Still no land use law

The country has been trying to come up with a national land use law for three decades now, but to no avail.

- MARY ANN LL. REYES

According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the country is already lagging in the implementation of a national land use law.

The Philippines has 30 million hectares of land and inland waters. Imagine the pressure on our land resources given the growing population of over 108 million people fighting for its use, whether it be for agriculture, for shelter, for commercial or for industrial use.

Recognizing the need to enact a systematic way of managing resources, communities, civil societies and government agencies have long called for the passage of the National Land Use Act (NLUA).

There have been different versions of a National Land Use Act (NLUA) bill in the House of Representatives since 1994.

Finally, during the 19th Congress, House Bill 8162 or the proposed NLUA was approved by the House of Representatives on May 22, 2023.

Two days later, it was forwarded to the Senate committee on environment, natural resources and climate change.

For the past 29 years, various versions of the NLUA have been proposed and submitted to both Houses, albeit with no success. But now, the Philippines is one step closer to having one, according to Las Piñas City Councilor Mark Anthony Santos.

Santos revealed that the NLUA bill was approved by a vote of 262-3-0 (yes-no-abstain) during the plenary session held on May 22, 2023.