MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
[ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 698, January 18, 2008 ]
STRENGTHENING PROCLAMATION NO. 1637, S. 1977, WHICH DECLARED THE LUNGSOD SILANGAN TOWNSITE RESERVATION, AND DESIGNATING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS OF ANTIPOLO, SAN MATEO AND RODRIGUEZ, ALL IN THE PROVINCE OF RIZAL, AS ADMINISTRATOR OF AREAS IDENTIFIED AS NEW TOWNSITE FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES OF METRO MANILA AND RIZAL PROVINCE
WHEREAS, Article XIII, Section 9 of the 1987 Constitution provides that the State shall, by law, undertake a continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will make available at affordable cost, decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas;
WHEREAS, there is a need to guide and improve the allocation, utilization, management, and development of the country's land resources, and to ensure their optimum use, under the principles of economic growth and efficiency, social equity and justice;
WHEREAS, Proclamation No. 1283, dated 21 June 1974, reserved 5,005 hectares of land situated in Antipolo for Townsite purposes under the provisions of the Public Land Act;
WHEREAS, Proclamation No. 1637, dated 18 April 1977, amended Proclamation No. 1283 by increasing the area covered by the Lungsod Silangan Townsite to 20,312 hectares of properties comprising portions of Antipolo City, Municipalities of San Mateo and Rodriguez, in the Province of Rizal;
WHEREAS, the government is aware that shelter programs generate multiple economic benefits to the marginalized sectors of society and result in the pump priming of our economy and the simulation of growth in all sectors;
WHEREAS, the President has laid out a Ten-point Agenda to decongest Metro Manila by forming new cores of government and housing centers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao;
WHEREAS, the Local Government Units of Antipolo, San Mateo and Rodriguez, all in the Province of Rizal, are spearheading the initiative to help alleviate the housing problem and are committed to fast-track the initiatives as spelled out in Memorandum Order No. 72 in support of the National Shelter Program;
WHEREAS, such initiative showcases this Administration's seriousness in its anti-poverty strategies, particularly on asset reform that directs the redistribution of physical assets to the poor;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:
Section 1. The Local Government Units (LGUs) of Antipolo, San Mateo and Rodriguez, all in the Province of Rizal, are hereby designated as the administrator of parcels of land within the Lungsod Silangan Townsite Reservation, which shall then be declared as "New Townsite for Government Employees of Metro Manila and Rizal Area", subject to private rights, if any there be and to final survey.
As administrator, these concerned LGUs, within their respective territorial jurisdiction, shall manage and oversee the development, including the use of proclaimed sites as resource mobilization strategy to raise alternative funds for immediate development of the New Town Housing Project.
Section 2. The Land Registration Authority (LRA), under the supervision of the Department of Justice (DOJ), shall assist the concerned LGUs in the determination of government lands subject to the New Town Housing Project, in coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Section 3. The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) shall assist the concerned LGUs in the formulation of development plans and implementing guidelines for the New Town Housing Projects of each locality.
Section 4. The DENR shall cause the conduct of boundary and parcellary survey on areas to be administered by the concerned LGUs and shall be the agency primarily responsible for the disposition of these lands pursuant to the provisions of Public Land Act by virtue of Proclamation No. 1283, as amended by Proclamation No. 1637.
Section 5. The concerned LGUs and HUDCC may call on other government agencies for assistance in the formulation of development plans of Lungsod Silangan Townsite Reservation.
Section 6. All orders, issuances, rules and regulations, or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Order are hereby amended or modified accordingly.
Section 7. This Order shall take effect upon publication in a national newspaper of general circulation.
Done in the City of Manila, this 18th day of January, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Eight.
(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
By the President:
(Sgd.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary
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