Land and Property Rights

A major step in forest protection

2008-01-25T10:37:00.000+08:00

Property rights is indeed important. Here's an article from Philstar.com showing the relevance of tenure security in environmental protection and sustainability. Read on.

Philstar.com
Agriculture
A major step in forest protection
http://philstar.com/index.php?Agriculture&p=49&type=2&sec=38
Sunday, January 20, 2008

Dina Gracia feels blessed.

With her husband, this 28-year old mother of two from the town of Wao, Lanao del Sur, has planted 400 rubber tree seedlings on land they now have a legal right to farm – and every motivation to protect from abuse.

Through the efforts of the Wao municipal government and help from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Dina now enjoys what is called an “individual property right” or IPR. The IPR was granted to her and 17 other residents by the local government in October last year.

The IPR allows them to develop their land without fear of being evicted. An IPR is a major step in forest protection since beneficiaries themselves act as stewards of the land. Because rights of tenure are formalized, an IPR also prevents land conflicts.

The awarded IPRs cover some 54 hectares of forestlands out of the 2,000 hectares under a co-management agreement between Wao and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Wao Mayor Elvino Balicao Jr. is particularly grateful to USAID’s Philippine Environmental Governance 2 project (EcoGov2). He says EcoGov2 helped to “work out the tenure grants and extended valuable and extensive assistance to us in managing both our forestlands and our solid waste.” He added that “the IPR issuance will intensify the protection and conservation of our forestlands.”

Most of the beneficiaries have already started planting rubber trees and fruit trees. They expect to reap the rewards of their work within five years, by which time they should be earning a steady income from harvesting high value fruits such as rambutan, lanzones, and durian.

“I’m very happy that I finally got this IPR. Now, no one else can claim our land as the LGU has already granted us the right for its use,” said Dina. The Wao local government loaned the seedlings, with repayments to start after the first harvest.

USAID’s EcoGov2 project with the DENR helped Wao develop its forest land use plan. This plan spells out the sustainable use of the town’s forestlands. EcoGov2 also helped Wao draw up a 10-year Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan.

Former Wao Mayor Elvino Balicao Sr. is credited with championing the active involvement of the community in enforcing these plans. The results were dramatic:

Wao put a halt to illegal logging activities within its borders; and it successfully built a sanitary landfill for segregated solid waste, the first of its kind in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The fifth class municipality has become a local government model for sound environmental management.

Untitled Residential Lands

2007-09-22T23:32:00.000+08:00

Did you know that about 46% of the estimated 24 million land parcels in the Philippines remains untitled?

An expert on land administration and management matters says it is most likely that 70% of these untitled land parcels are residential. This means that about 39 million Filipinos do not have security in the estimated 7.8 million lands which they consider home.

Imagine living on a land that has been considered home to even your ancestors, but which does not securely belong to you. If you wish to ensure your rights over that piece of land, you have to go through the hassle of a court proceeding (expensive!) or the uncertainty of buying that land from the government (this is the applicable administrative process).

Can't Philippine public servants (legislators) do something about it? Oh yes, they can. More about that on subsequent posts.

Updated on January 29, 2008

Land Classification in the Philippines

2007-08-21T12:05:00.001+08:00

Prior to joining a land management and property rights team/project, I had no idea that lands in the Philippines have official or legal classifications and that they cannot be easily re-classified into something else. I knew that a person cannot own a mountain, but really I could not appreciate and understand the reasons behind that. I did not even care about that thing.

Since I'm now into this land thing, I have to know and I want to share something about land classification. If I could go further, I want to consider discussing about the implications of such classifications against the reality.

The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, the supreme law of the Philippines stipulates that lands of the public domain are classified into:

Agricultural;
Forest or timber;
Mineral; and
National parks.

As to how they came up with such classifications, I do not know.

It should be noted that all lands of the public domain are owned by the state. Only lands classified as agricultural are alienable and disposable, or those that can be owned privately by Filipino citizens.

It is the Congress that sets the limits and boundaries of forest lands and national parks. It is also by an act of Congress that such limits can be increased or diminished. The Philippines already has a Land Classification Map - the first and the last so far, made ages ago - that shows 50% of the lands of the public domain are forest, 47% is alienable and disposable, and 3% is unclassified. If I'm not mistaken, this was made in the 1930's. On the environmental side, the Philippines has less than 20% forest cover (there should be biodiversity in an area to be considered forest). Interesting, right? A land classification map of the 1930's (or 1940's), with only sporadic re-classifications, is being used in the 21st century.

Prior to the 1987 Constitution, Commonwealth Act 141 or the Public Lands Act classifies land into alienable & disposable, timber, and mineral. The present constitution only added another classification, that is the national parks, and that instead of simply classifying land as alienable & disposable, land is classified as agricultural and only these lands can be alienated and disposed.

Lands that are alienable and disposable are further classified according to their use and purpose as:

Agricultural;
Residential, commercial, industrial or for similar productive purposes;
Educational, charitable or other similar purposes; and
Reservations for town site and for public or quasi-public purposes.

Under Section 9 of CA 141, it is the President, through the recommendation of the DENR Secretary who can make the classifications (according to use or purpose) from time to time, and at anytime can re-classify the land from one use to another. Yet, I have read somewhere about the authority of LGU's through the Local Government Code on reclassification and zoning ordinances, the responsibility of DENR to delineate forest lands from A&D lands, and the role of DAR in converting agricultural lands to other uses. Confusing.

When I started writing this piece a few days ago, I thought this topic, "Land Classification in the Philippines" would be an easy one. Through the course of my writing however, I have realized land classification and land use in the country is tainted with ambiguity and problems as well.

More about land classification on my next posts, though maybe not soon. I'm just hoping that this article has given some light on the topic, and not simply confuse the reader.

Again, confusion and land administration

2007-08-17T14:48:00.001+08:00

It may be because of the weather. Or the topic's just so overwhelming.

I'm finding it difficult again to read and comprehend a study relating to the land laws of our nation. Maybe, the gloomy weather just complicates the problem of the larger problem of complicated and confusing land laws of the country.

I have shared to someone who knows a lot about the land issues that I find it difficult and confusing to read about the land issues in the country, starting with and especially with the various laws and policies that we have. So he shared a tip for me (and for everyone who would want to learn more about this topic) to make it easier.

Think in boxes (not out of the box, but thinking out of the box may be necessary after learning about the basics). Take into consideration that for land administration, there are three things or areas fundamental to it:

SURVEY
LAND DISPOSITION
REGISTRATION

While there are other fields about lands, these three things characterizing land administration are the basic, fundamental and essential aspects for understanding the land-related problems in the country.

Thinking in those "boxes" really helps. However, thinking in those "boxes" can make me feel more frustrated and disappointed. For each aspect, there's a huge problem. It is not surprising therefore that understanding (the problems of) land adminstration in the country can give somebody an enormous headache.

On surveys:

The Philippines does not have a complete set of cadastral maps
Over the years, the country had adopted numerous survey standards
The probability of survey overlaps and variance is high

On land disposition:

There are two ways for a land to be titled - the judiciary and the administrative proceedings
There are also a lot of government agencies involved in land disposition (top of mind: DENR, DAR, NCIP)
There are various names and kinds of patents (free patent, homestead patent, sales patent, miscellaneous sales patent) serving as proofs of land ownership aside from the original certificate of title (I am actually not sure if a patent serves as the OCT or not)
Only alienable and disposable lands of the public domain can be titled and owned privately; land is classified according to the NAMRIA Land Classification Map of the Philppines and this has not been updated; therefore, some lands classified as forest lands but are used in reality for agricultural purposes cannot be disposed privately

On registration:

Registration of lands is on a "who owns what parcel" basis and not "what parcel is owned by whom"
That kind of registration cannot automatically or clearly reflect which parcels or lots are already titled and who owns (or claims to own) them

To top it all, there are other problems that can be mentioned aside from those discussed above. No wonder I get confused.

The Bill

2007-08-09T17:22:00.001+08:00

More than a month working for this project, it is only now that I am beginning to appreciate the bill seeking to integrate the various land administration agencies in the country.

So what's with it?

The bill (every version of a land administration reform or modernization bill) seeks to integrate all key agencies responsible in land administration and management. This integration aims to expedite the transactions in titiling and transferring of titles, among others. This solves the problems in multiplicity of agencies involved in giving out titles and managing lands, the multiplicity in the processes for obtaning a title, prevalence of fake and duplicate titles, and the confusion and inefficiency on matters relating to land adminstration and management.

This bill (or act), through the integration of the land agencies into a single independent body will help ease land transactions, and consequently develop the land markets. With a developed and efficient land markets, development and investments will increase, borrowers can now loan more with the collateralization of lands, and banks can lend more and with less risk against fake titles.

However, despite the problems and despite the benefits of the reform, the bill has not been passed. Why? Of course.

I hope this time, the 14th Congress, this bill gets passed. If there would be difficulties in the House or the Senate for the bill to pass, I hope the stakeholders remains committed in getting this reform done. It's not just for the benefit of the real estate or the banking industry by the way, it's actually pro-poor and crucial for national development.

An Overwhelming Problem

2007-07-30T12:53:00.000+08:00

On my first day at work, I joined a meeting to present the need for land administration reforms. Prior to that, and even during that time, I had no appreciation of the issues revolving around land, land administration and land management in the country. I only knew one thing: I would not want to subject myself to the torture of the bureaucracy involved in selling or buying land. I expected inefficiency in the system.

Then I learned that “the bureaucracy” was only a bit of the humungous problem the country is facing. It was disheartening.

First, with titling: There is a number of government agencies involved in titling. One can go through the judicial proceedings, or the administrative one. In the judicial process, a person files a petition for registration in court. How long does this take? How much does this cost? I still have to know. Generally, this would take from 14 days to two years (for both administrative and judicial process).

In the administrative proceedings, one can apply for a patent in DENR. This patent becomes the basis for the issuance of an original certificate of title. There are various patents available in this country: free patent; sales patent (for agricultural lands); miscellaneous sales patent (for residential, commercial, & industrial lands); and homestead patent.

Then, with the institution itself: Obviously, as there are two ways to title a land, something is wrong. The Land Registration Authority, which is an attached agency of the Department of Justice issues decrees of registration and certificates of title, and register documents, patents and other land transaction. From the way I understand it, LRA is “represented” as Registry of Deeds per province or city (another thing to clarify).

What are the agencies involved in land? Land Registration Authority, an attached agency of the Department of Justice; Land Management Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Provincial, as well as Community Environment and Natural Resources Offices (under DENR); Department of Agrarian Reform; National Commission on Indigenous Peoples. Did I miss something?

Third, the cadastral map: This is another aspect in land administration and land management that is a problem in itself. The Philippines does not yet have a complete set of cadastral maps. Although only a few were not yet surveyed, there are way too many on-going ones. Worse, some may have already deteriorated. There is poor records management, we are still using papers and there are no digital back-ups. Worst, when the new PRS 92 (some sort of a basis for surveying) is used, the old cadastral surveys seem to have errors.

This post is lacking of information as to the true state of land administration and management in the country. Probably next time I’ll be more organized in presenting the issues and topics.

The day is not yet over. I still have lots of time to explore and
learn what I need to know and discover. ;)

Land and Property Rights

2007-07-30T11:25:00.001+08:00

I sometimes feel at lost being a part of a team that advocates property rights and aims to attain efficient land markets in the country, a team of great people and great minds.

The land issues in this country (Philippines) really overwhelms me. I can't really think clearly. Add that to the fact that I'm not really comfortable interacting with smart people on issues that I am not familiar of, and I'm almost at a lost. I usually compare it with my "passion" for protecting the environment, which is somehow already part of my system. I need to make the land management and property rights advocacy a part of myself. Darating ang araw, ang bagay na ito ay kusang dadaloy na sa aking dugo.

So, I resolve to start talking about it in a medium I am comfortable with. Here. Much like talking to myself, except that I am hoping somebody would interact with me.