Wake up, Senate
Some 30 overlapping environmental and ecological protection laws and policies on the use of water and land management are exploited by property developers to grow their businesses at the expense of food production.
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Daily TribuneSome 30 overlapping environmental and ecological protection laws and policies on the use of water and land management are exploited by property developers to grow their businesses at the expense of food production.
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A likely positive outcome of the recent uproar on land conversion would be to unclog the deliberations in the Senate on the National Land Use Bill.
For nearly three decades, the proposal has been stuck in the legislative mill primarily in the Senate which has members whose business interests will be directly affected by a land use law.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations had aggressively pushed for the law saying there is a "long-standing need for the National Land Use Act."
Former President Rodrigo Duterte, in all of his State of the Nation Addresses, appealed for the enactment of the law but it always gets frozen in the committee of Senator Cynthia Villar, whose core family business is property development.
The measure was also among the priority legislations President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos cited in his first SoNA in July 2016.
According to the National Economic and Development Authority, improper land use results in unsustainable use of the country's land which manifests in uncontrolled development that encroaches on prime agricultural lands; indiscriminate conversion of prime agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses.
Its absence also affects food security, results in the development of poorly-planned settlements, and causes the proliferation of informal settlers in unsafe and hazard-prone areas.
The Senate has a striking disconnect regarding the law due to seeming resistance to its passage.
The House of Representatives, in contrast, has been aggressive in pressing for the approval of the bill.
Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte led the filing of the NLUA House bill which he said is necessary to protect communities from the destructive effects of climate change as he cited the damage and destruction caused by the recent storm "Paeng", particularly in Maguindanao due to landslides.
"We often mention the National Land Use Act in the context of ensuring food security by, for one, preventing the conversion of agricultural lands to housing and commercial projects. But the rational and efficient planning and use of our land resources are also vital in ensuring that we get to identify high-risk and danger-prone locations in our communities," Duterte said.
He sponsored House Bill 3956 which called for the creation of the National Land Use Policy Council that will serve as the highest policy-making body on land use and management.
It will be chaired by the Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority who will be authorized under the bill to resolve land use policy conflicts.
Speaker Martin Romualdez committed the NLUA to hurdle the House by the end of the year.
Romualdez said the NLUA will "harmonize and integrate conflicting laws, policies, principles, and guidelines on land use and physical planning."
Some 30 overlapping environmental and ecological protection laws and policies on the use of water and land management are exploited by property developers to grow their businesses at the expense of food production.
Two of the most popular Presidents that the country ever had considered the NLUA as a vital bill and it is up to the Senate to make it known whether they are for the protection of the profit motive or the public welfare.
