Vol. XXII, No. 193 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Monday, May 5, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
A MEASURE requiring local government units to create their own land reclamation bodies has been filed at the House of Representatives.
Authored by Cebu Rep. Pablo P. Garcia (2nd district), House Bill (HB) 6104 seeks to affirm the local government units’ authority to reclaim land under Republic Act (RA) 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991.
"Under the existing law, land reclamation projects are among those basic services and facilities devolved to a province," Mr. Garcia said in a statement.
The bill requires provincial governments to create a body that would take charge of reclamation projects.
It also authorizes provincial governments to contract indebtedness or issue bonds under such terms and conditions provided either by their local legislative bodies or as may be fixed by the Secretary of Finance.
Eduardo Desdura, Philippine Reclamation Authority acting department manager for project evaluation and development, yesterday said there should only be one single regulatory body when it comes to land reclamation.
Redundant
"The bill is redundant. There has to be one single agency to regulate reclamation. Providing every local government unit with a reclamation body might be possible, but how would their functions correlate with ours?
"We have been mandated to become the land-clearing regulatory body, and if they have the same functions, how would we consolidate our work?" he said in a telephone interview yesterday.
The bill’s explanatory note states that land reclamation is the gain of land from the sea, wetlands or other water bodies, and restoration of productivity or use to lands that have been degraded by human activities or impaired by natural phenomena.
It is resorted to by governments with geographically small land areas in order to provide additional physical space to accommodate their housing, industrial and economic needs. — J. F. S. Valdez
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