For the past 28 years, various versions of the National Land Use Act (NLUA) have been proposed and submitted to the Congress of the Philippines, but so far, none of them have been signed into law due to political disagreements between opposing entities. Currently, the struggle to pass legislation on land use continues, as there are 4 NLUA bills in the Senate and 18 NLUA bills in the House of Representatives. However, all of these bills are still at the committee level in both Houses of Congress. On the other hand, an executive order for the land use bill is in the process of being drafted as directed by the National Economic Development Agency.
Unfortunately, the country’s decades-long delay in passing critical legislation has resulted in improper land use planning and sectoral resource governance, leading to rampant, unplanned, unsustainable, and unregulated land utilization. Under the current system, land use classification is decentralized, as each local government unit (LGU) assumes full jurisdiction and responsibility for land use zoning within its respective area. This resulted in the adoption of distinct land use frameworks, provisions, and procedures that are starkly different from those of other neighboring LGUs. Often, these discrepancies lead to disputes between local government units.
The effect of decentralized land use is perhaps most significantly felt in regions where a river system traverses through several municipalities, where decisions made by LGUs upstream regarding land classification can have significant effects on LGUs downstream. Aside from this, the current system has also facilitated the unrestrained transformation of agricultural land for residential and commercial uses, causing significant reduction of land for farming and other related agricultural activities. Furthermore, it also led to the haphazard, unplanned and unregulated development of congested urban housing settlements.
Once passed, the National Land Use Act would serve as a comprehensive national framework that would establish a procedure for reviewing and rationalizing the designation of land based on its intended or permitted use. The act stipulates a detailed national framework for the comprehensive assessment, long-term planning and sustainable utilization of lands and resources at both the national and sub-national levels. A fair, comprehensive, and ethical framework for managing and safeguarding the nation’s natural resources would be institutionalized, regardless of the nature from where the assets were extracted.
Furthermore, the legislation would also facilitate the implementation of effective preparation, management and execution of comprehensive land use systems and physical planning mechanisms with regard to land use production, land use protection, settlement development and infrastructure development. This would be achieved by following comprehensive spatial and policy guidelines.
The NLUA also includes the creation of guidelines for the benefit of LGUs that wish to undertake their own development initiatives within their own cities and municipalities. The act would discourage the construction of human settlements in hazardous areas that are prone to natural calamities. Unless infrastructures designed to mitigate the impact of natural disasters and protect the citizens of geo-hazard areas are developed to make them safe for human habitation. Fortunately, the NLUA empowers NEDA and other government agencies to procure land for infrastructure projects in geo-hazard locations and other areas so as to facilitate local and national development goals.
Towns, cities, and other urban settlements would be developed in accordance with urban zoning standards that optimize the utilization of any available urban space within the area’s limits. Thus, impeding the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas and hindering the conversion of agricultural and forest lands. A prime example of this is the construction of socialized housing in residential zones, specifically on lands classified as alienable and disposable.
Overall, the zoning ordinances proposed by the NLUA would result in the suppression of unplanned and congested urban developments with infrastructure that inadequately support the safety and needs of their own communities in close proximity. Moreover, it would also facilitate the infrastructure development of the local city and municipality, leading to significant improvements in the lives of their citizens.
With regards to the country’s thriving agriculture and natural environment, the National Land Use Act would specifically outline agricultural lands and clearly delineate protected areas, such as coastal zones, forest lands and critical watershed areas. In addition, the NLUA would also allow for the reversion of exhausted mineral resource lands, exhausted energy resource lands, and alienable and disposable lands back to their original land classification of either agricultural or forest lands.
This would guarantee the nation’s food security and preserve the country’s biodiversity for future generations. Furthermore, it would also inhibit the development of urban sprawl near environmentally protected areas and prime agricultural lands, as well as subdue the unregulated conversion of the latter for non-agrarian purposes.
Written By Kevin Kyle B. Santos
Aviso Valuation and Advisory Corp. is a real estate consultancy firm that offers valuation and business advisory services compliant to international standards such as the International Valuation Standards (IVS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). To assure that we only produce high-quality deliverables, as needed, we do tasks beyond the usual appraisal process like verifying pertinent property documents (i.e. land titles, tax declarations, etc.) with the appropriate government agencies for due diligence purposes prior to the acquisition of the properties.
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References
https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/lisdata/3874235194!.pdf
