LAS PIÑAS City officials urged the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to reconvene the inter-agency committee on housing to address a protracted dispute over a 10-hectare government property in BF International Village-CAA.
Resolving the dispute would allow the construction of eight medium-rise condominium buildings under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pamilyang Pilipino (4Ps) program, Councilor Mark Anthony Santos said in an interview.
The program is designed to benefit informal settler families and individuals earning between P16,000 and P17,000 per month.
Santos added that this initiative would also help mitigate the city's severe housing backlog, estimated at 200,000 units over the past decade.
Currently under the jurisdiction of the Air Transportation Office (ATO), the contested property has been home to 5,000 families for more than 40 years.
Despite a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed in 1994 among multiple government agencies—including the former municipality of Las Piñas, ATO, the National Housing Authority (NHA), and the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor—the issue remains unresolved.
Further, the MOA aims to create a housing development plan, assign responsibilities, and establish a policy body for the project. However, it failed to gain momentum.
In September 1994, then-President Fidel Ramos issued Memorandum Order 233, creating the Executive Committee on ATO (ECATO) to address the housing needs of local residents and explore alternative land uses. Despite these efforts, ATO officials resisted relinquishing the property, citing its importance for ground earth stations and other operational facilities.
Additional attempts to resolve the matter included a 1996 hearing by the House of Representatives' housing and urban development committee and a 1998 agreement emphasizing equitable compensation for ATO, urban poor protections, and reserved portions for ATO operations. Progress, however, remained elusive.
In December 2000, then-president Joseph Estrada issued Presidential Declaration 427, classifying 52 hectares of the 62-hectare CAA area as alienable and disposable.
However, a 2002 socialized housing project, inaugurated by then-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, failed to materialize into substantive action.
Councilor Henry Medina called on DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar to expedite the distribution of land titles to qualified residents, stressing that many families have lived on the disputed land for over four decades. He also cited Presidential Decree 2016, issued by then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1986, which declared the CAA area a priority development zone and prohibited resident evictions.
"The DHSUD, as the central housing authority, must act decisively to resolve this issue. Access to housing is a fundamental human right, essential for health and economic stability,” Medina said.
