/PNA
MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte wants the land use conversion process streamlined to avoid delays and curb corruption, Malacañang said on Thursday.
In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President “went to an outburst” while the land use conversion process was being discussed in a Cabinet meeting held Wednesday night.
“The President was so frustrated, he spent I think half an hour saying that he was so frustrated about the requirements,” Panelo said.
Panelo said the President was particularly dismayed that it took two years to process the land conversion due to too many requirements being imposed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the local governments.
“Ang dami eh, kaya iyon ang pinoproblema ng mga nasa departamento. (There are so many. So that’s the problem of those in the department),” Panelo said.
“So they are trying to streamline that, mayroong mga suggestions kung anong gagawin para mapabilis kasi nakatengga ang iba. Siyempre — ang sabi nga ni Presidente, maraming tulisan, kung walang pera o padulas hindi gumagalaw. (There are suggestions on what to do to fast-track the process because some are not processed. As the President said, many thieves, if no bribe money, it will not be processed),” he added.
He also cited the alleged intimidation from the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels as the other cause of delay.
“And then ang problema pa daw sabi ni Presidente, ‘pag pumunta ka doon sa mga lugar na maraming NPAs, pagpunta roon ng mag-e-examine eh tatakutin, “Huwag ka nang bumalik rito kung hindi ibabaon ka namin,” eh wala, hindi na babalik, (The problem, according to the President, if you will go to the NPA-infested areas to examine, they (DENR staff) will be threatened: ‘Don’t go back again or else will bury you,’ so nobody will return),” Panelo said.
Panelo said the government will impose a definite timeline for processing of required permits to expedite the land conversion process.
Duterte earlier threatened Department of Agrarian Reform officials that they may face dismissal if they continue to slowly process land conversions papers.
