'My view is that we must have this special task force for us to look at how long it takes to solve this
squatter problem,' he said when contacted.
The official was reacting to the plan of the government to relocate around 300,000
squatter families to pave the way for the cleanup of Manila Bay.
While the Court did not brand the plaintiff and the defendant in Pitargue as
squatters, strictly speaking, their entry into the disputed land was illegal.
Squatters themselves also perceived their legacy as having begun in 1968, as Nick Wates, a
squatter, explains in the introduction to Squatting: The Real Story (1980), 'Squatting is an ancient practice, and has occurred at some stage, in different forms, throughout the world.
Alternatively, the
squatter may be entitled to be registered as proprietor for some other reason - perhaps he has a contract to buy it.
The idea is that through their presence in the building, with lights going on and off and it being visibly occupied, any
squatters will be deterred.
The companies' three founders--Jeff Polychronis and Peter Cole of
Squatters and Greg Schirf of Wasatch--will retain some ownership in the company.
Martin Williamson, below, head of residential property at Latimer Hinks, said: "Mention
squatters and most people think of someone who has made themselves at home in an empty property.
Twenty-first century
squatters are educated and shrewd, nothing like the
squatters of the Great Depression.
One former
squatter is Swansea anarchist and Class War publisher Ian Bone, once dubbed the "most dangerous man in Britain".