NEDA says Nat’l Land Use law needed to prevent conversion of prime agri lands

A National Land Use law would prevent the haphazard conversion of prime agricultural lands to non-agricultural use and to ensure safe housing settlements, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Thursday.

NEDA Undersecretary Carlos Abad Santos made the position during the deliberations on the pending National Land Use bills before the House land use panel.

"The rationale for the National Land Use Act (NaLUA) is to prevent urban sprawl or uncontrolled development that encroaches on prime agricultural lands and other fragile areas (e.g. watersheds) and indiscriminate conversion of prime agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses that impact on food security," Santos said.

"This [NaLUA] will also address poorly-planned settlements that lack basic amenities, including transport and other infrastructure facilities, as well as proliferation of informal settlements in unsafe and hazard-prone areas, e.g. waterway easements and steep slopes," he added.

The pending NaLUA proposals, NEDA said, should provide that priority areas for agricultural development are those covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and the Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zone.

Likewise, NEDA sought the prohibition of conversion of all irrigated and irrigable lands, as well as all lands possessing the potential for development of high-value crops and all agricultural lands that are ecologically fragile and whose conversion will result in serious environmental problems.

Land use conversion, Santos said, may only be allowed when the land ceases to be economically feasible and sound for agricultural purposes, or when the locality has become urbanized and the land will have a greater economic value for residential, commercial or industrial purposes.

In addition, Santos said the NaLUA should have the following provisions:

• reverting of the alienable and disposable lands of the public domain to forest lands upon recommendation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and endorsement of National Land Use Committee to Congress
• delineation of critical watershed areas that need to be protected, rehabilitated, enhanced
• proper management  of lands within coastal zones such as fishponds, mangroves, tidal surge protection areas, biodiversity preservation areas, habitats and sanctuaries for endangered wildlife, fisherfolks settlements, or recreational/tourism areas
• reserve exploration, development and use of marine resources in Philippine waters exclusively to Filipinos and
• allocate adequate land for socialized housing and resettlement for the immediate and future needs of the local population, settlers in high-risk areas, underprivileged and homeless and identify and allocate areas for urban forest and green space.

As for mineral and energy resource lands, NEDA said private mining companies will have the responsibility of rehabilitating mined out areas and that all mineral and energy lands with exhausted mineral and energy  resources shall revert to their original land classification.

NEDA also wants the proposed measure to task the National Historical Institute, in consultation with concerned agencies and LGUs, when it comes to designating heritage zones to protect the cultural and historical integrity of these areas.

For transport and other infrastructure development, NEDA said the strategic transport network must be guided by a national network of settlements as defined in National Physical Framework Plan, and that the land should be allocated for priority transportation and other infrastructure projects, including right-of-way for government projects

Transportation and other infrastructure facilities and utilities within geo-hazard areas, on the other hand, will be allowed provided mitigating measures are adopted.

Sanctions

NEDA then said that the failure to comply with the above mentioned provisions, including completion of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan on the part of the local government units three years since NaLUA is enacted, will be met with significant sanctions issued by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

"Within three years after the effectivity of the NaLUA, all LGUs should complete the formulation of their CLUPs (Comprehensive Land Use Plans).  Failure to formulate, enforce and/or implement the CLUPs shall be subject to the penalties and sanctions to be imposed by the DHSUD," Santos said.

On the other hand, NEDA said, any person found guilty of premature or illegal conversion should be penalized with imprisonment of one month to three years, or a fine of five to 10% of the assessed value of the property, or both, at the discretion of the court, and an accessory penalty of forfeiture of the land and any improvement in it.

NEDA said that a person or juridical entity who shall cause any irrigated lands, whether contiguous or not within the protected areas for agricultural development, to lie idle and unproductive for a period exceeding one year, unless due to force majeure (greater force), should also be subjected to an idle land tax fee equivalent to 5% of the value of the agricultural land as appearing in its real property tax declaration.

In addition, the violator shall be required to put back such lands to productive agricultural use.

Should the continued agricultural inactivity exceed a period of two years, the said land shall be subject to escheat proceedings unless the inactivity was due to force majeure.

"The House Bills 420, 3611, 3956 are the closest to this [NEDA proposal]," Santos added.

Asked about NEDA's plan to draft an EO on land use in 2019, NEDA Undersecretary Rose Edillon said that it is no longer necessary as the NaLUA is part of the priority legislative agenda of the Marcos administration. — BM, GMA News