In an interview with reporters, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said while the National Land Use Act is not in the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council’s (LEDAC) list of 20 priority measures for enactment by December this year, the bill is part of the longer list of measures being pushed by the government.
OFFICIALGAZETTE.GOV.PHMANILA, Philippines — The passage of a bill that will institutionalize a national land use policy is still a government priority, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
In an interview with reporters, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said while the National Land Use Act is not in the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council’s (LEDAC) list of 20 priority measures for enactment by December this year, the bill is part of the longer list of measures being pushed by the government.
“In the longer list, the National Land Use (bill) is there because it’s more complicated than some of these other proposals,” he said.
He said the government has been trying to pass the National Land Use Act for so many decades but tension between national and local levels is posing a challenge.
The NEDA serves as the principal LEDAC Secretariat.
Last May, the House of Representatives approved the proposed National Land Use Act on third and final reading.
Under the proposed measure, a National Land Use Commission (NLUC) will be created to replace the current National Land Use Committee and serve as the highest policy-making body on land use.
The NLUC will also be responsible for resolving land use policy conflicts between or among agencies, branches or levels of the government.
The bill seeks to provide a rational, holistic and just allocation, utilization, management and development of the country’s land to ensure its optimum use for promoting sustainable socio-economic development and ecological protection.
During President Marcos’ first State of the Nation Address last year, the proposed National Land Use Act was among the proposed legislative measures he wanted to be passed by the Congress.
“Right now, our primary concern is fiscal (measures), because we want to make sure that while we are ramping up spending on infra, social services, the fiscal fundamentals remain strong. That’s why the President in his list of priority measures, there are many fiscal measures,” Balisacan said.
Earlier this month, the government identified 20 legislative measures that are being prioritized for approval within the year.
Part of the 20 priority legislative measures are Amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law; the Ease of Paying Taxes Bill, and Internet Transactions Act or E-Commerce Law, which are aimed at improving regulations to encourage investments.
