QuestionsQuestions (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 2016)
It prohibits the eviction/dispossession of qualified occupant families in lands identified and proclaimed as Areas for Priority Development (APD) or Urban Land Reform Zones (or ZIP/SIR projects), and ensures coverage under the Urban Land Reform Law for land tenure and tenancy issues, while also exempting such privately-owned lands from payment of real property taxes.
Any slum or similarly depressed community identified and proclaimed as an APD or Urban Land Reform Zone, or a ZIP project in Metro Manila, or an SIR program for regional cities. Their land tenure and tenancy issues are governed by the Urban Land Reform Law.
It prohibits eviction or dispossession of a qualified tenant/occupant family residing for ten (10) years or more, reckoned from the date of issuance of PD No. 1517 (the Urban Land Reform Law), from lands proclaimed as APD/Urban Land Reform Zones or covered ZIP/SIR programs.
By directly ordering that qualified occupant families residing for at least ten years in the covered areas shall not be evicted or dispossessed, thereby preventing landowners from defeating the occupants’ rights through overpriced offers followed by eviction for failure to buy.
PD No. 2016 strengthens and operationalizes protections consistent with Section 6 of PD 1517 by enforcing that qualified families in Urban Land Reform Zone/APD areas shall not be dispossessed and are protected against eviction schemes.
It applies specifically to a ‘tenant or occupant family’ that meets the residency qualification (residing for ten years or more reckoned from the effectivity/reference date of PD 1517) in the covered proclaimed areas.
The National Housing Authority (NHA) is designated as the representative or Administrator of the government for land owned by it or classified as public, and it supervises negotiations on occupancy fees.
Each qualified occupant family shall pay the landowner a reasonable amount as an occupancy fee, determined through negotiations between occupant families and the owner under NHA supervision.
PD No. 2016 bars eviction/dispossession of qualified occupant families residing for the required period in covered areas; however, Section 6 creates an obligation to pay reasonable occupancy fees pending acquisition. The text does not explicitly state consequences for nonpayment, so students should analyze whether failure to pay may affect rights under the implementing rules and other applicable laws.
Privately-owned lands that have been identified and proclaimed as APD/Urban Land Reform Zones (or covered ZIP/SIR projects) are exempt from the payment of real property taxes.
To ensure accuracy and legitimacy of the proclaimed sites through actual physical and environmental surveys of each identified site, then to submit an updated list with municipal/city concurrence for recommendation and proclamation.
It must concur in the updated list of sites submitted by NHA for recommendation and proclamation as APD/Urban Land Reform Zones.
Once a depressed community is identified and proclaimed, NHA must include it in its pipeline projects under ZIP (Metro Manila) or SIR (regional cities) and officially inform owners if the land is privately-owned, then initiate discussions on programmed acquisition in accordance with existing laws.
NHA must conduct a census of all families residing in proclaimed APD/Urban Land Reform Zones. This census becomes the basis for determining priority of award of homelots to occupant families.
The General Manager of NHA must formulate rules and regulations for implementation of the decree, which must be approved by the NHA Board of Directors.
Whether the proclamation/listing of the site is valid and properly updated/verified according to the survey and concurrence requirements, because the decree’s protections hinge on lands identified and proclaimed as covered areas.
It provides that all laws, decrees, executive orders, and rules/regulations inconsistent with PD No. 2016 are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
If any section/provision is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other unaffected provisions continue in full force and effect.