Peasant group opposes approval of National Land Use bill
Published May 22, 2023 08:01 am
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) on Monday, May 22, expressed its opposition against the looming approval in the third and final reading of House Bill 8162, or the National Land Use Bill.
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, KADAMAY, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Kalikasan, and other groups lead a protest on Monday, May 22, outside the House of Representatives in lieu of the incoming third and final reading of House Bill 8162 or the National Land Use Bill. (Photo courtesy of UMANI Productions)
"Our opposition to House Bill 8162 or the National Land Use is valid. The bill's primary sponsor Siargao Rep. Bingo Matugas, also the chairperson of the House Special Committee on Land Use said outright that this proposed National Land Use policy is for foreign investments. To quote his own words: 'This bill being passed into law will be a sure-fire game-changer in terms of foreign investment for the Philippines...One of the objectives is for our friends from all parts of the world — who carry with them the right resources and good intentions for our country — to immediately see an organized, prepared and detail-oriented Philippines ripe and ready for their investments,'" said KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos. The bill is set to provide a framework for the development of the country's land resources to ensure that their use is consistent with the principles of sustainable development.
(Photo courtesy of KMP)
It will also create the National Land Use Commission, which will draft the National Physical Framework Plan (NPFP) which will then replace the existing NPFP 2001-2030. "So, again we ask Congress -- for whose interest will the National Land Use Bill serve? Ang paggamit dapat ng mga kalupaan at natural resources ng bansa ay para sa mga Pilipino at tunay na pag-unlad ng bayan. (The utilization of the country's lands and natural resources should be for the Filipinos and the genuine development of the nation.)Â It should not be for big businesses and profits and interests of foreign capital," Ramos added. The peasant group added that achieving food self-sufficiency, promoting local agriculture and rural development, and industrialization are not part of the bill's objectives.
(Photo courtesy of UMANI Productions)
"Dahil dito, nanganganib na umayon lang sa interes ng mga negosyo ang panukalang NaLUA at ipagpatuloy lang o palalain pa nga ang problema ng land use conversion (Because of this, there is a risk that the proposed NaLUA [National Land Use Act] will only align with the interests of businesses and may even perpetuate or worsen the problem of land use conversion)," it added. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives on its second reading on May 17. KMP said that they are pro-people and pro-Filipino National Land Use Policy and noted that in 2007, they helped craft the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) which is a "just and equitable land use policy" that focuses on the welfare of the country's majority population — farmers and the peasant masses. But according to Ramos, GARB "has not seen the light of day in the 19th Congress under Speaker Martin Romualdez, as the bill was put in the backburner to give way to pro-business and pro-foreign legislative measures."
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, KADAMAY, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Kalikasan, and other groups lead a protest on Monday, May 22, outside the House of Representatives in lieu of the incoming third and final reading of House Bill 8162 or the National Land Use Bill. (Photo courtesy of UMANI Productions)
"Our opposition to House Bill 8162 or the National Land Use is valid. The bill's primary sponsor Siargao Rep. Bingo Matugas, also the chairperson of the House Special Committee on Land Use said outright that this proposed National Land Use policy is for foreign investments. To quote his own words: 'This bill being passed into law will be a sure-fire game-changer in terms of foreign investment for the Philippines...One of the objectives is for our friends from all parts of the world — who carry with them the right resources and good intentions for our country — to immediately see an organized, prepared and detail-oriented Philippines ripe and ready for their investments,'" said KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos. The bill is set to provide a framework for the development of the country's land resources to ensure that their use is consistent with the principles of sustainable development.
(Photo courtesy of KMP)
It will also create the National Land Use Commission, which will draft the National Physical Framework Plan (NPFP) which will then replace the existing NPFP 2001-2030. "So, again we ask Congress -- for whose interest will the National Land Use Bill serve? Ang paggamit dapat ng mga kalupaan at natural resources ng bansa ay para sa mga Pilipino at tunay na pag-unlad ng bayan. (The utilization of the country's lands and natural resources should be for the Filipinos and the genuine development of the nation.)Â It should not be for big businesses and profits and interests of foreign capital," Ramos added. The peasant group added that achieving food self-sufficiency, promoting local agriculture and rural development, and industrialization are not part of the bill's objectives.
(Photo courtesy of UMANI Productions)
"Dahil dito, nanganganib na umayon lang sa interes ng mga negosyo ang panukalang NaLUA at ipagpatuloy lang o palalain pa nga ang problema ng land use conversion (Because of this, there is a risk that the proposed NaLUA [National Land Use Act] will only align with the interests of businesses and may even perpetuate or worsen the problem of land use conversion)," it added. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives on its second reading on May 17. KMP said that they are pro-people and pro-Filipino National Land Use Policy and noted that in 2007, they helped craft the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) which is a "just and equitable land use policy" that focuses on the welfare of the country's majority population — farmers and the peasant masses. But according to Ramos, GARB "has not seen the light of day in the 19th Congress under Speaker Martin Romualdez, as the bill was put in the backburner to give way to pro-business and pro-foreign legislative measures."