Republic of the Philippines NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY ‘Quezon Memorial Elliptical Road Diliman, Quezon City 14 August 1978 MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR 60, SUBJECT : STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE UNDER PD 1472 TO EVICT SQUATTERS AND ILLEGAL OCCUPANTS IN NHA PROPERTIES AND PROJECTS. | LEGAL BASIS A. Statutory Provision In order to hasten the utilization of NHA housing and resettlement Projects, PD 1472 provides that — “The National Housing Authority shall have the power to summarily eject, without the necessity of judicial order, any and all squatters from squatters’ colonies or government resettlement projects, as well as, any illegal occupant in any homelot, apartment or dwelling unit owned or administered by it.” (Sec.2) B. Pre-requisite 1, Before an eviction notice is served or posted, the fact of squatting or illegal occupancy as required condition in PD 1472, must be present or established. The Department or Project Manager concerned must therefore cause an ocular inspection to be conducted of the dwelling unit or lot and a written occupancy report shall be signed by the inspector concerned. 2. The party to be evicted must be either- a. A squatter in any NHA resettlement project or property. As a squatter, the party shall be given a written notice of his status as squatter and given an initial period of thirty (30) days to move out of the premises.b. An “illegal occupant in any homelot, apartment or dwelling unit ‘owned or administered by it” (NHA). Illegal occupant “ shall include those awardees or lessees whose right to occupy or lease the subject homelot, apartment or dwelling unit had already ceased by reason of his violation of the conditions of his award or lease agreement executed in his favor by the NHA or its predecessors-in-interest.” In these cases, therefore, there must be a prior cancellation of the award or lease contracts in accordance with established procedures for such cancellation. The letter of cancellation shall state clearly all violations committed by the awardee or lessee. I NOTICE OF EVICTION A. Eormat The eviction notice shall be signed by the General Manager, worded and printed in English and Tagalog in the form shown in the attached Annexes:- ‘Annex A1 ; Addresses to squatters in NHA-owned property or project Annex A2: Addressed to illegal occupants of NHA-owned tenements or dwelling units. Annex A3 ; Addressed to illegal occupant of NHA-owned subdivisions or urban estate lot, in which the occupant occupies a house built or owned by him. The notice shall specify the date and time the eviction will be undertaken by NHA if the occupant does not voluntary vacate the premises, and that NHA shall assume no responsibility for losses of Sny valuables or belongings of the squatter or illegal occupant. The notice shall be prepared in triplicate, the original to be served, a copy to be held by the Department or Project Manager, and the third copy by the Estate Supervisor or his equivalent in the Project. B. Service of Notice The eviction notice shall be served by personal delivery to the squatter or illegal occupant. The occupant or any adult member of his household shall be requested to acknowledge receipt of the notice. If they refuse to receive or fo acknowledge receipt, the notice of eviction must be posted on the door of the apartment or of the house to bedismantled, and the serving official shall write on the copies of the notice the method and manner of services, the absence or refusal of the occupant to receive and acknowledge the notice and the date of service or posting. Il PRELIMINARY STEPS A. Organization of Eviction Team 1. Formation and composition. ~ For locational reasons, it will be necessary to have different eviction teams for different projects, especially for the Visayan Housing Projects, Eviction teams shall be created and constituted by the General Manager, and shall be compose of the following officials to be recommended by the Department or Project Manager concerned : a. The Estate Supervisor or any person designated by the Department or Project Manager, as Team Leader. b. Another staff member recommended by the Department or Project Manager to assist the Team Leader. c. One or two members of the NHA Security Force recommended by the Manager of the General ‘Administrative Department or by the Department Manager. d. A representative of the Commission on Audit (COA) recommended by the NHA Auditor. Where there are no NHA security guards or COA employees in the Project, some other arrangement may be recommended by the CAD of Project Manager and the NHA Auditor. 2. Function of the Team. — The function of the Eviction Team is to carry out the eviction of persons who refuse to vacate the dwelling unit or the lot being repossessed by NHA. B. Fixing Eviction Date and Time and Assembly Place The Team Leader shall fix the date and time of eviction which shall be placed in eviction notice, and specify the place of assembly for the members of the eviction team and the authorized witnesses. This information shall be passed on to all members of the team and the authorized witnesses.C. Request for Assistance In the performance of its functions, the Team Leader shall take steps to obtain the assistance of (a) the nearest police precinct for the detail of a policeman to accompany the team and prevent any resistance and violence; (b) the Tanod Chairman or his representative; (c) the President of the Homeowners’ Association, if any, or his representative. All four shall be required to help in effecting the eviction peacefully, witness the proceedings and sign the eviction report. For their services, they shall receive an honorarium of P20.00 each per day, but not to exceed two days per eviction if a house is to be dismantled. D. _Hiring of Laborers The eviction Team Leader shall be empowered to hire for a day or two at minimum wage rate the necessary number of laborers not exceeding five (5) to remove the belongings of the squatter or illegal occupants. If dismantiing of a dwelling is involved, the maximum number of laborers is ten (10), and the appointment may be extended for another day. The Team Leader shall undertake the hiring process at least a day before the scheduled eviction, and the date and time and place of assembly shall be given to the hired laborers. However, the terms of employment shall be such that the contract shall take effect only if removal of furnitures and dismantling of houses are actually undertaken. For this purpose, for every eviction, the Team Leader shall draw a cash advance of P500.00 to pay his laborers as well as the the honorarium of the authorized witnesses. This cash advance shall be liquidated upon presentation of payrolls evidencing such payments. \V. EXECUTION OF EVICTION A. Pre — Eviction Process 1. Before the team starts the eviction process, it shall ascertain whether the squatter or illegal occupant is in the premises, and if not, whether an adult member of his household is present. 2. Ifchildren or persons under 15 years of age are the only ones in ‘the premises, the team may wait until 1:00 o'clock p.m. or as soon as an adult member arrives, whichever comes first, before stating the eviction process.3. If there are no occupants when the eviction team arrives, the team must wait until 1:00 o'clock p.m. or as soon as an adult member arrives, whichever comes first, before starting the eviction process. 4. If the squatter or illegal occupant or an adult member of his household is present, including adult domestic helpers, the eviction team shall immediately start the eviction process. 5. The eviction team must announce to the occupants present, to the authorized witnesses, all neighbors and residents present that they are the body duly constituted by NHA to perform the eviction process under PD 1472 and that accordingly they will proceed to remove the occupants and their belongings, and in applicable cases to dismantle their structures. B. Eviction Process 4. If the dwelling is closed or padlocked, the Team shall cause the door to be opened forcibly. 2. If the dwelling is open, the eviction team will order the occupants to move out of the apartment or to remove their valuables and other belongings which they wish to remove and they shall be given thirty (30) minutes to do this. 3. Whether the occupants vacate or not, the Team will order the hired laborers to remove all the occupants’ belongings out of the premises, and at the same time make an inventory of the occupants’ belongings being removed. 4. The Team shall deposit the occupants’ belongings outside the building if a tenement, or outside the lot if the occupant owns the house. The belongings shall not be placed in pathwalks, but they may be brought near parking or loading points. NHA or the Team shall not be responsible for any loss of the valuables or belongings arising from the failure of the squatter or illegal occupant to take possession of his property after their removal from the dwelling or apartment.5. In appropriate cases, the house shall be dismantled, and the dismantled materials shall be placed outside the lot, beside the ‘occupants’ belongings. Light and water connections shall be cut Whenever appropriate. Removal of belongings and furniture or dismantling of a house shall be done carefully to avoid unnecessary destruction. Similarly, NHA or the Team shall not be responsible for losses of the dismantled materials. 6. Persons who refuse to leave the apartment or lot voluntarily shall be moved out by force, but without inflicting physical injuries. The police officer present should be required to perform this act. If only minors are left in the premises by the squatter or illegal occupant, the Team shall leave these minors with the Barangay Chairman, the Tanod Chairman or the President of the Homeowners’ Association or to the immediate neighbors or to any volunteering resident, where their families may claim them. 7. After the removal of the occupants and their belongings, the ‘Team Leaders shall cause the apartment to be boarded and padiocked to prevent entry by any person, and the key of the padlock shall be given to the Estate Supervisor of the Project. If the property repossessed is a lot the Team shall place a "No Trespassing, NHA Property “ sign in the lot. The Estate Supervisor shall order the Security Guard, if available, or any of his personnel to periodically inspect the padlocked apartment or the lot and to take measures to prevent re-entry of the evicted occupants as well as any other intruder. If the occupant should surreptitiously re-enter the premises and refuse to vacate, the Eviction Team shall re-evict him without notice, and cause criminal charges be filed against him for trespass. C. Post Eviction Process 1. The eviction team shall prepare the eviction report in the form attached hereto as Annex B which substantially recites the proceedings, the inventory of belongings removed and the structures dismantled, The members of the team shall sign this report and shall request the authorized witnesses to sign and attest the manner in which the eviction was conducted by the eviction team and the accuracy of the inventory. If the squatter or the illegal occupant is willing, he may also sign the report.VI. Vil. 2. The honorarium of witnesses will be paid only after signing the attestation clause of the report. 3. The eviction report shall be prepared in triplicate the original to be sent to the General Manager, the duplicate to the Department or Project Manager concerned, the triplicate will be retained by the Estate Supervisor. STAY OF EVICTION If only any day prior to the date of the scheduled eviction, the occupant tenders payment in full, the Department or Project Manager concemed is authorized to stay the eviction upon full payment of the arrearages. Any tender of payment made on the date of eviction shall not be accepted and the eviction shall be undertaken as scheduled. PENDING COURT CASES Pending receipt of the opinion of the Government Corporate Counsel on the effect of PD No. 1472 on eviction cases already filed in Court, said court cases shall continue to be prosecuted and the eviction of the defendants shall proceed only in accordance with the Rules of Court. REPEALING CLAUSE All policies, guidelines or procedures inconsistent with the preceding procedures are hereby repealed (signed) G.V.TOBIAS Maj. Gen., AFP (Ret.) General ManagerANNEX “AL” TO SQUATTERS Name VIOLETA ort Address T/fuim Hr Lot 1 Block UG - ura pices, Project Cee City Sir#Madam Ginoo / Ginang Our investigation shows that you squatted in the above-stated lot without the permission or —_ ‘Avon so aming pagsisiyasat, kayo ay napatunayang tumira sa nabanggit na lote sa itaes ng Consent ofthis Authority or its predecessor-n.interest You and all occupants of seidlotare therefore Welang pahintulot ng Autoridad. Kayo at ang lahat ng naninirahan sa nasabing lote ay mangyari sanang ‘ drbmandle. Requested to voluntarily vacate-the premises and remove all your structures, belongings and valuables Usanin ang lugar na inyong kinatitiikan at alsin ahat ang inyong ar-arian sa loob ng sampung (10) arew within ten (10) days from receipt ofthis notice. Failure on your part to vacate and demolish your Pagtanggap ng babalang ito, Ang hindi ninyo pagtupad na lsanin at gibain ang lahat ng itinayo ninyo sa eon tures within the above stated grace period, this Authority shal proceed to summarily eect you 'oob ng tak¢ang panahon ay magbibigay karapatan sa autoridad naisagawa ang pagbatlas at pan aalis without the necessity of judicial order pursuant to Sec.2 of PD No. 1472 on ng lehat ng inyong mga kagamitan na hind na kailangan pa ang utos ng hukuman sang-ayon $9580, at oF any day thereafter , and in the process this Authority shall assume no PD No. 1472sa tka .0 iba mang araw pagkalampas sa itinakdang araw at ang responsibility for any loss or damage of valuables and belongings, ‘Autoridad ay hindi mananagor sa anumang pinsala 0 pagkawala ng lahat ng Inyong mahahalagang arl-arian, Youare therefore requested to be present on the date and time of eviction above ~ stated and Samakatuwid, hininiling naming na kayo ay nanduduon sa takdang oras 0 pets ng pagpapaalis {ake possession of all your valuables and belongings immediately after they are moved out of the at kunin lahat ang inyong mahahalagang kagamitan at ar-arian pagkatapos n gang mga ito ay mallabas premises, Sanaturang lote, Very truly yours, Lubos na sumasainyo, Lorna M Seraspe lc, Visayas Management Office