World Bank Philippines Review
1.
Memorandum of the President of the International Bank for Reconstruction and development and the International Finance Corporation to the Executive Directors on a Country Assistance Strategy of the World Bank Group for the Republic of t he Philippines, April 30, 2002.
(CAS)
2.
(WBLA) World Bank, Project Appraisal of Land Administration and Management Project (September 20, 2000)
World Bank
Table 3-1 Linking the Bank's Assistance Strategy with the Medium-Term Philippine Development
Plan: Scale up the Land Administration and
Management capabilities and rural credit and expand microcredit to encourage rural investment, especially by the poor (CAS 17)
The Bank will also pilot further initiatives in microfinance, in community-based resource management, and in the Land Administration and
Management Program (LAMP), involving titling of land and security of tenure for poor farmers ancl also ensuring their responsiveness to genderbalance needs. LAMP can be scaled up to a national program after piloting demonstrates replicable models and the government establishes the legal and institutional basis. The community-based projects should reach the poor-men, women, indigenous peoples, and people in remote villages-so as to involve them in the development process. (CAS 22)
Problem
Disparity in agricultural land ownership is substantial. (CAS Annex H page 2)
Distortions in land markets and uncertainty of the land reform with process lower incentives for long-term investments in land improvements and tree crops, erode collateral value of land and limit free transfer of land. (CAS Annex H page
16)
Others
The Government’s Program: Based on the overarching goal of reducing poverty, the administration's medium-term policy agenda, as expressed in its updated
Medium-Term Philippine Development
Plan (MTPDP, 200104)2 is designed alongfourfocal areas: (1) macroeconomic stability and equitable, accelerated, and broad-based growth, based on free enterprise; (2) socially equitable modernization of agriculture and fisheries to achieve sustainable increases in ruralincomes and to include improved access to land tenure, extension services, rural infrastructure, and credit (CAS ii)
IFC is also looking to finance the Land
Registration Authority project that would help improve the land titling system.
(CAS Annex G page 12)
Land Admin & Management Budget (CAS Annex B8 CAS Consultations and Stakeholder The MTPDP recognizes that majority of

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Strategies: Land market reform (rural and urban).
(CAS Annex B9 page 5)
See CAS Annex B9 page 10 for description of strategy to provide secure tenure
CAS Consultations and Stakeholder
Recommendations: The National Land Use Code should be enacted and operationalized. The guidelines and standards for creating cities and managing them have to be clearly set. This will be addressed in a proposed Urban Sector Study, though it may not cover the details of the national land use code. This is also an area where City Development
Strategies (CDS) will assist selected cities on a demand-driven base. (CAS Annex G page 4)
The Land Administration and Management
Program (LAM Program) The LAM Program is a long-term commitment (could be 15-20 year program) by the Government of the Philippines. The overall goal of the program is to alleviate poverty and enhance economic growth by improving the security of land tenure and fostering efficient land markets in rural and urban areas, through the development of an efficient system of land titling and administration, which is based on clear, transparent, coherent and consistent policies and laws, and is supported by an
Recommendations: Study and create programs using alternative tenure system; expropriate land for socialized housing; use foreclosed land for housing; review and scale up the Community
Mortgage Program; review subsidy system for housing; provide resources for organizing and social preparation work; improve transportation and communication systems. Most of these would be addressed in the planned Urban
Shelter and Community Infrastructure LIL.
(CAS Annex G page 5) poor Filipinos still reside in the rural areas and depend on farming and fishing as their main source of livelihood. Hence,
Part II of the MTPDP outlines the country's plans for rural development through agriculture and fisheries modernization, as well as by advancing social equity through land reform, and promoting sustainable management of natural resources. (CAS Annex I page 2)
Weak and Inefficient Land Administration
System. There are a number of issues identified in the IPN which constrain the efficiency and effectiveness of the land administration system.
First, there are multiple agencies involved in land administration, with no overall institutional mechanism for resolving outstanding issues. As a result, many issues remain unresolved for a long time. Second, the major land administration laws are outdated, and some do not comply with recent land use legislation.
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appropriate institutional structure.
The long-term program would achieve:
* A clear, transparent, coherent and consistent set of land administration policies and laws;
* Accelerated programs that would formally recognize the rights of eligible land holders and facilitate the recording of these rights in a strengthened land administration system;
* An efficient land administration system operating throughout the Philippines in accordance with government policy, and responsive to the needs of the people, supported by a sustainable financing mechanism;
* An effective and transparent land valuation system, in line with internationally accepted standards, that serves the needs of all levels of government and the private sector; and i
A well functioning land market operating in both urban and rural areas.
(WBLA at 2)
Third, not all privately claimed alienable and disposable (A&D) land is titled. Fourth, existing land record management systems are inefficient, and there are limited inventories of land records.
Fifth, a large proportion of the records has been destroyed by war, theft, fire and water damage, or simply misplaced in the frequent transfer of records. Many of the remaining records are in exceedingly fragile condition and some have been illegally altered. Sixth, there is no complete set of cadastral maps that show titled and untitled properties on A&D land, and information in the Registry of Deeds (RODs) cannot be searched by parcel or cadastral map number. Thus, the titling system does not support quality control; consequently, multiple titles, overlap and gap titles are not easily detected. Seventh, land registry is not easily accessible and high transaction costs, discourage both, registration and investrnent.
Finally, all of these problems have eroded public confidence and trust in the titling and registration system as a whole.
-Rigid and Outdated Land Management and
Administration Policies.
-Multiple and Inconsistent Land Valuation
Systems Used in Various Government
Agencies.
Inefficient Land Markets.
(WBLA at 3)
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