The Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee on Informal Settlers (MMIAC) has tapped the Department of Justice (DoJ) to improve its chances of winning its legal battles against over half a million illegal and professional squatters who have been coddled by local government units.

During the MMIAC meet, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Oscar Inocentes said the role of the DoJ is to serve as the MMIAC’s prosecutorial arm in going after “untouchable” squatters coddled by local politicians who are interested only in their votes during elections.

Inocentes said this arrangement with the DoJ is one of the significant provisions of the draft MMIAC Framework, which will govern the implementation of the Comprehensive Shelter Program (CSP) in the National Capital Region (NCR).

“When everything is finalized, it will be the DoJ, through its provincial, municipal and city fiscals’ office, which will handle the prosecution of the illegal squatters. This way, we will be able to deal with squatters effectively and swiftly and move forward towards providing housing for qualified beneficiaries,” Inocentes said.

Inocentes said LGUs remain powerless in curbing the rise in informal settlers.

Professional squatter-families have already ballooned to 517,175, based on the list submitted by 13 of the 17 LGUs in Metro Manila.

The report cited that some local politicians tolerate informal settlers since they rely on vote-rich colonies of informal settlers during elections.

Instead of the LGUs, the DoJ would be the one to pursue the filing of charges against professional squatters or squatting syndicates who negate the government efforts to provide housing projects to underprivileged and homeless families.

Of the 517,175 informal settlers, the biggest chunk or 232,123 families are located in government-owned lands.

Families illegally occupying private-owned lands number 173,536.

The report also showed that 81,628 families were listed in danger areas; 16,890 in areas for priority development; and 11,866 families in areas affected by government priority projects.

The figure could swell above the 2007 magnitude of 544,609 informal settlers once the updated figures from Pateros, Mandaluyong, Marikina and Parañaque, are updated.

Majority of them are dwelling in “dangerous areas” such as riverbanks, esteros, roadways, sidewalks, aqueducts, bridges, railroad tracks, garbage dumps, shorelines, and waterways.

The committee will also meet each month, to fast-track the implementation of its plans and programs.

The MMIAC is composed of the MMDA as the lead agency, the National Housing Authority as vice chair, and other member agencies such as Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, National Anti-Poverty Commission, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Interior and Local Government, Caritas Manila Housing Ministry, National Urban Poor Sectoral Council, and other agencies attached to the Office of the President.

MMIAC is the creation of the Executive Order 803 signed by President Arroyo on May 21, 2009 to carryout housing and resettlement of homeless citizens under the CSP.