Gov’t to shorten land use conversion process

Following President Duterte’s frustration over the tedious land use conversion process, the government is crafting a directive which will shorten the application period to just 30 days.

The joint memorandum circular (JMC), to be submitted to the President for approval, will cover the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and other agencies involved in the land use conversion process.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said this was reached after Duterte walked out of a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday out of frustration with the lengthy process and bureaucratic red tape.

“Several agencies are now working hand in hand to streamline the process involved in land conversion. The DAR reported to the Cabinet that there is an urgent need to streamline the current process for land conversion to address pending applications and to fast-track the approval and/or disapproval of new applications,” Nograles told a press briefing.

The agencies involved in the drafting of the JMC are the DAR; the Department of the Interior and Local Government; the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; the Department of Energy; the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council; the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples; the National Housing Authority; the Land Registration Authority; the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board; and the Social Housing Finance Corp.

President ‘exasperated’

The JMC, Nograles said, aims to “streamline the process of approval or disapproval of land conversion applications from the current 24 to 36 months to 30 days.”

It will be finalized and presented to the President for approval within 30 days or on or before the next Cabinet meeting in March.

Nograles said the President was “exasperated” with the many requirements needed for applying for land use conversion, hence his outburst and walkout.

After a presentation of the land use conversion process during the Cabinet meeting, Nograles said the President eventually understood the “tedious” process.