TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
.. 
of lii' £
)
25 AUG-6 AID :23
S. No.
SENATE
1002
RliCeVi'D 3V
Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada
AN ACT
UPHOLDING THE RIGHT OF ACQUISITION BY QUALIFIED BENEFICIARIES 
OF GOVERNMENT-OWNED LANDS THEY ACTUALLY OCCUPY, AMENDING 
CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBER SEVEN THOUSAND TWO 
HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE (R.A. 7279), OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE URBAN 
DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING ACT OF 1992, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This bill seeks to allow the unprivileged and homeless citizens in urban and 
resettlement areas who are actual occupants of government-owned lands dedicated 
to socialized housing to have the primary right in acquiring the said land.
Presidential Decree No. 1517, the Urban Land Reform Act, was issued by then 
President Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1978. The decree adopted as a State policy the 
liberation of human communities from blight, congestion and hazard, the promotion 
of their development and modernization, and the optimum use of land as a national 
resource for public welfare.
In 1992, Congress passed Republic Act No. 7279 or the "Urban Development 
and Housing Act of 1992". The iaw laid down as a policy that the State shall undertake 
a comprehensive and continuing urban development and housing program to uplift 
the conditions of the underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban areas and 
resettlement areas by making available to them decent housing at affordable cost. 
Pursuant to this, ail city and municipal governments were mandated to conduct an
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inventory of all lands and improvements within their respective localities and, in 
coordination with the National Housing Authority, the Housing and Land Use 
Regulatory Board, the National Mapping Resource Information Authority, and the Land 
Management Bureau, identify and acquire lands for socialized housing and 
resettlement areas. Said lands shall be disposed of to qualified beneficiaries of the 
program.
Under Republic Act No. 7279, lands for socialized housing are to be acquired 
through several modes. These modes include the following: (1) community mortgage: 
(2) land swapping; (3) land assembly or consolidation; (4) land banking; (5) 
expropriation. Government-owned and foreclosed properties shall be acquired 
through negotiated purchase. Under the law's implementing rules and regulations, 
negotiated purchase allows the transmission of property from one person to another 
by agreement among the parties. In the case of government-owned and foreclosed 
land, the parties include the actual occupants and the National Housing Authority or 
the local government units, as the case may be.
While the law gives qualified beneficiaries who are actual occupants of 
government owned and foreclosed land the right of first refusal. However, nothing 
precludes the government from bidding out the land and offering it to other qualified 
beneficiaries. Thus, there have been instances where the homeless and 
underprivileged were not given priority in owning government-owned lands they 
actually occupied because these lands were sold to other qualified beneficiaries who 
could afford to pay more. While it is the intent of the law to uphold transparency and 
accountability in the disposition of government-owned properties through public 
bidding, there is a need to balance this with the mandate of the State to make decent 
housing affordable to the underprivileged and the homeless, especially to the land's 
actual occupants.
This bill addresses that situation by providing for a mode of acquisition where 
government-owned land is acquired without public bidding in cases where the actual 
occupants of the land who are qualified beneficiaries signify their intentions to acquire


the land for their own. Only when the actual occupants refuse to exercise such right 
and cannot afford to pay the valuation set for the land shall it be subjected to public 
bidding.
In view of the foregoing, the urgent approval of this bill is earnestly sought.
OY EJERCITO ESTRADA


TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
]. ' 
of ill.
)
SENATE
s. No.
25 AUG-6 A10 :23
lUiCElVcD BY
Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada
AN ACT
UPHOLDING THE RIGHT OF ACQUISITION BY QUALIFIED BENEFICIARIES 
OF GOVERNMENT-OWNED LANDS THEY ACTUALLY OCCUPY, AMENDING 
CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBER SEVEN THOUSAND TWO 
HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE (R.A. 7279), OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE URBAN 
DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING ACT OF 1992, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assem bled:
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Section 1. Section 10 of Republic Act no. 7279, otherwise known as the "Urban
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Development and housing Act of 1992" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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"Section. Modes of Land Acquisition. The modes of acquiring
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lands for purposes of this Act shall include, among others,
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community mortgage, land swapping, land assembly or
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consolidation, land banking, donation to the Government,
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joint-venture agreement, negotiated purchase, and
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expropriation: Provided, however, That expropriation shall be
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resorted to only when other modes of acquisition have been
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exhausted: Provided further, That where expropriation is
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resorted to, parcels of land owned by small property owners
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shall be exempted for purposes of this Act: Provided, finally,
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That abandoned property, as herein defined, shall be reverted


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and escheated to the State in a proceeding analogous to the 
procedure laid down in Rule 91 of the Rules of Court.
"For the purpose of socialized housing, government-owned 
and foreclosed properties shall be acquired by the local 
government units, or by the National Housing Authority 
primarily through negotiated purchase: Provided, That 
qualified beneficiaries who are actual occupants of the land 
shall be given the right of first refusal. FOR THIS PURPOSE, 
NEGOTIATED PURCHASE SHALL MEAN THE TRANSFER 
OF PROPERTY FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER 
AGREEMENT AMONG THE PARTIES.
"WHERE THE ACTUAL OCCUPANTS OF GOVERNMENT- 
OWNED PROPERTY FOR SOCIALIZED HOUSING 
SIGNIFY THAT THEY INTEND TO EXERCISE THEIR 
RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL, THEY MAY ACQUIRE SAID 
PROPERTY THROUGH NEGOTIATED PURCHASE, 
SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: 
THE SUBJECT PROPERTY HAS BEEN CERTIFIED FOR 
SOCIALIZED HOUSING PURPOSE;
"A) THE OCCUPANT IS QUALIFIED BENEFICIARY, IN 
ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 16 AND 17 OF THIS 
ACT;
"B) THE OCCUPANT HAS RESIDED ON THE SUBJECT 
PROPERTY FOR AT LEAST TEN (10) YEARS, AS 
CERTIFIED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT 
CONCERNED; AND,
"C) ANY SUBSEQUENT DISPOSITION OF THE 
PROPERTY SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE LIMITATIONS 
PROVIDED IN SECTION 14 HEREOF. THE COST OF 
LAND ACQUISITION SHALL BE MADE AFFORDABLE 
TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE LAND 
VALUATION REQUIRED IN SECTION 13 OF THIS ACT.


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"EXCEPT IN THE AFOREMENTIONED INSTANCE, ALL
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OTHER SALE OF GOVERNMENT-OWNED PROPERTY
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UNDER THIS ACT SHALL BE SUBJECT TO PUBLIC
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BIDDING, AS PROVIDED FOR BY LAW."
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Sec. 2. Separability Clause. - If any provision or provision of this Act is declared
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unconstitutional or invalid, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected
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thereby shall remain in force and effect.
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Sec. 3. Repealing Clause. — Any law, presidential decrees or issuance, executive
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orders, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or
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inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified or amended
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accordingly.
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Sec. 4. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date
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of its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,