INFORMAL SETTLERS, CIRCA 2013 (LOOKING WAY BACK 1989 IN PAYATAS B)

In 1989-1991, as a seminarian of San Jose Seminary (inside Ateneo De Manila), my weekend apostolate area was Payatas B in Quezon City. Payatas B was then the newly opened dumpsite of garbage for the whole Metro Manila, after Tondo's Smokey Mountain was permanently closed. However, together with the garbage were also lumped the informal settlers (more commonly called as "squatters" then) relocated, either forcibly or otherwise, by different Metro Manila cities or municipalities. Up to this day, I still clearly remember how, when we sleep in a given isolated shanty in Payatas on a Saturday night, the next morning we'll be amazed and surprised to wake up already with neighbors. Literally, the shanties around our once-isolated shanty grew like mushrooms overnight (nagsulputang mga kabute nga! :) ). And I thought then that with Payatas B, the tragic saga of informal settlers (then aka squatters) of Metro Manila, had already been concluded. But I was naively mistaken. NOW, NCR/Metro Manila again has to deal with a resuscitated problem of informal settlers. Indeed, even after more than twenty years, just as in so many things wrong with our country's life, the informal settler issue is still a grim specter which has never ceased to haunt us. An issue whose roots are strongly anchored in so many many vicious elements. Among such elements are the predatory politicians who offer haven, and all other promises to hapless poverty-stricken internal immigrants into their territories primarily to get their votes during elections. Ergo, I believe that if we really intend to find long-term and humane solution to this informal issue problem, methinks we must begin by resolutely dealing with these predatory vote-hungry politicians.