THE Organization of Socialized and Economic Housing Developers of the Philippines, Inc. (OSHDP) calls on the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to reconsider the proposed moratorium or suspension on agricultural land conversion and set aside the draft Executive Order.
According to OSHDP, to ensure food security, the way forward is to boost agricultural land productivity and not to restrict access to land.
According to a statement sent to SunStar Davao, OSHDP says the compelling reason for such drastic policy proposal is simply not present.
OSHDP says various data show that the total area of converted agricultural lands for the past 28 years, from 1988 to 2015, is a mere 1.22 percent of the total agricultural lands in the country.
The agricultural lands actually increased by 9.5 percent based on 2005 to 2013 data, OSHDP says.
"Only 2.52 percent of the total land area of the Philippines is considered built-up using data on land cover," the statement said. "The Philippines has more agricultural lands compared to some of our Asean neighbors but our agricultural productivity is significantly lower."
The statement also said Vietnam has allocated 30.35 percent of its land to agriculture while the Philippines has set aside 42.55 percent.
However, Vietnam’s percent of value added 17.7 percent to their gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the Philippines figure at 11.3 percent.
"The negative impact of such proposal will outweigh any perceived gains," the statement said.
OSHDP believes that the moratorium will have an adverse effect on the country’s housing production, particularly socialized housing, considering the unmet housing needs of 5.7 million, which is growing by
926,077 units per year and the fact that the housing sector could barely produce 20 percent of the annual target.
OSHDP says this social problem will worsen if a moratorium is imposed and agrees with the analysis that a moratorium will also result in jobs loss and a decrease in value creation.
According to the statement, a study conducted by the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) indicates the economic impacts of the housing industry are as follows: (a) that for every one million pesos, 2.3 jobs are created; (b) for every peso spent on house construction, the multiplier effect is P3.32 for value creation and P0.47 for household incomes; and (d) the tax multiplier for every peso paid in taxes and spent by government is P3.90.”
"A moratorium slows down growth in this sector, resulting in jobs loss and a domino effect on the allied industries," the study says as quoted by OSHDP.
OSHDP also supports the position of the National Economic Developement Authority (Neda), Departments of Finance and Department of Budget and Management on the adverse implications where they concluded that “the land use conversion ban can be antithetical to economic growth, job generation, and poverty reduction.”
However, OSHDP says this policy can be considered anti-poor because the bulk of the unmet housing needs and the jobs that will be lost are coming from the lower income group of the population.
OSHDP urges authorities to reconsider the proposed moratorium on land conversion and set aside the draft Executive Order, carefully assess the impact of the proposed policy on all other affected sectors, conduct a wider consultation and public hearing, consider alternatives, such as the strengthening of institutional mechanisms and procedures for land use conversion, prioritizing the passage of a national land use act, and increasing productivity of our current agricultural lands. (Mary Lim/PR)