Published : Monday, September 12, 2011 00:00 [ manilatimes.net ]
Written by : JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said full implementation of the land administration and management system can begin next year at the earliest.
The agency disclosed its timeline amid allegations the country’s land registration system had been compromised by land-grabbing syndicates.
DENR Secretary Ramon Paje said the agency is also set to fast track the cadastral survey of the remaining areas in the country.
Paje said that LAMS is an information system designed to help the Land Management Bureau and the regional land management services of DENR in the management of land data and information, and other land records.
“With the installation of LAMS in all regional offices of the department, the people can expect not only a more efficient delivery of land services, but also enhanced integrity of our land titles,” he said.
A product under the second phase of the Land Administration and Management Project, LAMS involves not only the build-up of database but also the installation of required hardware infrastructure.
Paje said the project requires the computerization of land records but also scanning and encoding of maps, survey plans and public land applications.
Citing the on-going land row involving Wilfredo Torres, homeowners of various subdivisions in Quezon City, and the Land Registration Authority, Paje expressed optimism that land conflicts arising from erroneous data, duplication of records, multiple sources of land information and the like will be minimized.
“I can assure you that with LAMS, every land transaction will be very transparent. President Aquino expects us to ensure that all government transactions will be transparent,” the DENR chief said.
He said not only information on land titles will be made available to the public but also cadastral maps and information to guide local government units and survey maps to land surveyors, including land applications.
“With LAMS, we hope to address such perennial problems related to land administration like fake and fraudulent land titles, overlapping of boundaries and graft and corruption,” the DENR chief said.
Alongside LAMS, Paje said the cadastral survey of the remaining un-surveyed and partially surveyed areas in the country would be done next year.
The move, according to Paje, is in support of other government projects such as land disposition, land use planning, taxation and internal revenue allotment.
Earlier, President Benigno Aquino 3rd ordered DENR to complete the nationwide cadastral survey before the end of his term in 2016.
DENR records indicate that as of April this year, a total of 878 cities and municipalities have been completely surveyed, 370 have on-going cadastral survey activities, 228 are partially surveyed, and another 40 municipalities remain un-surveyed. The department had aimed for 1,516 municipalities and cities, excluding areas belonging to the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao.
Paje said the exclusion of ARMM areas was due to the inability of DENR personnel to conduct cadastral survey amid an armed conflict.
A cadastral survey determines the metes and bounds of all parcels within a municipality or city for land registration and other purposes.
It comprises the following phases of work: survey control establishment to determine the horizontal and vertical positions of points; political boundary survey to determine the metes and bounds of the entire municipality or city and the extent of barangays for comprehensive land use planning and computation of the IRA; and lot survey to determine the metes and bounds of every parcel of land in the city or municipality for titling purposes.
____________________________________________________________
