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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Bill giving LGUs more power to develop idle land passes 3rd reading in Lower House

Bill giving LGUs more power to develop idle land passes 3rd reading in Lower House

Published Jun 1, 2020 12:00 am
By Ben Rosario A bill proposing to strengthen government’s right to expropriate idle lands for conversion into socialized housing projects won third and final reading approval in the House of Representatives. House of the Representatives (Facebook/ MANILA BULLETIN) House of the Representatives (Facebook/ MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) For the third time since the 16th Congress, the Lower House voted again to pass the measure, this time registering 222 affirmative against six negative votes, with one abstention. The Senate failed to act on the bill in the past two Congresses despite the early approval of similar bills by the Lower House. Authored by Quezon City Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte, House Bill (HB) No. 159 proposes to grant local government units (LGUs) “more power” to use idle lots within its jurisdiction by rationalizing the order and mode of land acquisition. HB 159 also seeks to lift the exemption on residential lands from being transformed into housing locations for the homeless despite pending court litigation on unresolved ownership. “It will likewise ensure that the intended beneficiaries of Republic Act (RA) No. 7279 will indeed enjoy the benefits of this social justice legislation,” Belmonte said. RA 7279 or the Urban and Housing Development Act of 1992 provides for the “rational use and develop of urban land in order to bring about, among others, equitable utilization of residential lands in urban and urbanizable areas.” “More than two decades after the enactment of RA 7279, majority of informal settlers cannot enjoy the benefits of the provisions of the law,” Belmonte lamented. He blamed the “stringent requirements” in the expropriation of land for socialized housing as the culprit, adding that the law appeared to be stricter than the provisions under Rule 67 of the Rules of Court, an older law. Under HB 159, socialized housing projects may be implemented in lands acquired from the government. Alienable lands of the public domain, unregistered, or abandoned idle lands and those within the areas for Priority Development, Zonal Improvement Program, and Slum Improvement and Resettlement Program may also be converted into housing for the poor. “The power to identify and to prioritize the particular area to be acquired shall be with the local government unit for the proper agency acquiring land for socialized housing, for this purpose the enumeration in this section, shall not, in any way be interpreted as setting an order of priority,’ the bill provided.
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