We thank Senator Cynthia A. Villar for admitting that she has direct conflict of interest with the passage of the National Land Use Act (NLUA). And we quote:
“We are not the only company doing land conversion. Lahat ng developer, lahat ng nagtatayo ng factory, lahat ng nagtatayong commercial establishments, they are doing land conversion.”
(All developers, all that build factories, all that build commercial establishments, they are doing land conversion.)
While the senator claims that there is no ban in land conversion, she ought to know that there are existing laws that prohibit conversion of irrigated and irrigable agricultural lands (Section 65, RA 6657 as amended). How then could a first class, prime agricultural land planted to rice be converted into a residential area? Apparently, the modus operandi of some developers is to back-fill irrigation canals to deprive the land of water supply, leaving the farmers with no choice but to sell their lands to developers, as it had allegedly been in the case of Vista Land’s Savannah City in Iloilo City and Lumina Homes in Plaridel, Bulacan.
Sen. Villar then cried foul over Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. Officialbeing singled out during a hearing of the Commission on Appointments. But she must remember that she is an elected public official while other developers are not; she has the power to decide on the fate of NLUA and other land related legislations, and the others do not. It doesn’t sound right for Sen. Villar to say that just because many developers and other industries convert forest and agricultural lands, Vista Land can do the same thing. She should know better.
Sen. Villar is also misinforming the public about the NLUA. First, the NLUA does not clip the powers of the local government units (LGUs) in formulating their comprehensive land use plans (CLUPs). Rather, it provides a national framework that will guide the LGUs in identifying areas for protection, production, settlements, and infrastructure development when they formulate their respective CLUPs.
Second, it is not true that the creation of a “land use agency” will make it more difficult for business by adding more layers in getting permits. On the contrary, the National Land Use Policy Commission (or Council), the land use agency she must be referring to once the NLUA is passed, can help the business sector identify available lands suitable for their kind of business; in effect, reducing red tape and potential land use conflict.
Therefore, her expressed concern over the NLUA potentially taking power away from LGUs, and increasing difficulty in doing business, appears unfounded. No less than the former Mayor of Davao City and now President of the Philippines Rodrigo Roa Duterte, called for its passage in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The NLUA has consistently been in the priority legislative agenda of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC). But this important piece of legislation has been languishing in the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources chaired by Senator Villar since July 2016. While the House of Representatives already passed House Bill No. 5240 on May 2, 2017 which was transmitted to the senate a week after, nothing has materialized in the senate as Sen. Villar has not convened to date the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources to hear and discuss the bill.
We, therefore, urge Sen. Villar to immediately call for a hearing to deliberate on the substance of the NLUA and get the positions of the LGUs, businesses, and other stakeholders, especially of the poor and marginalized.
We again challenge Senator Villar to do her sworn duty in the legislation of meaningful and important laws, such as the NLUA. She must prove that she deserves the mandate of the people. Otherwise, she should give way to someone who can and will actually perfom her job well.
REFERENCES:
[1]https://www.rappler.com/…/ 203835-cynthia-villar-answer- alle…
[2]https://www.facebook.com/…/ a.37299467946…/ 1784731328286450/…
[3] http://newsinfo.inquirer. net/…/farmers-hit-land- conversion-…
[4] http://news.abs-cbn.com/…/ lp-raps-villar-illegal-land- conve…
Some members of CLUP Now! include the following organizations:
Kaisahan Tungo sa Kaunlaran ng Kanayunan at Repormang Pansakahan (KAISAHAN), NGOs for Fisheries Reform, Inc. (NFR), Urban Land Reform Movement (ULRM), Philippine Association for Intercultural Development (PAFID), Pakisama (Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka), Katutubong Samahan ng Pilipinas (Kasapi Lumad), Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN), @John John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues (JJCICSI), Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development – ANGOC , Institute of Politics and Governance (IPG), Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (Phildhrra), Center for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development – Pilipinas (CARRD), Focus on the Global South (Focus), Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK), @Center for Agrarian Reform Empowerment and Transformation (CARET), Citizen’s Action Party (Akbayan Partylist), 53 Ektarya ng Makabud, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (Plcpd Foundation, Inc. ), Haribon Foundation (Haribon), Task Force Baha Talibayog (TFBT), People’s Campaign for Agrarian Reform Now (AR! Now- AR Campaign), Paragos Pilipinas (PARAGOS), National Rural Women Coalition (PKKK), Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB), Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center , Balay Alternative Legal Advocates for Development in Mindanaw (BALAOD Mindanaw ), and Alternative Law Groups (ALG).
#passNLUA
