Chancellor Luis Rey I. Velasco has called for greater awareness and action on the issue of management of informal settlers.The Chancellor issued this call during the seminar sponsored by the Forestry Development Center (FDC) in celebration of its 31st founding anniversary on June 25. He commended the FDC for assisting the government in coming up with effective machinery for forestry policy formulation and implementation in the past 31 years. He also asked FDC officers and staff to renew their commitment and dedication to the FDC mandate as a policy research center for forestry and natural resources.

In his message that was read by Dr. Enrico P. Supangco, vice chancellor for research and extension, Chancellor Velasco emphasized that the issue of managing "is close to our hearts for several reasons." He said that UP is mandated to lead as a public service university by providing various forms of public community and volunteer services, as well as, scholarly and technical assistance to the government and private sector and civil society. "We all know that in various places around the country, the incidence of informal settlers is of great concern not only on the part of the government and landowners. This is also related to the deeply rooted problem of poverty and social inequity which is a challenge to us, mga iskolar para sa bayan," he added.

The Chancellor explained that the University should act on this issue in the light of the need to generate income from its land grants and from the use of its other properties. "To realize this, it is therefore important for us to protect and safeguard the properties of the University. These resources are the University's life support in fulfilling its mandate," he said.

Chancellor Velasco said that UPLB has its own share of problems on informal settlers in its land endowments including the main campus where there are a number of informal settlers around the perimeter and along the creek. Other University properties like the Laguna-Quezon Land Grant, the area occupied by the Boy Scout of the Philippines, the Makiling Forest Reserve, and the La Granja Station in Negros also have problems regarding illegal settlers. He noted that in the La Granja Station alone, about 70 percent of the 300-hectare property is occupied by informal settlers.

He opined that the management of informal settlers in the country seems to be a big problem and this can be due to weak policies or poor implementation. The Chancellor also pointed out that there is a strong clamor to repeal or amend RA 7279 or the Urban Development Housing Act of 1992 because of loopholes in the law that have created even more problems.

Addressing the problem of informal settlers, he said, would require steps to come up with a win-win solution to manage informal settlers and to ensure the right to housing of the homeless and the underprivileged Filipinos. "We need to increase our understanding of the issue - how we can combat, contain, prevent or eliminate informal settlements, and to determine the best way for us to work together." (AP Dominguita)