Off-base housing eyed to address squatting in AFP properties

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 28, 2021): Off-base housing eyed to address squatting in AFP properties (By Priam Nepomuceno)

AFP Real Estate Office (REO) chief, Brig. Gen. Augusto Gaite (AFP photo)

The Armed of the Philippines (AFP) is looking to provide off-base housing to 20 percent of its personnel by next year as a solution to the problem of informal settlers in military properties across the country.

Brig. Gen. Augusto Gaite , AFP Real Estate Office (REO) chief, revealed this plan during the three-day Real Estate Management and Administration workshop in Camp Aguinaldo which started on Wednesday.

The activity aims to review and validate the existing policy regarding informal settlers in military-owned properties.

“Hopefully after this workshop we'll be able to have that end-state of a policy wherein we have to implement. It's not about planning also, it's all about doing. The AFPR G 499-012 was published on 06 May 2010, to address the informal occupation of civilian and military personnel within military grounds. More than a decade has passed, it is time to review and validate the responsiveness of this policy to today's challenges as we gear up towards the modernization of today's armed forces and its future thrust to be world-class,” Gaite said in a statement on Thursday.

Around 40 participants from the morale and welfare, logistics, real estate, and legal offices of the AFP joined the workshop.

They will work together to evaluate and improve the AFP Regulation G 499-012 titled “Treatment of Squatters in AFP Military Reservations and Other AFP-owned Real Estate Properties.”

Experts from other government agencies such as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Office of the Ombudsman, and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) were invited on the first day of the workshop to provide basic knowledge in land management.

Major issues and concerns about actual experiences and problems encountered by administrators will be addressed in a focused group discussion on Thursday.

The third and last day of the activity on Friday is allotted for the presentation to the plenary relative to the respective group findings and recommendations.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1158031