Magandang umaga po sa ating lahat.

I’d like to extend my appreciation to the LMB – the Land Management Bureau and the entire land sector as we celebrate your anniversary with the theme – Land for Life.
This theme recognizes and emphasizes the intrinsic value of our land and its critical role in improving our people’s lives.

It calls upon the Department as a whole to take pro-active steps to protect, restore, and sustainably manage our land resources for the current as well as for the future generations.

Achieving Land for Life requires a wholistic and coordinated efforts involving government agencies, local governments, local communities, civil society, the private sector and the academe as well as our development partners.

Governance is defined as structures and processes that are designed to ensure accountability, transparency, responsiveness, rule of law, stability, equity, inclusiveness, empowerment, and broad-based participation.

Governance in land management is essential to strike a delicate balance between various conflicting interests as to land use. It ensures that the decision making in land use favors utilization is economically viable, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable.

For us at the DENR, that means the management of our land actually impact the management of our air, the atmosphere, as well as our oceans. We cannot separate these three domains.

The journey towards effective governance in land management in the Philippines is admittedly in its very early stages. It’s a path mark to challenges that demand our collective efforts to address its inherent complexity.

There’s a critical undertaking with various implications for our community and our shared future.

As you all know, there are many bills relating to the National Land Use Act and these will be part of our challenge as well as opportunity for the LMB and the Department to make significant contributions to the sustainable and resilient development of our country.

We need to be prepared to participate substantively and constructively in the debates for the passage of the right Act for our country.

I am pleased to learn that the LMB has taken significant steps in institutionalizing good governance by implementing projects and programs that promote aspects of governance such as transparency and responsiveness.

To highlight some of these, the modernization of land administration through the Land Administration and Management System or LAMS Philippines to enhance efficiency and accuracy in lands record management and fast track land transaction services.

Secondly, transparent land governance policies that promotes social equity are reorganizing and securing land tenure for all regardless of your socioeconomic status.
And online platforms for land related services to enhance accessibility, reduce paper work, and provide a more efficient experience for our clients and our stakeholders.
Moreover, I understand that the 6-year direction of LMB on land management is anchored on the Philippine Development Plan. It is hoped that through these plans, LMB continues to build an effective governance on land management programs and policies that will contribute to the country’s economic growth but also to the social development of our communities through increased revenues, improved geospatial planning and development, disaster risk reduction, secure land tenure systems, and the productive use of these land resources.

I also understand that the LMB is currently implementing modernization and digitization efforts of land records and services. I encourage you to coordinate with Central Office especially the Office of the Undersecretary for Integrated Environmental Science. It is critical, as I said, in managing our natural resources whether they be on land, whether they be in the sea or in our coastal areas.

As we build the DENR Geospatial Database, interfacing Geospatial Database Office can accelerate the land surveying and land titling services, and ensure that these services are done and delivered to your end-users in the most accurate and efficient manner.

I call on you to work together in enhancing operational innovation that will ultimately benefit our clientele, our stakeholders, our constituents, our communities and stakeholders are in need of all these efficiencies and I’d like to emphasize the following key points and ways forward for the sector:

First. We need to revisit our land management approach by recognizing lands as economic but also for their social and cultural importance.
Investment areas must be identified. This perspective recognizes the fundamental value of our land. As a valuable asset that will generate economic returns, promote development without compromising ecological and societal functions.

Moreover, land provides our communities with a sense of social and cultural belonging and identity. This must be respected in a way that we manage our resources.
Secondly. We must strengthen and update policies and simplify and streamline these figures and requirements on land disposition and surveys to adapt to new and appropriate technological and computerized or digital land services in order to increase our efficiency and our accuracies.

Thirdly. We need to implement foreshore lines and limitations for climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as for disaster risk reduction.

Fourth. We need to do our inventory for available land in all the regions through the use of technology such as geographic information systems, satellite imagery, and other types of remote sensing surveying technologies to beg into account all potential uses of land and their values related to food, water, energy security, as well as urban development and the rural development of our communities.

Fifth. We need to accelerate the land disposition activities and ensure that our commitments under the Philippine Development Plan are achieved.
Sixth. We need to implement the linking of and data sharing of DENR’s lands with other agencies most especially with the local government units to avoid duplication of functions and ensure the integrity of the patents that are being issued.

While we celebrate our achievement in modernizing land management through effective land governance, let’s also acknowledge our journey is far from complete, that we are on the way.

I urge the LMB to work with the other bureaus of the department in a dynamic and intersective way such as the Forest Management Bureau, and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau as well as the Environmental Management Bureau.

The Biodiversity Management Bureau is also critical to maintain the integrity of ecosystems and the value of our land assets. This will ensure a truly holistic approach and strategic vision in managing the lands of the republic.

It will also unlock the potential of lands and harness the unique attributes that may bring about responsible development and investment without compromising our quest for a resilient future.

This holistic mindset will empower LMB to be able to make decisions that lead to sustainability, resilience and social equity.
On social equity, I commend the LMB in the National Capital Region in marking this anniversary with the awarding of the residential free patents in several deeds of sale to the beneficiaries.

It is my honor to hand out these titles to the awardees over lots disposed under Proclamation No. 172 located in several barangays in Taguig City as well as other cities in NCR.

This significant activity is an integral part of our journey towards a more equitable and sustainable future for all.

Congratulations po sa mga tatanggap ng titulo today. Isang karangalan sa akin po na makasama kayo sa okasyon na ito.

In ending my long message, I extend my deepest gratitude to all the men and women of the Land Management Bureau, the regional offices, our provincial community, and community offices for your invaluable contributions towards effective land management.

As we continue our journey, let us renew our commitment towards a more sustainable and modernized land administration and management.
At sana po maalala po ninyo yung reminder po. Reminder ko po during the flag ceremony in Central Office. Every signature that you place on a piece of paper, may you have the courage to be loyal to our country, first of all in the development quest for our own sustainable Philippines.

Land for Life is not just a theme, it is a rallying cry for responsible land governance and I hope that you will all join together on this journey. Again, happy 122nd anniversary and congratulations po sa inyong lahat.