Question & AnswerQ&A (PROCLAMATION NO. 537)
The main purpose of Proclamation No. 537 is to exclude certain parcels of land from the operation of Proclamation No. 781, series of 1935, which reserved the land for the Philippine Constabulary (now Philippine National Police), and to open these lands for disposition as socialized housing sites under a usufruct scheme for homeless Filipinos.
The parcels of land are located in Barangay Tiniguiban (now Tiniguiban), City of Puerto Princesa, Province of Palawan.
The exclusion is based on the determination that these lands have not been used for the purposes for which they were reserved for at least ten years, pursuant to Executive Order No. 131 and Republic Act No. 7279 on socialized housing and land tenure regularization.
Two parcels of land: LOT NO. 2596-B Cad 800-D (7,215 square meters) and LOT NO. 2596-D Cad 800-D (47,219 square meters), both portions of Lot 2596, Cad-800-D, Puerto Princesa Cadastre.
Under the usufruct scheme, the land will be administered by the Philippine National Police as administrator of the property, and qualified bona fide occupants are allowed to use and occupy the land without transfer of ownership.
The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) is tasked with assisting in organizing and facilitating the LIAC to manage the post-proclamation activities.
The LIAC facilitates and expedites the conduct of post-proclamation activities to dispose of the land to its bona fide occupants and ensures community development through participatory planning and other development schemes.
The initiative is grounded on the Philippine Constitution's mandate for the State to protect and advance the people's right to a balanced and healthful ecology, decent living conditions, and social justice.
This proclamation supports the government's anti-poverty strategies by redistributing physical assets to the poor via land tenure regularization and providing socialized housing to homeless Filipinos, reinforcing asset reform and poverty alleviation efforts.