‘House Bill 8162 would be a game changer’
The resident economist of the House of Representatives is optimistic that the proposed National Land Use Act will soon be enacted into law despite “entrenched interests” that oppose it.
Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda of Albay, one of the main proponents of the bill, said President Marcos “has proven that he can “get the historically difficult done,” in expressing hope on the eventual enactment of the bill that the lower chamber House of Representatives had passed on Third and Final Reading on May 22, 2023.
Salceda, chair of the House committee on ways and means, explained that the bill aims for the “optimal economic use” of land because “land is the most scarce of all economic resources.
“A national land use plan will enable us to protect ecology, use our farms in the most efficient way possible, and reserve adequate space for our growing needs for energy, housing, irrigation and infrastructure,” Salceda explained.
On May 22, 2023, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the proposed Land Use Act embodied in House Bill 8162 by a 262-3-0 vote.
Salceda and other principal authors of the bill seek to institute a national land use policy that has been years in the making.
Priority legislation
The bill is among the Legislative-Executive Development Council (LEDAC) measures of President Marcos and is still identified as among the priority legislation for the Second Regular Session of the 19th Congress which will open on Monday, July 24 in time for Mr. Marcos’ Second SONA.
“This is a long-awaited measure and the President knows its importance. Through this proposed National Land Use Act (NLUA), the government will have the tool to properly identify land use and allocation patterns in all parts of the country,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez earlier of HB 8162’s passage.
“Through the guidance of the Chief Executive, the House members also made it so that the measure would pave the way for the Philippines to achieve food security,” Romualdez said. President Marcos is the concurrent Department of Agriculture (DA) secretary.
Salceda said he sees many benefits of the bill once enacted.
On the conversion of agricultural lands for housing and other uses, Salceda said the basis of conversion should be “optimal economic use.”
“We have a housing deficiency of at least four million units. So, I will not participate in the prejudice against land conversion towards housing. Same goes for land conversion for renewable energy.”
A national land use plan, Salceda added, “will enable us to protect the ecology, use our farms in the most efficient way possible, and reserve adequate space for our growing needs for energy, housing, irrigation, and infrastructure.”
Local governments’ failure?
Salceda, and other proponents of the bill, want a specific National Land Use Act, saying the current land use implementation have been decentralized but the local governments have failed to issue guidelines as to how land should be utilized.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Francisco Jose Matugas, chair the House special committee on land use, earlier said the measure would be a “game-changer” as it would attract more businesses and foreign investments.
“This bill being passed into law will be a sure-fire game-changer in terms of foreign investment for the Philippines,” Matugas said. “One of the objectives is for our friends from all parts of the world — who carry with them the right resources and good intentions for our country — to immediately see an organized, prepared and detail-oriented Philippines ripe and ready for their investments,” he added.
‘Land misuse bill’, critics charge
The Makabayan Bloc opposed the bill, with one if its members, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas feared that it would only be a tool to convert lands for farming and peoples’ residence to commercial spaces.
Brosas termed the bill as a “land misuse bill.” The measure she said “will enable widespread conversion of lands for subdivision and commercial housing, when these lands could be used for food production.”
She also warned that the bill could result in more evictions of informal settlers without providing them alternative options.
Under HB 8162, the National Land Use Commission (NLUC) is created under the Office of the President (OP). It shall exercise the powers and responsibilities of the current National Land Use Committee, which is hereby abolished.
Among the powers and functions of the Commission is to advise the President of the Philippines on all matters concerning land use and physical planning; Integrate and harmonize all laws, guidelines, and policies relevant to land use and physical planning to come up with a rational, cohesive, and comprehensive national land use framework. It would also prepare, periodically review and if necessary, update the national framework for physical planning to provide the general framework for the spatial development directions for the entire country and sub-national levels
The NLUC serves as the heart of the legislation and acts as the highest policy-making body on land use and resolves land use policy conflicts between or among agencies, branches, or levels of the government.
The NLUC commissioner will have the rank of Cabinet Secretary, while the two deputy NLUC commissioners will be given the titles of undersecretary.
The National Land Use Office (NLUO), which shall serve as the technical secretariat to the NLUC, shall also be created under the OP.
“All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all other natural resources shall not be alienated,” the bill said.
“Pursuant to the constitutional provision or mandate, it is the policy of the State to provide for a rational, holistic, and just allocation, utilization, management, and development of the country’s land to ensure their optimum use to promote sustainable socio-economic development and ecological protection,” it added.
Through HB 8162, the State institutionalizes land use and physical planning as mechanisms for identifying, determining, and evaluating appropriate land use and allocation patterns that promote and ensure, among others, the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources; disaster risk-reduction and climate change resiliency; and protection of prime agricultural lands for food security in basic commodities with an emphasis on self sufficiency in rice and corn.
Iron-clad protection for PH natural resources
They likewise seek the perpetual protection of permanent forests and watershed and ecosystem services for the attainment of food, water, and energy sufficiency; and the protection, preservation, and development of the country’s historical, cultural, archaeological, and built heritage resources for the deeper understanding of our history and culture as a people.
The bill also provides mandatory consultations from the regional, provincial, city, and municipal levels, as well as harmonizes existing rules and regulations governing the allocation, utilization, development, and management of land resources.
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