Agricultural stakeholders reject the proposed National Land Use Act (NaLUA) being pushed in the legislature as a tool for business and unhelpful to farmer welfare.
According to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), which seeks to prohibit the conversion of agricultural land, the proposal as framework for the development of the country’s land resources, will only worsen the burden of landless farmers.
Danilo Ramos, KMP chairperson, pointed out that House Bill (HB) 8162 and its primary sponsor, Bingo Matugas, Siargao representative, acknowledged that the measure is meant to attract foreign investments.
“So, again we ask Congress, for whose interest will the National Land Use Bill serve? The utilization of the land and natural resources of the country must be for Filipinos and for the benefit of the public. It should not be for big businesses and profits and interests of foreign capital.”
He argued a true NaLUA must protect and preserve agricultural lands for genuine rural development and for national industrialization and must mainly benefit Filipinos.
Ramos said that in 2007, the KMP helped craft a Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) with a just and equitable land use policy that focused its interest on the majority of the population, including farmers and the peasant masses.
He claimed the GARB was pursued as a pro-business and pro-foreign legislative measure and does not aim for food self-sufficiency, the improvement of local agriculture and the countryside and favors industrialization that could further aggravate agricultural issues.
Ramos further claimed HB 8162 removed the agricultural classification of land and bundled it with production development classification alongside tourism and industrial.
The KMP official said this will allow the construction of commercial establishments in farm lands as both will now be classified for land under production use.
The National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates-Youth (NNARA-Youth) also said HB 8162 “will further the economic interests of foreign and local land speculators and developers while doing little to protect the environment and promote food security and food self-sufficiency.”
“One of the most glaring problems with HB 8162 is its lack of a provision that explicitly prohibits the conversion of agricultural lands… This is a major concern, as the conversion of agricultural lands to other uses, such as housing and commercial development, has a number of negative consequences, including food crises and environmental degradation,” said Marina Cavan, NNARA-Youth National spokesperson, in a statement.
She claimed the measure does not do enough to protect the rights of small farmers from land grabbers and crafted without the participation of small farmers, fishers, urban poor and indigenous people who are bound to be drastically affected by the bill.
