By: Engr. Oscar de Jesus, Urban Planner & UST Alumni
As stipulated in the 1987 Constitution, lands are generally classified as either land of private or public domain. Private lands may be either privately owned or held by the state, mainly idle. Public domain, on the other hand, can be classified as alienable or inalienable. Various land uses are being classified by our local governments through the guidelines set by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), where agricultural lands are being candidates of conversion due to its classification as alienable and disposable (A&D). In which A&D lands refer to lands whose current use may be changed or may be taken by the government for future development. Inalienable lands, however, are protected forest lands, mineral lands, and national parks. Given this current setting, agricultural lands are at peril if there is no consideration to classify agricultural lands as crop-bearing and protected lands.
To condense the multitude of land uses, there are four (4) land-use policy areas namely Settlements, Production, Protection, and Infrastructure. In planning, there must a way to balance the development in terms of a place for living (Settlements) and place for making a living (Production). The environment, to where these developments occur must be preserved for a healthier ecology. The linkages may only be possible with Production and Settlements through the implementation of Infrastructures. In the physical realm, developments may be unceasing due to the innovations we have in terms of infrastructure.
A Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) is being used by local governments as a reference to manage an existing territory as a political body. Through the land use plans, a zoning ordinance is formulated by the local Sanggunian. This tool can dictate as to what land use scheme must be followed by the government and developers alike. According to the Local Government Code, local governments have statutory powers to enact zoning ordinances. Cities and municipalities shall continue to prepare and update their CLUPs in conformance with the guidelines by HLURB.
Two components get to control the planning system in the local perspective. The political component is the policy-making body which defines content and direction of local developments, where its principal function is to deliberate and take decisions or lay down policies. The technical component supplies the technical content and process of local planning. Given these different duties, we can see that the political component gets to decide while the technical component generally has no decision-making powers. A technical component is a group of professionals who holistically formulate the plans, covering all of the land use policy areas.
As engineer-planners, it is our duty to ensure that a balance between the built environment and general welfare is well-sought. Article XII Section 6 of the Constitution states that the use of property bears a social function. As members of the technical component, engineers must heed in preserving land uses and also take into consideration the effects of conversion to farmers.
One way to preserve agriculture is to classify it as protected. In the guidelines of HLURB, the reclassification of land is limited to a maximum percentage of the total agricultural land available in a municipality. This must be strictly imposed to ensure that no imbalance will occur. All irrigated and irrigable lands can also be spared in reclassification if delineated by the Department of Agriculture (DA). The local government must also specify sites in regional agri-industrial centers to be delineated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and DA. If in case that tourism development areas are sought by the local government, some agricultural lands can showcase innovations and traditions as primary attraction.
In the aspect of engineering, one agricultural land can be converted into an agri-tourism area by using 3D anamorphosis principle. This is an art technique used for a distorted work that will only appear normal when viewed from a certain angle. There is an existing rice paddy project by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, using the technique to welcome and inspire tourists and locals alike to pursue agriculture and farming.
Since the introduction of the New Urban Agenda in 2017, engineers must also consider sustainability as paramount. Infrastructure support such as farm-to-market roads, greenhouses, solar dryers, irrigation facilities among others, must be able to help lessen carbon emissions nowadays. Sustainable agriculture does not mean infrastructure alone. Indigenous or traditional methods of pre and post-production of harvests must also be promoted through a series of capacity development projects. Tradition, when incorporated with innovation and sustainability, may help farmers retain and conserve agricultural lands.
References:
1. Local Government Code (RA 7160)
2. Serote, E. (2004). Property, Patrimony & Territory: Foundations of Land Use Planning in the Philippines. Quezon City: UP Press.
3. Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (2014). CLUP Guidebook: A Guide in Comprehensive Land Use Plan Preparation
4. http://www.philrice.gov.ph for the 3D Anamorphosis
