IFUGAO Representative Teddy Brawner Baguilat commends the House leadership for the passage of the National Land Use Act (NLUA) bill on 3rd reading as House Bill 5240 on May 2.
“The approval of NLUA is a welcome development to better plan the use of our resources for future generations. This comes as a silver lining for the protection of our environment after disappointment over the rejection of Gina Lopez as Environment Secretary by the Commission on Appointments,” declared the NLUA champion.
Baguilat has been filing the NLUA since the 15th Congress, saying that this law may finally address the disastrous effects of calamities aggravated by poor land use and zoning. In the 17th Congress, he refiled the bill as House Bill 1599.
“For every climate-borne disaster, the country spends around P5 billion for disaster response with the catastrophic loss of lives. If the NLUA was passed two decades ago when it was first filed, perhaps settlements would have been better regulated and areas that need to be protected were secured, such as our forests and watersheds,” Baguilat said.
Baguilat thanked Rep. Kit Belmonte, Special Land Use Committee Chairperson, and Reps. Kaka Bag-ao and Tom Villarin, who authored other versions of the NLUA bill, for their perseverance and commitment in pushing for the said measure.
“Now, it’s the Senate’s turn to give due attention to this critical bill. I urge Senator Cynthia Villar, as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, to immediately start the deliberations on the four National Land Use Act bills filed in the Senate this 17th Congress. I trust in Sen. Villar’s commitment to safeguard our environment for our children’s children’s children,” appealed Baguilat.
Senators Gringo Honasan, Risa Hontiveros, Loren Legarda, and Joel Villanueva have filed their respective versions of the NLUA this 17th Congress. The bill almost passed in the 15th Congress under the sponsorship of Sen. Honasan but was blocked on 2nd reading by Senators Bongbong Marcos, Tito Sotto, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Manny Villar.
Baguilat also said the NLUA strongly supports a moratorium on land conversion, which Majority Floor Leader Rudy Fariñas declared as a priority measure of the Lower House this May.
He stressed the passage of a NLUA will likewise settle, once and for all, the perennial debate on what should be prioritized more - food security or housing.
As an indigenous person, Baguilat wants the bill to ensure that ancestral domains are respected and recognized as a third domain for land use planning together with private and public domains.
“Indigenous peoples right to self-determination through the Free Prior Informed Consent requirement should be upheld in any process of land use planning, whether in formulating the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) or the Ancestral Domains Sustainable Development and Protection Plan,” he said. (PR)