CREBA housing convention to muster support for land use bill

The country’s largest organization of real estate developers supports the passage of the proposed national land use act (NLUA) to put the country’s economic and physical development in order.

The bill, tagged as a priority measure in President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s last SONA, is the third in the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations Inc. (CREBA)’s five-point agenda for housing serving as the centerpiece of its 28th national convention set from Oct. 9-12 at Waterfront Hotel, Lahug, Cebu City where at least 500 industry players are set to converge and discuss solutions to the country’s housing concerns.

The proposed NLUA under Senate Bill No. 38 sets 4 major categories of land uses for planning purposes: Protection, Production, Settlements, and Infrastructure.

“A national land use plan has long been needed by this country. If done correctly, it shall be a key policy reference for all local comprehensive land use and development plans in all sectors, including commercial, industrial, housing, and real estate,” said CREBA national chairman Charlie Gorayeb.

But Gorayeb said the NLUA bill should adapt to current laws already used by the business community for important investment decisions. He was referring to such laws as RA 7279, or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (as amended by RA 10884) covering all lands in urban and urbanizable areas; PD 399 limiting the use of strip lands; and RA 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, empowering local government units (LGUs) to reclassify agri lands if found more economically feasible for non-agri uses.

According to national president Noel Toti Cariño, “NLUA must also resolve the uncertainty as to where and what exactly is the extent of the ‘protected lands’ that are banned from conversion.”

Citing a CREBA study validated by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), Gorayeb debunked misconception that the real estate sector is the “culprit” for food shortage from supposed “indiscriminate” conversion of lands.

It showed that agri lands account for some 12.5 million hectares or 42.72 percent of the country’s total hectarage of 29.5 million. Yet, built-up or developed areas amounted to only 741,353 hectares or 2.52 percent of the total.

“Lands built up or developed for non-agricultural uses – from time immemorial up to Year 2010 – have hardly made a dent in the country’s total agricultural hectarage despite all government and private infrastructure nationwide. Agri land area even expanded by 5.4 percent from 2003 to 2010,” Gorayeb said.

“These data call for a rational and holistic land use policy that reflects realities on the ground, covering all areas of land use, and factoring in all development requirements of every sector to achieve a wellbalanced and stable economy,” Gorayeb and Cariño underscored.