Newly appointed Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Senator Raffy Tulfo, vowed to fast-track the passage of the long-delayed National Land Use Act (NLUA) in the Senate, citing the need for a unified national policy on land management amid decades of legislative delay.
The National Land Use Act seeks to establish a comprehensive framework for the proper allocation and use of land in the country, aimed at protecting farmers and indigenous peoples, preventing land grabbing, guiding orderly development, and safeguarding environmentally critical areas.
First filed in 1994 during the 9th Congress, the measure has been repeatedly reintroduced in succeeding Congresses but has remained pending in the Senate for decades.
“Sa ilalim ng aking pamumuno, sisiguruhin kong wala nang makakapigil sa pagsasabatas ng National Land Use Act,” the senator said, stressing the need to finally break the legislative deadlock on the measure.
He said the bill has repeatedly advanced in the House but has remained stalled at the Senate committee level over the years.
The NLUA is one of the country’s long-standing priority land governance reforms but has yet to be enacted into law.