Squatting king falls

Elements of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group have arrested Metro Manila’s so-called "King of Squatters" yesterday after years of trying to catch the elusive suspect.

Wilfredo "Willy" Sumulong Torres was nabbed at his residence in Brookside Hills Subdivision in Cainta, Rizal.

Police arrested him by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 43 Judge Crisologo Castillo Marigomen.

Torres had been wanted for 17 counts of falsification of public documents and violation of the Urban and Housing Development Act.

Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) officials, who presented him to the media in a press conference yesterday, tagged the suspect as a big-time squatting syndicate boss.

Torres and his group, composed of "agents" identified only as Collamar, Raquedan, Bangug, allegedly operate by claiming ownership of vast areas of residential lands.

The syndicate then sells properties to poor and unsuspecting families seeking a house and a lot of their own.

Torres’ group has allegedly been issuing fake land titles and certificates of occupancy charging P4,500 at the lowest of 60 square meter lots.

Vice President and HUDCC Chairman Noli de Castro said the National Task Force Against Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates (NTFPSSS) had filed charges against Torres, but police, for years, failed to locate and arrest the suspect.

"As I have repeatedly said, we will give these squatting syndicate no quarters. They are worst than criminals," he stressed.

De Castro said Torres’ syndicate falsifies documents and issue Spanish titles with the help of their contacts at the assessor’s office, Registry of Deeds, Land Registration Authority, and the Bureau of Lands.

The group operates mainly in Quezon City, Muntinlupa, and Taguig, but also infiltrates areas in Lucena City, Cavite, and Rizal.

Three of Torres’ victims from Fort Bonifacio were also presented to the media at the HUDCC office in Makati City.

Torres denied all allegations being hurled against him and even warned the media against writing libelous write-ups.

"Ako, hindi ako matatakot na tumulong sa mahihirap," he said, claiming he was being framed and that those filing charges against him were paid to do so.

He said the media should pay him a visit at his office in Quezon City so he can be given a fair chance to defend himself.

The HUDCC considers the arrest as a significant accomplishment as far as the battle against squatting syndicates is concerned.

The PNP is hunting for more squatting syndicate leaders of the Tallano-Madrigal-Acop Group, the Rodriguez Group, the Don Marino San Pedro y Esteban Estate, and the Maysilo Estate Group.

HUDCC Vice Chairman Amado Bagatsing, however, lamented that Torres could soon be out on bail.

The country’s laws against squatting syndicates, he explained, are weak, which is why he is calling on Congress to find ways to give authorities more teeth.

Bagatsing also called on those victimized by Torres and his gang to come out and file charges against the suspect.