President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered the creation of an inter-agency coordinating council to consolidate the master list of all government lands to ensure optimal use.

In his Administrative Order (AO) No. 21 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin on April 30, Marcos said one of the key strategies identified in the Philippine Development Plan 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,” Marcos said in the AO.

The coordinating council will be co-chaired by 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 the 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.

All government offices are tasked to submit to the body their respective land inventories for consolidation.

Meanwhile, the coordinating council is tasked to submit to the President within 180 days from the effectivity of the implementing guidelines of AO 21 a digital master list of all government lands.

The AO 21 shall take effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation. (PNA)