Administrative Order No. 226 entitled, Suspending the processing and approval of all Land Use Conversion applications of all rice lands" was amended by the President with the issuance of Administrative Order No. 226-A last July 14, 2008.
AO 226-A provides for "suspension of the processing and approval of all land conversions applications affecting rice lands and lands mentioned under Republic Act No. 8435 considered as Network of Protected Areas for Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Development (NPAAD) which includes and covers all irrigated areas and all irrigable lands already covered by irrigation projects, for two (2) years."
In view thereof, the Secretary issued a Memorandum to the Center for Land Use Policy, Planning and Implementation (CLUPPI) and all Regional Directors to proceed with the processing of applications outside the coverage of the amended AO.
However, for monitoring purposes, he requested the Regional Directors to submit the details of the newly filed and pending applications to the DAR Central Office through CLUPPI on a regular basis. The CLUPPI shall likewise be furnished with copies of orders/decisions for LUC applications with areas below five hectares to strengthen the existing database.
In addition, The Secretary directed the RDs to strictly check and/or monitor illegal conversion of rice lands in their respective areas. He instructed all the concerned officials to observe the strict implementation of the amended Administrative Order.
[ file photo courtesy of www.gov.ph ]
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