Ayala Alabang to be stricter with so-called “staff houses” inside the village

In light of a recent raid in one of the houses inside their village which resulted in the arrest of several foreigners engaged in illegal activities, Barangay Ayala Alabang together with the Ayala Alabang Village Association and with help from their constituents and members will be implementing stricter rules when it comes to leasing properties inside the village.

Organized by Barangay Ayala Alabang with prodding from several villagers, a public consultation was recently held inside the Muntinlupa village to talk about how some properties are being rented out and used as “staff houses” by foreigners with the barangay and association not really knowing about the goings-on inside the rented houses.

Barangay Ayala Alabang and AAVA representatives.

“This is becoming a burning issue as residents have been ranting on social media about homes within their close proximity that are now inhabited by large numbers of Asian nationals who seem to be using the homes as staff houses, dormitories or worse — as places to conduct illegal activity such as online gambling,” said Barangay Ayala Alabang in a statement.

More importantly, the issue is also about security for the residents of the village.

Held last Aug. 4 at the newly-constructed AAVA pavilion in San Jose Park, the group established that Ayala Alabang, according to the Muntinlupa City Comprehensive Land Use Program, is categorized as R1 or with the restriction of having just one nuclear family staying in any of the households.

The recent raid inside one of the houses inside Ayala Alabang. Photo from ABS-CBN.

Ayala Alabang residents were noticing a large number of noisy foreigners roaming around the village especially during nighttime and also several vans entering the village servicing these foreigners, some of them disregarding the traffic rules of the village.

“The Barangay Council has already drafted a resolution to implement R1 zoning inside Ayala Alabang Village and a task force was formed to investigate suspected staff houses,” added the Barangay.

Several villagers in attendance were also given the chance to check the resolution and give their suggestions on how better to attack the issue.

“Concerned residents are asked to provide addresses of the suspected houses together with evidence (such as photos) that the home is indeed in violation of the R1 zoning restriction. Once confirmed, Barangay Ayala Alabang will serve notice to the tenant/homeowner. Failure to comply will initiate the filing of a court case for eviction. And after the hearing, all docs will be submitted for resolution. if favorable, the court will issue an order and sheriff from the PNP may evict the tenant, regardless of any existing lease agreement,” confirmed the barangay.

As of this writing, the Barangay has scheduled several visits to some properties suspected of being “staff houses”.