House panel passes bill declaring KIG as 'alienable, disposable land

[adroth]

House panel passes bill declaring Kalayaan Islands as 'alienable, disposable land'
By CNN Philippines Staff

Updated 17:00 PM PHT Tue, December 26, 2017

http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/12/26/house-panel-kalayaan-islands.html

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 26) — A House panel has approved a measure seeking to declare the Kalayaan Island group in Palawan as "alienable and disposable land."

In a statement Tuesday, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed House Bill 5614, covering nine islands and three reefs in 730,000 square meter area in the South China Sea.

The bill was authored by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and House Majority Floor Leader Rudy Fariñas.

One of the eight islands in the Kalayaan Group is Pag-asa Island, where Chinese vessels were reported to have been seen in August. The island is within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the country, and the seat of the Kalayaan municipal government.

< Edited >

Bill authors Alvarez and Fariñas claimed the declaration is urgent to promote permanent dwelling and a source of livelihood for its residents. The declaration, according to the lawmakers, will promote business opportunities and trade and industry in the area by attracting investors.

< Edited >

The bill also aims to secure land for the residents in the municipality.

"Even residents who have been long tilling and developing the parcels of land within the Kalayaan Island Group cannot apply for title for their occupied area," the statement added.

< Edited >

The statement added that during the House panel's hearing, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Deputy Chief of Staff LtGen. Salvador Melchor Mison Jr. mentioned key points in the development plans for the island group amounting to ₱11.6 billion:

enhancement of island habitability ;
construction of a mooring space for Philippine Navy vessels and other vessels;
upgrading the island's defense structures ;
improvement of roads and air strip; and
provision of water, power and communication facilities.

[horge]

enhancement of island habitability ;
construction of a mooring space for Philippine Navy vessels and other vessels;
upgrading the island's defense structures ;
improvement of roads and air strip; and
provision of water, power and communication facilities.

None of ^that shit really requires bringing the torrens system into the picture, does it?

[El_Filibusterismo1978]

if its alienable then it will be under Torrens, Sir Horge..

hope the constitution will not be change re ownership of foreigners of land and/or residential property...

[horge]

if its alienable then it will be under Torrens, Sir Horge..

My point, El_F, was that NONE of the touted "improvements" to the facilities
on the islands REQUIRES converting the islands into alienable land.

hope the constitution will not be change re ownership of foreigners of land and/or residential property...

Foreign ownership isn't really required, when so many Filipinos are so eager
to serve as dummies/fronts/hosts for foreigners. A foreign state would be so
HAPPY to be able to fund a Filipino's acquisition of a parcel of land in KIG, and
shower him/her with more cash to maintain an ELINT/SIGINT cabinet for the
said foreign state.

The dumb fuck wouldn't even have to KNOW what he was doing, as the spy
equipment could be concealed in a "gift" like, say, an entertainment center, or
a communications base unit... but then all of that wouldn't require dividing and
subdividing 'alienable' KIG land torrens-style, either.

[adroth]

enhancement of island habitability ;
construction of a mooring space for Philippine Navy vessels and other vessels;
upgrading the island's defense structures ;
improvement of roads and air strip; and
provision of water, power and communication facilities.

None of ^that shit really requires bringing the torrens system into the picture, does it?

No it doesn't. The improvements to Pag-asa and all the other outposts are actually already taking place even before this bill passed. Editors probably spliced two different reports together into one story.

The measure was probably meant to help give teeth to the Municipality of Kalayaan's own master development plan that would divide the Pag-asa, and other islands into civilian areas and military zones.

Personally, I'd rather have the civilian areas owned by a GOCC that then issues long-term leases to Filipino residents or Filipino owned companies.

====

Anyone have any idea how the resort on Malaysia's Layang-layang got setup?