Portions of disputed QC land already sold to informal settlers

The business partner of a supposed land-grabber on Wednesday admitted to selling portions of the disputed 24-hectare prime property in Quezon City to informal settlers occupying the area after a local court granted them ownership of the land. Samuel Rodriguez, who was tasked by Wilfredo Torres to administer the disputed land, admitted to accepting as much as P52,000 from some informal settlers as initial payment for parts of the property. "Sa ngayon po, dahil sa sila [informal settlers] ay nakikipag-ayos at ito naman po ay private land, nag-down po sila ng five percent… Hindi ko ho dinedeny iyan," Rodriguez said during the House justice committee hearing. He made these statements after Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, whose constituents questioned Torres’ ownership of the land, presented acknowledgement receipts signed by Rodriguez before the committee. Rodriguez added that while these transactions were put on hold after the Court of Appeals temporarily stopped his camp from evicting residents of the disputed land, these payments will not be returned to the informal settlers anymore. House justice probe The investigation on the land dispute was called after homeowners from several middle-class subdivisions in Barangay Culiat and Visayas Avenue questioned a local court decision declaring Torres as the rightful owner of the parcel of land he supposedly inherited from his mother. The disputed land also covers a school, a seminary, a chapel and several other business establishments. The homeowners, who face the threat of eviction, claim that the land title in Torres’ possession is fake. They managed to get a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Court of Appeals last September 9 to stop Torres from forcing them out of the area. During the last hearing, officials from the Land Registration Authority and the Quezon City register of deeds testified that Torres’ title was forged, and was therefore spurious. ‘King of squatters’ Erlinda Quilon, one of the informal settlers, also confirmed during the probe that she paid P10,000 to Rodriguez as down payment for a part of the disputed property. “Deposit pa lang po iyan. Five percent para po sa kabuuan po ng lote namin," she said. Torres, for his part, said he was not aware of the transactions between Rodriguez and the informal settlers. He added he never leased out any of his properties to informal settlers, believing that it was his “spiritual obligation" to help them. “I became king of squatters because I protect their interests… They think I am a land-grabber. I am not the owner of these properties. It is my parents," he said. Vice President Jejomar Binay, who also heads the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, earlier identified Torres as a known land-grabber who is on the government watch list of professional squatting syndicates. Settlement During the same hearing, Rodriguez likewise said that the informal settlers were the ones who approached him after their camp got a favorable ruling from the Quezon City court regarding the land dispute. “Ang ginawa ng mga taong ito, pumunta sa bahay ko para makipag-ayos," he said. Castelo, for his part, said the amount may have been paid by the informal settler as a form of “settlement" with Rodriguez and Torres’ camp. “They belong to the informal settlers. They do not have the luxury of commissioning top-caliber lawyers… They are more susceptible to a settlement," he said. — RSJ, GMA News