To ensure optimal use of government lands, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered for the creation of an inter-agency coordinating council that will consolidate the master list of all lands owned by the state.

The move will also boost the administration’s Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, according to the President.

In Administrative Order No. 21 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin on April 30, President Marcos emphasized one of the key strategies identified in the PDP 2023-2028 to establish liveable communities “is the creation of a database containing a complete inventory of idle government lands.”

“To ensure the efficient and effective allocation and utilization of land resources for the country’s national development goals, it is necessary to consolidate a comprehensive list of all government lands,” President Marcos said.

With this, Marcos created an Inter-Agency Coordinating Council tasked to create a “Master List” of all government lands.

The Coordinating Council is composed of the heads of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) as co-chairpersons while the Department of Agriculture (DA) will serve as vice chair.

Members of the Coordinating Council are the Office of the Executive Secretary; Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG); DA; Office of the Solicitor General (OSG); Department of Justice (DOJ); Land Registration Authority (LRA); Commission on Higher Education (CHED); and the Department of Information and Communications (DICT).

The DENR-Land Management Bureau (LMB) will serve as the Secretariat of the Coordinating Council.

Copy of the AO 21 is available at the Official Gazette where duties and functions of the Coordinating Council are stated along with other clauses. The AO 21 shall take effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation. Presidential News Desk