure such as highway-grade concrete roads, supply of industrial and

potable water, waste water treatment facility, available pipelines for the supply of

industrial gasses, etc. These are needed to make the area habitable to all informal settlers

around the area. Funds should also be allotted to make their land livable. The government

would be able to support and supply the infrastructures needed by the informal settlers.

This should also be in or near metro manila for easy access. The infrastructures should be

built or be ready when the low-rise buildings have finished so they could move in as soon

as possible. The government should take action in this since they have the money and the
initiative to do so. This will only be possible if and only if the money budgeted to fund

will not be pocketed by the government officials.

Informal settlers in the Philippines continue to increase in number despite the

solutions made by the government which didn’t give enough help, thus, to prevent this

unabated issue new possible solutions such as allocating of more funds for the housing

project, more effective location planning and building more infrastructures near

relocation areas will surely be an improvement. As the informal settlers improve their

situation they also help in improving the economy of our country. This means that they

have a house to live in, work to earn their living, food on their table, education for their

children and healthcare for each of the members of the family. In my own simple ways, I

could help the Gawad Kalinga (GK) projects by helping in building houses, donating

money, participating in outreach programs like teaching their children reading, writing

and arithmetic. With these simple actions, I am able to help them to make them feel that

they are part of our society.

 Reference

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Affairs, G. N. (n.d.). Urban poor activists blast misuse of Informal Settler Fund.

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…..misuse-of-informal-settler-fund-/photo/

Affordable Housing for Filipinos. (2016, December 20). Retrieved December 08, 2017,

from https://www.zipmatch.com/blog/affordable-housing-for-filipinos/

Buban, C. E. (n.d.). Informal settlements as new growth areas. Retrieved November 19,

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Arillo, C. (2015, November 13). Retrieved November 19, 2017, from

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Pasion, P. (n.d.). P100B a year: Can Duterte gov't build enough homes for informal

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Shahani, L. R. (n.d.). Housing informal settlers in the coming years. Retrieved November

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