P-Noy certifies proposed National Land Use Act as urgent

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has certified as urgent the proposed National Land Use Act (NLUA) to expedite its passage in Congress.

A group, Campaign for Land Use Policy Now!, called yesterday for the speedy passage of the bill, saying the proposal was one of those that suffered a setback due to the bickering of senators.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the certification would allow Congress to adopt it on third and final reading without the three-day rule after second reading.

The President said the bill is one the priorities of his administration this year.

Earlier, he had certified the sin tax and reproductive health bills that led to their speedy passage by the end of 2012.

Anthony Marzan, convenor of CLUP Now!, said they could not help but be dismayed over the senators’ bickering on the unequal distribution of funds by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile in December.

Senate Bill 3091 or the NLUA is pending on third reading in the Senate, while House Bill 6545 or the National Land Use and Management Act passed third and final reading in the lower chamber in September 2012.

Marzan said the bill has been languishing in Congress for more than two decades now.

“By 2015, our population will hit the 100 million mark. The government continues to ignore the loss of farmland and water sources from rapid urbanization and climate change,” he said.

“We need to preserve our agricultural land and critical watersheds as soon as possible if we are to survive this century. This is a major goal that the National Land Use Policy aims to achieve.”

The NLUA has been scheduled for deliberations since Jan. 21, but no single amendment had taken place because of the senators’ disagreement over the release of additional maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE).

On Jan. 23, the NLUA was again scheduled for deliberations but was sideswiped anew, with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano giving a privilege speech on Enrile’s unequal distribution of funds.

The NLUA was first filed in 1992 during the 9th Congress.

The proposed measure seeks to institute a national land use policy, provide implementing mechanisms, rationalize the utilization, management and development of the country’s land resources, and ensure their optimum use consistent with the principle of sustainable development.

One of the key features of HB 6545 is the creation of a land use policy council tasked to formulate the National Land Use Guidelines and Zoning Standards (NLUGZS). The NLUGZS will serve as a framework for planning and management of land resources at the national and sub-national levels.

Under the bill, land uses are grouped into four - the protection land use, production land use, settlements development, and infrastructure development.

In projecting spatial allocation for the different land uses, the bill provides that areas under protection land use and national parks and strategic agricultural and fisheries and development zones would first be set aside to ensure ecological integrity and promote food security.

The next in priority would be lands or areas for integrated watershed management, socialized housing, fisher folk settlement in coastal areas and waste disposal.