Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on Wednesday expects a vast improvement in land titling application process for alienable and disposable lands with the approval of an enabling law Republic Act 11573.
“The Department of Environment and Natural Resources gladly welcomes the passage of RA 11573 into law. We have been aiming for this in order to relieve farmers on some of the requirements from existing land laws and accelerate titling in the country,” Cimatu said.
The agency’s Legislative Affairs Group and Land Management Bureau (LMB), along with the public advocacy organization Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), batted for the streamlining of land processing requirements since 2020.
“Securing a land title goes beyond land ownership. It elevates the lives of our farmers through the increase in land productivity and promotes investments,” the DENR chief said.
Emelyne Talabis, LMB director, said the new law gives importance to the completion of agricultural land titling in the country at a faster pace.
“With this, we foresee potential untitled agricultural lands to be titled in the next 10 years,” she said.
LMB, along with the FEF, is set to submit a 10-year completion of the national land titling program to Congress this August.
DENR is currently drafting the implementing rules and regulations for RA 11573 to ensure that it would be signed by Cimatu within 60 days from its official effectivity date, Talabis said.
“Farmers will soon be able to apply for an agricultural free patent without a specific acceptance period once RA 11573 takes effect,” she added.