House Deputy Minority Floor Leader and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist Representative Leila de Lima on Thursday called for the swift passage of a measure to prevent destructive developments and the conversion of irrigated and irrigable agricultural lands.
The measures aim to promote food security in the country amid the increasing unregulated conversions of agricultural lands.
De Lima’s House Bill 5762, or the “Agricultural Land Conversion Ban Act”, is the House counterpart of Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan’s Senate Bill No. 220.
It seeks to amend Section 20 of Republic Act No. 7160, or the “Local Government Code of 1991”, to better regulate agricultural land conversion by imposing stricter conditions that must be met before land reclassification can be permitted.
“The haphazard conversion of agricultural lands for non-agricultural uses poses serious threats to the country’s food security, environmental sustainability, and rural development,” the lady solon from Bicol said.
“If food security is a real priority for the government, it needs to stop the wanton conversion of our agricultural lands. Instead of turning them into subdivisions, resorts, or establishments, our farmers and fishermen should be given adequate support to increase their production and income,” she said in Filipino.
Based on Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) data, 98,939 hectares of land were approved for conversion from 1988 to 2016, while 120,381 hectares were approved for exemption from land reform coverage.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) estimates that some 165,000 hectares of irrigated prime agricultural land are converted for other uses annually.
De Lima also disclosed that reliable sources and evidence from the ground indicate higher numbers, pointing to an alarming number of illegal conversions, with some even involving large real estate corporations.
