3 Towards Lands for Residential, Commercial and Industrial Development
CREBA supports the passage of another important measure that will have a far-reaching effect on many aspects of the national economy: the proposed National Land Use Act (NLUA) pending in the legislative chambers.
As crafted, the “framework for land use planning” indicated in various versions of the bill sets forth four major categories of land uses for planning purposes: Protection Land Use; Production Land Use; Settlements; and Infrastructure.
The bill appears to have carefully identified and purposefully set aside a long list of lands under “protection” and “production” land uses despite the fact that agricultural lands under these categories still need to be delineated properly.
However, they leave vague description of the lands that must be and are already devoted to housing, and even to commercial and industrial purposes by virtue of existing laws. It must be remembered that on
the basis of such laws, important investment decisions and developments have been made or are underway.
The NLUA then should respect the provisions of these laws, or at the very least, provide for how it can be consistent with such laws. It should also resolve the uncertainty as to where and what is the extent of the “protected lands” - which are banned from conversion - exactly.
Among them are:
• R.A. 7279, or the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) of 1992, which covers all lands in urban and urbanizable areas;
• P.D. 399 which limits the use of strip lands; and
• R.A. 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, which provides local government units (LGUs) their zoning powers as well as the authority to reclassify agricultural lands if: (a) the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) certifies that it has ceased to be economically feasible for agricultural purposes; or (b) if the LGU finds it will have substantially greater economic value for other purposes.
Important Data on Land Uses
A recent CREBA study reveals that the Philippines does not have any shortage in agricultural lands, and the same is true for the rest of the other land uses.
This is because Land Cover maps of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) themselves indicate that lands built up or developed for non-agricultural uses - from time immemorial up to Year 2010 - amounted to only 2.52% of the country’s 29,558,318 hectares total land area.
Despite progress brought about by non-agricultural land development including government buildings, educational and medical institutions, commercial, industrial and residential facilities, airports and roads for the benefit of the entire nation - agricultural lands still comprise 42.72% of the country’s total land area.
The same study shows that nonagricultural land development did not diminish agricultural land area as it actually expanded between 2003 and 2010 by 5.4% or about 1.5 million hectares.
These data confirm that the growth and expansion of commercial, industrial and residential spaces are not the primary reasons why the country’s agricultural situation is lagging behind its closest neighbors.
Surely, the remaining vast agricultural lands of the country, with the application of appropriate technology to maximize agricultural productivity would be more than sufficient to meet the requirement of food security for generations.
Among countries in the ASEAN region, the Philippines has one of the largest percentage of lands devoted to agricultural purposes out of its total land area.
Since the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was launched in 1987, the dismal distribution of parcelled lands to farmer-beneficiaries with little, if any, basic services support, has not raised the productivity levels of the lands which end up being sold. The task of identifying the uses of lands, which in the long-term lays the ground for the future of the nation, cannot be entrusted to an agency with lackluster performance such as the DAR.
What we need is serious government effort to address the agricultural sector, provide the infrastructure necessary to facilitate its growth, invest in modern equipment, farming techniques and tools and ensure that government funds allotted for agricultural support are not diverted to corruption.
CREBA definitely supports programs to ensure food security for our people, but any law must not favor only one sector: It must recognize the legitimate multiple uses of land for the varied human needs in society. The private land sector pushes for a national land use plan that is correct and equitable.
A national land use plan is needed by this country - something that should have been in place a long time ago. If done correctly, it shall be an important and indispensable policy reference for all local comprehensive land use plans as well as project development plans in all sectors, including commercial and industrial development, housing and real estate.