asteya santiago land management

8/18/2019 Asteya Santiago Land Management

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AN OVERVIEW OFLAND MANAGEMENTIN THE PHILIPPINES

Asteya Santiago

August 1994

UMP – Asia Occasional Paper No. 9


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The UMP – Asia Occasional Papers are published periodically by the Urban ManagementProgramme Regional Office for Asia – Pacific (UMP – Asia) with funding support from UNDPthrough the Urban Management Programme for Asia – Pacific (UMPAP).

The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in these papers are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to UMP – Asia and to its affiliatedorganizations. UMP – Asia does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in thesepublications and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. UMP

– Asia encourages dissemination of its work and will give permission to reproduce portions of the Occasional Papers when the reproduction is for non – commercial purposes and properacknowledgement of the author(s) and UMP – Asia is made.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Prof. Asteya Santiago received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippinesand a Masters in Town & Country Planning from the Sydney University, Australia. She is

finalizing her PhD major in Urban & Regional Planning at the University of Sydney, Australia.Prof. Santiago is presently a Professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning,University of the Philippines.

Prof. Asteya Santiago submitted this paper originally to the UMP regional workshop inOctober 1992 to launch the UMP regional programme for Asia and the Pacific and to organizethe UMP-Asia Regional Panel of Experts. Since then, she has been an active member of thePanel.


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OVERVIEW PAPER ON LAND MANAGEMENT

IN THE PHILIPPINES

byProf. Asteya Santiago

BACKGROUND :CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGALFRAMEWORK

The authority for landmanagement activities in the Philippinesrests on explicit Constitutional and Legalprovisions. Policy objectives dealing withthe classification, acquisition, dispositionand development of the country’s landresources are firmly recorded in an almostexhaustive list of legislation which had

evolved in the past four decades or so.These are, furthermore, complemented bylegal issuances emanating from theexecutive branch of the government.

The country’s approach to andstrategies in land management areanchored not only on the traditionalproperty rights of individuals which arecovered by the constitutional mantle of protection, but on the social justiceprecept enshrined in the highest law of

the land. To promote social justice, landas property is placed under Stateregulation, affecting its various aspectssuch as acquisition, ownership, use, anddisposition (Article XIII, Section I on SocialJustice and Human Rights).

While Urban Land Reform, both asa constitutional mandate and as a distinctlegislative concern, are regarded asrelatively of recent vintage, they should, infact, be properly regarded as milestoneoutputs of incremental efforts that have

been unleashed several decades ago.

For the first time in its relativelylong constitutional history, the 1986Philippine Constitution devotes one majorsection on urban land management whichit denominated as “Urban Land Reformand Housing”. The characteristicsimpressed on this major program of theGovernment by the Philippine Constitutionreveals the following policy thrusts:

First, Urban land reform shall bea long-term and continuing programmeand shall have as its prime objective the

promotion of the common good;

Second, The programme shallfocus on the provision of “affordable” decent housing, basic services andadequate employment opportunities tounder-privileged and homeless citizens inurban and resettlements areas; and

Third, The implementation of theprogramme shall be reconciled with therights of small property owners which shall

be respected. (Article XIII, Section 9 on Urban Land Reform and Housing Act)

Hand in hand with the keenconcern shown by the constitution forurban land is its obvious pre-occupationwith its counterpart resources in the restof the country. On top of the list are landsof the public domain which it classifies

into agricultural, forest or timber, minerallands and national parks. Only agriculturallands are allowed to be alienated, for


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which purpose, the government ismandated to classify them by legislation.In the determination of the size of lands of the public domain which may be acquired,developed, held or leased, including theappropriate conditions therefore, the

requirements of agrarian reform,conservation, ecology, and developmentare directed to be taken into account.(Article XII, Section 3).

The legislative body is furthermoreconstitutionally directed to legislate thelimits and boundaries on the ground of forest lands and national parks. Aftersuch legal prescription, these valuableland resources shall be conserved andmay only be increased or diminished by

the issuance of another legislation.(Article XII, Section 4).

In the disposition or utilization of other resources, including lands of thepublic domain under lease or concessionsuitable to agricultural, the State arerequired whenever applicable, to beguided by the principles of agrarian reformor stewardship.

Land resources, including as they

do, water, communal marine and fishingresources, the Constitution likewise coversthem and adopts as a State policy theirprotection, development and conservation(Article XIII, Section 7 on Agrarian and Natural Resources Reform).

LAND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A. Basic Framework of LandManagement

Land management encompasses variousaspects which interact with and influenceeach other. They are briefly describedherein.

1.

Land Tenure

Land tenure for urban and rural areas iseither of two types – absolute ownership(known also as fee simple or freehold) andless than absolute, i.e., subject to certainlimitations, qualifications or restrictions.The most common forms are leasehold(with various terms, time period, and

conditions) and usufruct, wherepossession or occupation is with orwithout rental, respectively.

2. Land Ownership and Transfer

Ownership of land is a privilege thatpertains only to individuals andcorporations or associations legallyqualified to acquire or hold lands of thepublic domain. The exception to this ruleis where the transfer or conveyance is byhereditary succession. Only natural borncitizens of the Philippines may acquirelands in the country, although those whohave lost their Philippine citizenship may,subject to limitations provided by law, stillbe a transferee of private lands. One such

law referred to is Batas Pambansa 80where former natural born citizens whohave since renounced their Filipinocitizenship may acquire residential landsfor retirement purposes for as long as theydo not exceed 1000 square meters in bothurban and rural areas. It is projected thatother legislations may be promulgated inthe future, providing for othercircumstances where land ownershiprights may be acquired by former naturalborn Filipinos.

3. Land Titling and Registration

The two modes of registration of titles toland are the Torrens System and thesystem of recording unregistered lands.Under the torrens system, landconveyance is effected throughregistration in the Registry of Land Titlesand Deeds which has an office in everycity and municipality.

4. Land Sub-Division

The sub-division of titled land may bedone under the Property Registrationdecree (PD 1529, June 1978) and underthe Sub-Division and Condominium BuyersProtected decree (PD 1957, July 1976).Sub-Division is usually undertaken for thepurpose of selling the divided lots as partof a sub-division project, or simply fordividing ownership and possession of the

property.


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The power to approve sub-division planswas recently devolved to cities andmunicipalities by the Local GovernmentCode (Art 447, para.2(x), Article 459,para.2(x)).

B. Government Land Management Activities

Land management activities of thegovernment cover a whole range of activities which include land use allocation;land reclassification, acquisition anddisposition; and land conservation ordevelopment undertaken by itself or byauthorization of private individuals orgroups, and land taxation and regulation.

1. Land Use Allocation

Land use allocation of both government-held or privately-owned properties isundertaken by local government units asauthorized by the Local government Codeof 1991 (Republic Act 7160). Morespecifically, these authorizedresponsibilities are as follows:

a) Municipalities and component

cities shall adopt a comprehensive landuse plan in coordination with the approvedprovincial comprehensive land use plan.In consonance thereto, they shall alsoenact integrated zoning ordinances.(Section 447, para 2 (vii))

b) Highly urbanized and non-component cities shall adopt acomprehensive land use plan for the cityand enact an integrated zoning ordinancein consonance thereto. It is assumed that

this need not have reference to aprovincial land use plan since these localgovernment units are consideredindependent of the province where theyare located.Since the exercise of these powers isrequired to be in accordance with existinglaws and rules and regulations, land useallocation activities are assumed to besubject to the standard setting, review of,and conflict resolution powers of theHousing and Land use Regulatory Board(HLURB).

The comprehensive land use plans arerequired to be the primary and dominantbases for the future use of land resources,with the caveat that the requirements of food production, human settlements andindustrial expansion shall be considered in

such plan.

2. Land Conversion or Reclassification

Land conversion from agricultural to otheruses is effected through the power of reclassification of lands by localgovernment units, exercised by passing anordinance, after conducting appropriatepublic hearings. This power of reclassification shall be limited to a rangeof from 5% to 15% of the total

agricultural land area at the time of thepassage of the ordinance, depending onwhether the LGU is a highly urbanized andindependent component city (15%);component city or 1st to 3rd classmunicipality (10%); or fourth to sixth classmunicipality (5%). Agricultural landsalready distributed to land reformbeneficiaries under the Comprehensive

Agrarian Land Reform Law are notcovered by these provisions. (RA 7160,Sect.20)

Such reclassification shall be allowed only: a) where the land has ceased to beeconomically feasible and sound foragricultural purposes; or b) where the landshall have substantially greater economicvalue for residential, commercial orindustrial purposes as determined by thelocal legislative body concerned.

3. Land Acquisition

To increase the pool of its land resources,the Urban Development and Housing Actof 1992 (RA 7279) provides that themodes of acquiring lands shall include landswapping, land assembly or consolidation,land banking, donation to theGovernment, joint-venture agreement,negotiated purchase and expropriation.

Expropriation or eminent domain isresorted to only after other modes of acquisition shall have been exhausted, and

parcels of lands owned by small propertyowners are exempted from expropriation.


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Small property owners are defined by thelaw as those whose only real propertyconsists of residential lands not exceeding300 square meters in highly urbanizedcities and 800 square meters in otherurban areas. (RA 7279, Section 3, para.q)

Eminent domain may be exercised forpublic uses or purpose, or welfare, for thebenefit of the poor and the landless, uponpayment of just compensation.Immediate possession of the property maybe effected upon the deposit with theproper court of at least 15% of the fairmarket value of the property based on thecurrent tax declaration of the property tobe expropriated. The amount to be paidfor the property expropriated shall be

determined by the proper court, based onthe fair market value at the time of thetaking of the property (RA 7160, Section 19).

All the other modes of acquisition thatneed to have been exhausted beforeresorting to expropriation are explicitlydefined in the Urban Development andHousing Act of 1992 or RA 7279 asfollows:

a)

Land Assembly or Consolidation. Thisrefers to the acquisition of lots of varyingownership through purchase orexpropriation, for the purpose of plannedand rational development and socializedhousing programmes without individualproperty restrictions.

b) Land Banking. This is the acquisition of land at values based on existing use, inadvance of actual need to promoteplanned development and socializedhousing programmes.

c) Land Swapping. This refers to theacquisition by exchanging land for anotherpiece of land of equal value, or for sharesof stock in a government or quasi-government corporation whose book valueis of equal value to the land beingexchanged, for the purpose of plannedand rational development and theprovision for socialized housing. In landswapping, land values are determinedbased on land classification, market value

and assessed value taken from existing taxdeclarations. More valuable land owned

by private persons may, however, beexchanged with less valuable lands tocarry out the objectives of RA 7279.

Another aspect of public land acquisition isthe setting aside of public lands for public

projects through presidential proclamation.The Administrative Code of 1987 (EO 292)empowers the President to reserve forsettlement or public use any of the landsof the public or private domain.

4. Land Disposition

Depending on the nature and occupancystatus of the land, the various modes of land disposal used by the Department of

Environment and Natural Resources are asfollows:

a) Sales Patent. This involves thesale of lands to individuals, subject toconditions, aimed at minimizingspeculation and encouraging development.Done through public auction, the land isawarded to the highest bidder subject tothe condition that the awardee shall enter,break and cultivate at least 1/5 of the landwithin 5 years from the date of the award.

b) Homestead Patent. Introducedby the American colonizers to expeditesettlement of the undeveloped areas inthe country, it involves gratuitouslyconveying to individuals, parcels of landsubject to conditions requiring residence inand cultivation of the land within a certaintimeframe to ensure its development.Upon the satisfaction of the conditions,the patent or conveyance eventuallymatures into a full title.

c)

Free Patent. An administrativeprocess under the Public Land Act bywhich titles are “perfected” through theawarding of a free patent. This isintended to benefit those who could notestablish sufficient legal basis for title, buthad occupied the land for the length of time prescribed by law. This process isavailable only to native born Filipinos.


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d) Voluntary Confirmation. Thisprovides an opportunity for those whohave claims to title to present their casevoluntarily before the courts which do notaward the title but, as the name suggests,merely confirms it on the basis of the

evidence presented.

e) Compulsory Confirmation.Due to the unsuccessful orderly conversionof lands with uncertain status (for variousreasons such as ignorance of the law,costs, etc.) the Cadastral Act was passedin 1913 where the government declaredspecific cities or municipalities to besubject to comprehensive cadastralsurvey. All lands in the local governmentunit were included in the survey and their

claimants identified, in the process.

5. Land Development and itsRegulation

Land development activities are governedby both national laws and localordinances. Policy and standard setting,review of local development plans andzoning ordinances and resolution of landuse conflicts are vested in a nationalagency, the Housing and Land Use

Regulatory Board (Executive Order 648).The preparation of local developmentplans, land use plans and zoningordinances, on the other hand, are vestedin the cities and municipalities. Exceptthose for non-component cities andmunicipalities and highly urbanized cities,these land use plans are required toconform with the comprehensive provincialland use plans.

Cities and municipalities are alsoauthorized, subject to national laws to

process and approve sub-division plans forresidential, commercial or industrial andother development purposes. (Article 447,para.2(vii) and Article 458, para.2(vii),Local Government Code.)

6. Conservation of Lands

Land conservation is as much a part of land management as land developmentand its regulation. Conservation of lands

is effected through the declaration of parks and open spaces, green belts and

buffer zones, including the preservation of historical and cultural landmarks, with orwithout improvements. The Departmentof Agriculture has recently completed aplan called Integrated Protected AreaSystem (IPAS) which seeks to protect

prime agricultural lands all over thecountry from indiscriminate conversion toother uses. The rationale is the need toensure food security and to maintainecological balance.

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

1. Role of the Government

Much of the land management activities inthe Philippines are undertaken by nationaldepartments and line agencies whosefunctions are, in some cases, overlappingand duplicative with each other. Localgovernments have only recently beendrawn into the activity but their state of preparedness and competence to assumethe task remains in question.

2. Actual Performance

The performance of line agencies leavesmuch room for improvement although nostudies have yet been undertaken to pin-point with certainty the areas of weaknesses. Cursory studies and limitedinformation reveal, however, the need forconsolidating certain land classification,disposition and land developmentfunctions in one centralized agency or, atleast the more effective synchronization of these functions.

Local governments, on the other hand,have very nominal participation in landmanagement activities except in theformulation and implementation of landuse plans and the enforcement of zoningordinances. The new Local GovernmentCode provides for improvement of thissituation.

3. Shift of Approach

The traditional approach of most landagencies of focusing only on their land


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disposition function without concern forthe ultimate use of these resources have,since a couple of years ago, been given upfor a more improved strategy. Thisstrategy is reflected in the change of namethat they have undergone. For instance,

the Bureau of Lands has become theBureau of Land Management while theBureau of Forestry has become the Bureauof Forestry Management. TheMetropolitan Manila Commission (nowMetropolitan Manila Authority) has, for itspart, constituted its own LandManagement Office to show that itsconcern goes beyond the mere regulationof land development activities by theprivate sector. It is equally interested inmonitoring the development and

improvements on the land to ensure thatthey take place in accordance with theMetro Manila Development Plan.

4.

Role of the Private Sector andNon-Government Agencies

The invaluable assistance and inputs of both the private sector and the non-government agencies is given officialrecognition by no less than the highest law

of the land, the Philippine Constitution.The Constitution adopts as State policiesthe recognition of the indispensable role of the private sector in national developmentand the encouragement of non-governmental, community-based orsectoral organizations that promote thewelfare of the nation (Article II, Sections 20 and 23) . A relatively recentdevelopment, there is much that needs tobe learned about the more active andmeaningful participation of these twogroups.

CRITICAL ISSUES AND AREASFOR IMPROVEMENT

The following is a brief summaryand overview of critical issues affectingland management which indirectly indicatethe areas for improvement.

• The need to faithfully translate andoperationalize broad constitutional and

policy objectives and precepts affectingland management, which include thefollowing: the stewardship concept of

land; the treatment of land as valuable and irreplaceable resource outside of the usual commerce of man; land as an equalizer and instrument for promoting wealth re-distribution and equity objectives of national development.

• The imperative of streamlining theoperation of institutions involved inthe various aspects of landmanagement and establishing theneeded functional linkages.

• The need to identify the areas thatshould be included in a capability andconfidence building programme(technical, financial, legal) to beimplemented in government

institutions, local governments, privatesector and NGO’s for their effectiveperformance of land managementfunctions.

• The requirement of identifying otherland tenure options responsive to theneeds of the urban poor and otherdisadvantaged sectors to ensure theirmore effective access to land, moreparticularly for housing purposes andsupport urban uses.

• The importance of distilling valuablelessons from the country’s experiencein the operation of the informal landmarket and how they can improve theoperation of the formal land market;and the need to establish the linkagesthat should be developed between thetwo markets.

• The urgency for establishing andputting in place a more effective andup-to-date database system for

purposes of improving the variousaspects of land management such asland titling and registration; landtenure and ownership; land availabilityand means of access to them,particularly by the urban poor andother disadvantaged sectors.

• The need to improve existing landmanagement policies and topromulgate complementary legalmeasures and other land management

related policies to promote the desiredobjectives.


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References

Chowdhury, A.I. 1984. Land for Human

Settlements in Bangladesh.ESCAP/UNIDO, Bangkok.

Government of Bangladesh, 1983, Reportof the Land Reform Committee, 1982.Dhaka.

Haque, M. Mokammel, 1992. “AnOverview of Urban Land Management inBangladesh”, in N. Islam and A.I.Chowdhury (editors), 1992.

Islam, Nazrul. 1992. Dhaka MetropolitanFringe Land and Housing Development.Dhaka: Dhaka City Museum.

Islam, N. and A.I. Chowdhury, 1992.Urban Land Management in Bangladesh.Dhaka: Ministry of Land, Government of Bangladesh (see Recommendations andother papers in this volume).

Task Force of Urbanization, PlanningCommission, Government of Bangladesh1991. Report of the Task Force on Social

Implications of Urbanization.

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