MANILA — The country’s chief economist said the draft executive order aimed at a two-year farm land conversion ban would “unlikely” be signed by President Duterte anytime soon. ADVERTISEMENTLast year, economic managers and the umbrella agency for housing development have called on the DAR to instead pursue the enactment of a national land use law as well as strictly implement existing land use regulations instead of imposing a two-year ban on farm land conversion. When the applications for conversion to agro-industrial use are denied, the land requirements of agriculture-based processing and manufacturing activities may not be met,” the position paper read. The impact on housing development could not also be ignored, with the housing backlog expected to exceed 5.5 million units this year, Perniaadded. “The ban on land use conversion will introduce further delays in reducing the backlog.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer April 02, 2017 09:00 UTC