Agriculture stakeholders yesterday expressed concern over the absence of a provision explicitly prohibiting agricultural land conversion in the National Land Use Act (NaLUA) being pushed in the Congress.
Danilo Ramos, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) chairperson, House Bill (HB) 8162 removes the agricultural classification of lands and is bundled to production development classification alongside tourism and industrial.
KMP said this move opens the possibility of allowing the construction of commercial establishments in farm lands as both will now be classified for land under production use.
The group wants Congress to consider of Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) it helped draft in 2007.
Ramos said GARB is a just and equitable land use policy that focuses on the interest of the country’s majority population including farmers and peasant masses.
However, KMP said GARB was not pursued to give way to a NaLUA that is pro-business and pro-foreign legislative measures.
The National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates-Youth (NNARA-Youth) said HB 8162 “will further the economic interests of foreign and local land speculators and developers while doing little to protect the environment and promote food security and food self-sufficiency.”
“One of the most glaring problems with HB 8162 is its lack of a provision that explicitly prohibits the conversion of agricultural lands… This is a major concern, as the conversion of agricultural lands to other uses, such as housing and commercial development, has a number of negative consequences, including food crises and environmental degradation,” said Marina Cavan, NNARA-Youth National spokesperson, in a statement.
NNARA-Youth said HB 8162 also “does not do enough to protect the rights of small farmers from land grabbers.”
“NaLUA was crafted without the participation of small farmers, fishers, urban poor and indigenous people who are bound to be drastically affected by the bill. This is a serious concern, as these sectors are the ones who will be most impacted by the bill,” Cavan added.
The proposed NaLUA aims to provide a national framework for the development of the country’s land resources to ensure optimum use consistent with principles of sustainable development. The proposal will also create a National Land Use Commission that will draft the National Physical Framework Plan. -Jed Macapagal
