Villar ‘on the spot’ for a purpose
After confronting a security guard for barricading public access to a composting project site, Senator Cynthia Villar has found herself at the center of conflicting public opinions about the right of property owners and homeowners’ associations to deny public access, pass through or even the entry or accessibility of legitimate government officials and law enforcement groups.
While some have tried to use it as an excuse to bash her, I believe that Senator Cynthia Villar’s involvement may have been “divinely” appointed or premeditated. Being a lawmaker, it’s her job to come up with legislation that would be beneficial to the greater majority or to correct matters that may once have been correct but have drastically changed with time and progress.
By this, I refer to the issue of “exclusivity” of private subdivisions, government centers, military and police camps, universities as well as barangays and street associations who have adopted the same practice of barricading entire areas during set hours or “for security purposes.” Some areas don’t allow vehicles to enter or drive through “their” property, but worst of all is that they won’t allow pedestrians or people on foot to walk along or pass through their area.
In many places, residents have even sequestered street space as their personal parking spots or extension of their residences. At the height of the COVID pandemic, I actually heard and read about people who wanted to ban and barricade people living in “squatters areas” from passing through their streets to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
There was a time when I would go for walks in those villages because they had less vehicular traffic and pollution. But ever since the COVID pandemic or for fear of rising criminality, many villages would not even allow you to stroll or walk inside or take a short cut. So now we walk longer distances or if walking is your exercise, then do it at the nearest multi-level mall or commercial center.
Post pandemic, it seems that the tables have turned on those exclusive villages, or they are beginning to experience karmic payback. I was recently requested by a homeowner of a gated-subdivision close to the South expressway to call attention to suspicious developments in their villages as well as in others. First up is the issue of design violations where two- to three-story bunker-like buildings, not houses, have been going up. The initial excuse or alibi is that those structures were specifically required by “diplomatic tenants” or embassies renting in such gated communities.
But post COVID, residents have discovered that more “buildings” have been built and there is a regular traffic of foreign looking personnel, particularly women, entering these addresses and they are shuttled in and out of these villages in luxury vans, day and night. The belief of homeowners is that their subdivisions have now been turned into business centers, luxury dorms and “safe houses” for people operating international illegal online gambling and the like.
Someone else told me about very rare and very expensive luxury sports cars driven by “foreigners” or parked along the main road of their exclusive village. In other exclusive villages, informants told me that every time the Bureau of Customs or BIR starts investigating car smuggling and conducts operations on grey market stores, the number of luxury cars inside those villages triple because the Customs and BIR personnel cannot just drive in.
Given the history of their exclusive enclave with drugs and raids by law enforcers, my contact lives in fear of being caught in the crossfire or their subdivision turning into a real life “set” or “back lot” for a TV crime documentary.
These are just some of the more recent information or observations shared by friends as well as my personal experience. Everyday there are encounters, conflict and rejections that take place at gates, barricades, etc. We have all heard or read of fist fights, shooting incidents as well as embarrassing situations when a mayor, the local police or the NBI were rendered powerless and useless by “security guards” following orders. Imagine making a 911 call or a call to 16-911 because of an emergency and help does not get to you because the village security won’t let them in!
The question is, can Senator Cynthia Villar and her colleagues do something to ensure that people can have reasonable access, passage or use of what should be “public spaces” while respecting private property?
Another suggestion is to write a law that will help HOAs or homeowners’ associations, local authorities, law enforcers even firemen have better access and monitoring capabilities within those villages in order to a) check on zoning or fire code violations, b) check on backgrounds, rental agreements with persons of interests, c) to confirm that the residence is used for said purpose and not where women are held captive like the illegal POGO slaves.
Many people have used, abused or plainly been paranoid about their security and privacy. But often there are no police statistics or data to support it, only “Maritess” and her loyal band of exaggerators. Many people simply want their space, their privacy and to hide their head in the sand while criminals operate illegal POGOs or high-end prostitution houses next door.
I believe that it is about time to take up all the related issues concerning private property rights, exclusivity, public and official access and put down in writing what is acceptable and beneficial to all. The national and local governments cannot be selective, and our laws cannot be unclear and unfair. Many small villages have been opened up by the DPWH, MMDA, etc. while exclusive or gated communities write their own rules. It has to be all for one – Sana All!
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