President Rodrigo Duterte has urged Congress to pass the National Land Use Act to address land reform problems in the country.
Duterte made the call in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City.
The proposal seeks to institutionalize a national land use policy that shall end the current degradation of the country's land resource and optimize balanced development.
The House of Representatives has already approved its own version of the bill for third and final reading, which is House Bill 5240, or the proposed “National Land Use and Management Act of the Philippines”.
Under the bill, the standardized classification of land use shall be categorized into four areas, namely: (a) protection of land use; (b) production land use; (c) settlements development; and (d) infrastructure development.
The bill mandates the institutionalization of land use and physical planning that shall promote and ensure the following elements: (1) Maintenance and preservation of environmental integrity and stability; (2) Sustainable and just management and utilization of natural resources; (3) Disaster risk reduction and climate risk-based planning; (4) Protection of prime agricultural lands for food security; (5) Sustainable development and management of water resources; (6) Improved access to affordable housing; (7) Energy security or energy self-sufficiency.
The bill also seeks the creation of the National Land Use Policy Council (NLUPC) as the highest policy-making body for land use and management.
The bill also seeks the creation of the National Land Use Policy Council (NLUPC) as the highest policy-making body for land use and management.
The NLUPC shall be headed by the Secretary of the National Economic Development Authority.
A National Spatial Database Information and Mapping System will also be created headed by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA).
