TACLOBAN CITY — House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan has called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify as urgent the passage of a National Land-Use Law, stressing that the widespread flooding and destruction caused by Typhoon “Tino” highlight the country’s weak land-use planning.
“The tragic loss of lives and the devastation left by Typhoon Tino once again expose the severe gaps in our national land-use planning and disaster risk management,” Libanan said in a statement. “We are paying the price for decades of policy inaction.”
Libanan said proper land-use planning is essential to protect communities from natural hazards and ensure environmental sustainability.
“Proper land-use planning is a matter of survival in this era of brutal climate change,” he said, adding that the government must stop allowing settlements in areas prone to flooding, landslides, and storm surges.
He warned that the Philippines will continue to face stronger and wetter storms due to climate change and must therefore adopt forward-looking land-use policies to safeguard forests, watersheds, and coastal areas that serve as natural defenses.
The proposed National Land-Use Law, he explained, will serve as the country’s master framework for the allocation and management of land and natural resources, balancing human settlement, economic growth, and environmental protection.
Libanan lamented that the measure has languished in Congress since the 1990s. “In the 19th Congress, the House passed the bill on third and final reading, but the Senate was unable to act on it,” he said.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
