Angara urges colleagues to unanimously pass
land use plan and classification to boost
economic development

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today urged colleagues to expedite the creation of a national land use map and revisit existing land use plan and classification enforced in the country to help boost economic development of the country.

Speaking in the en banc meeting of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM), Angara expressed apprehension over the issuance of titles of forest lands as well as its conversion to alienable and disposable lands, saying it greatly affects the country's natural wealth.

"The land use plan is a precondition to better classify our lands may it be for marine and fisheries use. Over the past ten years, even the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have started issuing titles over forest lands. Our experience in Aurora, we have 70% forested land, this is good to know; however, when we carefully examined it the DENR has been issuing land titles not only permits land use. Apart from DENR, the NCIP has also been issuing titles. With this dilemma, we must set a land map to be able to classify our resources so we are able to assess we have right now," said Angara, who co-chairs COCAFM with Rep. Abraham 'Baham' Mitra.

Earlier, Angara observed local government had difficulty in identifying its boundaries because some wanted to have bigger areas to acquire bigger revenues especially when he Local Government Code was passed.

Political boundaries of the local government units (LGUs) were originally under the survey authority of the defunct Bureau of Lands (which later became Land Management Bureau under the DENR). But when the Local Government Code was enacted in the 1991, the political boundary was transferred to the LGU because the computation of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of each LGU is computed based on the geographical area.

"And since the IRA was passed, since the Local Government Code was passed, nagkagulo na ang boundary ng munisipyo ng probinsya, nag-agawan na ng area, because of the fact that kung mas malaki ang area mo, mas malaki rin ang IRA mo. Kaya yung boundary ng Pilipinas, ngayo'y kinarambola na at yan po sana ang dapat nating pag-ukulan ng pansin," Angara said.

He said the delegation of surveying to the LGUs has caused conflict and disharmony resulting to boundary disputes among provinces, cities and municipalities, which continue until today.

The senator also observed that special tenurial arrangements, which were recently enforced, tend to endanger remaining land assets.

He added, "I am also concerned with the problems on land boundaries and surveying. Because when these special tenurial arrangements were introduced, no forest zone was left in our country. Apart from the ancestral domain lease, there are also leases for tourism as well as agro-forestry. You cannot distinguish anymore what is purely agricultural and what can be human settlement area. I'm concerned there especially because now our number one problem or at least 1 of 2 biggest problems that our country faces is food and fuel. If we cannot distinguish these boundaries and we destroy our protected areas even our forest domain, how can we be productive agriculturally?"

In the end, Angara also urged experts in land boundaries to determine the proper classification of land as well as its purpose.

"I hope that we all meet together and finally do that for the sake of our children and the next generation; because I have seen in my public career public parks that used to be green and full of forest. I used to pass in the early 70s the Bicol National Park, but now you cannot see any tree in that park," he said.

"So, we need to help each other, surveyors, environmentalists, public officials in general, to protect our natural resources and guard the proper use of our remaining land assets. And we want to show that with determination, with the right political leadership, and of course, with resources, you can protect your habitat, you can protect your food basket, you can protect your water resources, you can protect your marine resources I think that's the most important," Angara added.

Angara -- who was Secretary of Agriculture from 1999-2001 -- said that the enactment of a comprehensive land use plan will cushion our country from the prevailing rice crisis and eventually boost long-term sustainability of the agriculture sector.

Should a comprehensive Land Use Plan will finally be enacted, however, Senator Angara has projected that all lands in our country will be utilized to serve the needs of the nation with regard to food security.