MAY 5, 2012 DATE

NR # 2730B
REF. NO.

House to prioritize a bill integrating all land administration agencies

Several measures seeking to institute reforms in land administration in the country and eliminate wastages in resources and manpower are now included in the priority bills which will be considered when Congress resumes sessions on May 7. The consolidated bill had been referred to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and other stakeholders for their respective position papers to help fine tune the delicate provisions of the measure. The reform measure seeks to integrate all land administration functions currently dispersed among multiple agencies into a single agency and to enable the lands sector to contribute to economic growth and poverty alleviation, said Rep. Cesar Jalosjos, Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reorganization. The authors of the bill are Reps. Juan Edgardo Angara (Lone District, Aurora), Diosdado Arroyo (1st District, Camarines Sur), Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2nd District, Pampanga), Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro), Maximo Rodriguez (Partylist, Abante Mindanao) and Salvador Escudero III (1st District, Sorsogon). The Philippines is unusual, compared to its neighboring countries. The governments land administration functions are currently dispersed across multiple agencies, Angara said. The utilization of our land resources for national and local development is crucial to maximize the benefits derived from utilization, management and ownership of land, Arroyo said. The five bills have been the basis for the Committees on Government Reorganization, Natural Resources and Justice in coming up with a substitute measure, which has been referred to the Committee on Appropriations chaired by Rep.Joseph Emilio Abaya (1st District, Cavite) relative to its funding provisions. Key provisions include that the Land Administration Authority (LAA) be attached to the Office of the President and shall be the primary government agency responsible for land administration and public land management, Rodriguez said. Escudero said the proposed reform statute also vests adjudicatory powers on the Land Adjudication Board over all land administration and public land management cases. Escudero said the powers and functions of the LAA vested by law in the DENR, DOJ, the Land Registration Authority, Register of Deeds, the Land Management Bureau,

MAY 5, 2012 DATE

NR # 2730B
REF. NO.

Land Management Service, the DENR and CARP National Secretariat or any office within or attached to these agencies are transferred to the Office of the Director General. Under the bill, the LAA shall formulate land administration and management policies in accordance with existing national laws. It shall also conduct, integrate and regulate the functions of geodetic and geophysical surveys, land classification surveys, mapping, aerial photography, remote sensing, mangement of resource information needed by both public and private sectors, and research development in accordance with existing laws and internationally accepted norms, procedures and standards. (30) dpt