The Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Association (CREBA), the country’s largest property developers' group, has strongly urged the Senate to act now and pass the Malacanang-certified National Land Use Act (NLUA) bill, which provides a comprehensive use of land resources, after various similar bills were left hanging at the legislative mill for the past 28 years. CREBA President Noel “Tito” M. Carino expressed hope for the passage of the NLUA bill after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. certified the bill as urgent. “The president did not mention settlements in his State of the Nation Address, but there is relevance in the fact that he certified as urgent the NLUA bill, which for the past 28 years had failed to pass,” said Carino. The bill, which among its principal sponsors include Speaker Martin Romuadez, was already endorsed by the Lower House to the Senate in March this year. “A country needs a comprehensive planning tool to help all cities to plan the development of a country,” Carino pointed out. According to Carino, the NLUA should be able to resolve several problems governing proper land use in the country, like conversion of agricultural lands where developers are being blamed for the rising land and housing cost. “We need a comprehensive plan on how to manage the resources of the country because we have agricultural lands, forest, seas, but we also need housing. If there is no law to plan out then it’s just vested interest so there really is an urgency to pass NLUA,” he added. According to Carino, CREBA just wants to ensure that the bill also recognizes there is also a huge demand for settlements, “not just agriculture and forest but also a recognition of the requirement for settlement-housing.” He noted that because of the high cost of land and its development, most housing projects are high-rise, but he also pointed out that Filipinos are traditional and they want big living spaces. Carino also noted that only less than four percent of total land areas in the country have been allocated for settlement, adding that the biggest part is agriculture, forest and protected areas. “There is no balance,” he noted, pointing to the 110 million population of the country. Further, housing backlog in the country is estimated at almost six million units while production is just roughly 500,000 units annually. He recalled that the last national land use bill was filed in 2017 by Senator and now Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri. The approved House bill version provides for the creation of a Land Use Commission under the Office of the President. “Maybe, the Senate and the House can consolidate and harmonize their bills,” Carino said.