LAMP II comes to an end

After 9 years and two phases of the Philippines-Australia Land Administration and Management Project LEI have sadly closed the project office on 30 June 2010. Much has been achieved on this project with some of the most notable accomplishments including:

• The signing of the Residential Free Patent Law (Republic Act 10023) in March 2010 and the issuance of the associated Implementing Rules and Regulations in May 2010. These significant legislative and administrative reforms will enable the titling of residential properties.
• The development of a draft Land Sector Development Framework (LSDF) using an extensive consultation process to provide the strategic directions and programming for the long-term land administration and management reforms.
• The establishment of a Centre for Land Administration and Management in the Philippines (CLAMP) within the Land Management Bureau (LMB). CLAMP will
  a) conduct in-house continuing professional development, and disseminate research and publication outcomes beyond the project;
  (b) assist in mainstreaming new technologies and practices developed by the project; and
  (c) support the development and dissemination of new knowledge and technologies generated by project activities in the future.
• The approval of the Real Estate Services Act (RESA) by the Senate in June 2009 and the preparation of twenty four valuation standards (VS) and procedural manuals to introduce uniform standards for valuing and taxing properties for the first time across the Philippines.
• The establishment of land administration and valuation courses at Visayas State University (VSU), the University of the Philippines School of Urban and Regional Planning (UP-SURP) and University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) to provide the Government of the Philippines with a cadre of well trained professionals to continue to implement and improve land administration reforms in the Philippines.
• The training of over 500 staff in cadastral surveying, land adjudication, and land related services.
• The creation of three One-Stop-Shops (OSS) that bring under one roof all agencies involved in the issuance of title and subsequent land transactions, integrating land administration and management agencies and contributing to better service delivery. The OSS in Leyte now allows people to get true copies of a certificate of title in just three hours (previously it would take 2 weeks). There is a customer desk that handles requests lessening the burden and cost of customers in transacting through various agencies at different locations. The increasing transactions from 2002 up to 2007, translated to increased revenues of 281% and 308% for Registry of Deeds (RoD) and Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), respectively.
• The production of standardized procedures of simplified survey and mapping and accelerated land titling for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources resulted in the production of credible surveys, prevention of fake titles and opportunities for people to get their land titles at a lesser cost and waiting time than the previous process.
• The introduction of gender mainstreaming techniques to ensure greater equity, inheritance and human rights to security of tenure. The social benefits of title have included resolution of land disputes, elimination of anxiety from forcible eviction, unhampered transfer of property to heirs and a secure base for home. The evidence from the project has revealed that secure tenure has instilled confidence in owners to make improvements to their land and property and lead to a sense of greater community responsibility to improve local environmental and living conditions.