DENR urges LMP-Bohol to initiate local land titling program

By Rey Anthony H. Chiu

Sunday 18th of March 2012

CORTES, Bohol, March 18 (PIA) -- The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) in Bohol urged members of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP Bohol Chapter) to initiate a local government-led land titling program as potent source of revenues.

Bohol PENRO Nestor Canda informed the mayors in a March 15 league meeting that around 100,000 lots in Bohol had been parceled and most of them are untitled.

“Several of these untitled lots are actually residential and are right in the heart of towns,” Canda said and added that untitled lots indicated low economic activity.

The PENRO explained that untitled lots can not be made as loan collaterals hence, fewer investments and slower economic growth and less job creation opportunities.

Canda noted that for towns with poor tax collection they usually do not get the most realty tax revenues from untitled lots.

These results to tax arrears that constraints LGUs to collect taxes from their constituents thus, hampering local budgeting and income, Canda stated.

He told the mayors that the situation also breeds poor social services and more poverty issues.

“Not to mention conflict between and among family heirs, clans and neighbors squabbling over boundaries,” Canda shared.

Campaigning for support to the government land titling program, Canda said World Bank funded the Land Administration Management Project (LAMP 1 and 2) that had been terminated but the DENR saw possible funding from the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program funds which ends in 2014.

To impress upon the mayors the economic potentials of LGU-led titling program, Canda informed the local executives that in its LAMP heydays, Bohol distinguished herself with the biggest number of distributed land titles.

DENR-CENRO information officer Glicerita Racho added that the learning in putting up LGU-led land titling has become a national template.

“The Maribojoc-led Land Titling program has earned the town the Galing Pook Award for Innovation last year,” Racho told the mayors.

Racho added that while DENR is mandated to process land titling even beyond LAMP, she encouraged the LMP to set up their respective LGU-led titling and land information programs because it has all the potentials for increase tax revenues and an orderly documentation of all land information stored at the Municipal Assessor’s Office.

Racho also pointed out that most LGU concerns are land related: real property tax, business and building permits, natural resource share, solid waste management, urban development and housing as well as environmental protection.

“Just think of how many conflicts and issues can be resolved in issuing land titles,” Canda concluded. (mbcn/rahc/PIA-Bohol)