WHILE proponents of liberalized land ownership in the Philippines have long campaigned for the amendment of the constitutional provision disallowing foreign nationals from acquiring lands; policy makers in New Zealand, which allows foreigners to own land, are embroiled in a debate on whether or not to prohibit non-residents from buying residential properties.

The opposition party leader David Shearer said that if the Labour Party returned to power, it would pass a policy restricting foreign ownership of houses.

Shearer’s plan comes in the wake of surveys that reveal that housing in New Zealand is among the most expensive in the world. This is so because of foreigners’ willingness to purchase houses at high prices that have impacted on the rest of the market.

In an interview, Shearer said, "We're going to restrict, almost totally, foreign ownership, to buy established houses that are here. What we want to do is to make sure that first home buyers are Kiwis and they have the best chance."

Last year, the sale of sizable hectares of dairy farmland (Crafar farms) to a Chinese company caused national outrage but the government still approved it consistent with its campaign to entice foreign investment in New Zealand.

There are continuous calls to restrict foreign ownership of land, but for now some of the world’s richest individuals are buying prime properties including Avatar producer/director James Cameron, American Facebook billionaire Peter Thiel, Russian steel billionaire Alexander Abramov and New York’s Empire State Building stockholder Tony Malkin.

I can only agree with President Noynoy Aquino who has remained steadfast in disagreeing to calls on amending the constitutional provision restricting foreign ownership of lands and business interests in the country.

“I don’t think they are a necessary detriment to getting foreign investors in this country,” he was quoted in response to a question raised on the issue.

Making China as an example where foreigners are allowed only to lease lands, yet has attained economic growth, Aquino said, “That, I think, is empirical evidence that suggests that that (land ownership) is not a main determinant.”

If we allow foreigners to own land, I bet that Filipino landowners would want to cash in, and sell these at a premium. It will have ripple effect on the real estate industry when even locals will buy at unreasonable prices with the speculation that foreigners will be willing to buy these for more.

The next thing we know, middle-income earning families will join the ranks of the millions of people who are squatters. Many Filipinos may end up squatters in their native land.

What entice genuine investors to a country is its peace and order climate, a graft-free and efficient government, and a hardworking and talented population--not liberalized land ownership.