By Prince Golez
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has reiterated the urgency of enacting a land use policy for the Philippines.
This, after the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the proposed National Land Use Act (NLUA) on May 22.
“Allow me to reiterate the urgency of enacting a [National] Land Use Policy for our country, which is a priority legislative agenda of this Administration,” Marcos Jr. said during the Pier 88 Grand Launching in Liloan, Cebu on Saturday.
The proposed measure, he added, will be given “[the] urgent attention that it deserves” because of its fundamental importance to the overall national development.
The President said he is personally aware of its significant impact on the Filipino people because he used to chair the Committee on Urban Planning, Housing, and Resettlement in the Senate.
“This time, we will see to it that this measure shall be given [the] urgent attention that it deserves, cognizant of its fundamental importance to our holistic national development,” said Marcos Jr.
“Through a [national] physical framework plan, all mandates and policies on land use shall be integrated— from watersheds to farm lands from cultural heritage sites to ancestral domains, from protected disaster-prone areas,” he also said.
According to him, local governments must ensure that their respective physical and land use plans conform to and are consistent with the national plan.
The national and local governments “will tap the budding profession of environmental planners for its technical expertise in the crafting of accurate and well-aligned physical and land use plans,” said Marcos Jr.
Last Monday, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 8162, or the proposed NLUA that gives the government the tool to properly identify land use and allocation patterns in all parts of the Philippines.
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