DA readies changes in land conversion rules
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is aiming to release the revised guidelines for the issuance of a certification on the reclassification of agricultural lands within June, its official said.
“We need to finalize the guidelines before the end of the six-month moratorium,” Agriculture Undersecretary Asis Perez told the Inquirer in a Viber message over the weekend.
The DA issued Department Circular No. 1 on Jan. 5, suspending the acceptance and processing of applications for the certification on the land-use reclassification as a safeguard against “undue conversion.”
The moratorium, which will last until June this year, effectively held in abeyance all appeals filed and pending before the Office of the Secretary.
The DA said this stemmed from the rapid demand for urban expansion, infrastructure development and local land-use zoning revisions, resulting in the increase in applications for land-use reclassifications.
The agency exempted renewable energy and government socialized housing projects from the suspension of agricultural land conversions.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. previously said the agency excluded these projects from the moratorium “to strike a balance in allowing critical energy and housing projects to proceed.”
During the suspension period, the DA will revisit and review land-use reclassification policies.
For this purpose, the DA promulgated Special Order No. 477 to create a technical working group (TWG) to review and update the guidelines on the issuance of DA certification for reclassifying agricultural lands.
Perez, who will spearhead TWG, did not disclose the specific provisions to be amended, pending the completion of the policy evaluation.
