MANILA, Philippines -- An audit of idle lands in the country should be conducted by the government to determine which of these could be used for food production to address the rice problem, some legislators at the House of Representatives proposed in a forum Wednesday.

“I think we can come up with a comprehensive data gathering and an ocular inspection of all these idle lands,” Congressman Matthias “Matt” Defensor said. “And then we can work out a crossover to put things together,” he added.

Defensor echoed Speaker Prospero Nograles who made a similar proposal Tuesday involving the inspection of all available public and private lands for corporate farming instead of letting them lay idle.

“The suggestion of Speaker [Prospero] Nograles is something we should readily consider,” Defensor said.

Defensor also said that under a state of crisis, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could have constitutional powers to take over these lands for a “bountiful harvest.”

“The President may, without facing any objections from the House, declare a state of emergency for this particular purpose and take over any business or private interest for the public interest,” the lawmaker said.

“Within a period of four months, we will have a bountiful harvest,” Defensor added.

Valenzuela Representative Magtanggol Gunigundo also suggested that the proposed inspection should look into the reasons behind the idleness of these lands, which could have been caused, among others, by the lack of credit facilities provided by banks.

“Kailangan natin malaman kung bakit idle ang lupa [We should know why the land is idle],” Gunigundo said.

“We have to restore crop insurance in case there is a disaster. We should provide these facilities to our farmers to help them produce,” the chairman of the Labor and Human Resources Department also said.