Filipina wives

Marriage Advice:

Is squatting in the province a good idea for a foreigner and his Filipina wife?

By “squatting” I mean building a house but not owning the property. By “province” I mean a huge farming/fishing province with only 2500 people on Cebu island where said foreigner’s mother in law has been squatting in a house on her property for a couple decades along with many others.

You should be fine.
I would strongly suggest your wife file a “tax declartion form”. Undeveloped property will have a very low rate maybe $100 a year for a hectare (10,000 square meters). While it does not give your family any ownership rights, it does give them the “right to occupy” the land. It will also have a one time cost of $100 or so to have it surveyed by a licencd surveyor.

Basically it’s a step above squatting and does give them the right to live there at the convieance of the Government so it will give some piece of mind if your going to build anything other than a nepa house.