[ Manila Bulletin Online ] November 29, 2008
By BONG REBLANDO & ASA MADALE
MARAWI CITY ~ Investigators of the Department of Justice have affirmed initial findings by the Mindanao State University that many occupants of structures inside the vast MSU grounds are "squatters."
A team of the Office of the City Prosecutor of Marawi City disclosed after a dialogue with some 597 "occupants," majority of them admitted that the land they were occupying are owned by MSU.
The team’s findings are contained in a resolution they submitted to the DoJ and the officials of MSU led by university president Dr. Macapado Muslim.
The team, which was organized by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, was tasked to check on the land squatting and illegal occupants in the MSU property. It is composed of First Assistant City Prosecutor Lacsasa Macabangon, Prosecutor II Ramy Lawi Guiling and Prosecutor II Alijas Colong who all signed the resolution or findings and approved by City Prosecutor Elias Yusoph.
Dr. Muslim had requested Gonzalez to investigate the squatter problem, which he inherited from previous presidents. Muslim said squatters inside MSU’s 1,000-hectare property are a big security concern in the university since the 1970’s.
From humble beginnings in 1961 under its first president Antonio Isidro, MSU has grown into a huge academic institution, now with a population of 25,000, of which 10,000 are transients.
Dr. Muslim and other school officials led by Executive Vice President Datumanong Sarangani and barangay officials have persuaded nine families to demolish their houses.
Some occupants were permitted by previous university officials to build homes and live there, and they refused to vacate their houses even if they no longer work for MSU. Many of the occupants cooperated with the investigators.
Investigators recommended that a lease contract be prepared between occupants and the university wherein the occupants would be allowed to stay and pay mutually agreed rentals.
Dr. Muslim earlier created a Land Use Planning and Management Committee chaired by Pangilamun Mamowalas, director of the MSU Legal Services Division, to address the land use and squatting problems and preserve the land of the university.
He also banned the constructions of new houses and ordered guards at entry points to the campus to get the help of barangay and city officials led by City Mayor Sultan Fahad "Pre" Salic to ensure that the ban will be enforced.
