Towards an Improved Management of Government Lands in the Philippines

Government lands in the Philippines constitute a significant portion of the land mass in the country, covering more than 50% of its total land area. The management of government lands, encompasses not only lands of the public domain but also lands of the private domain, its patrimonial properties. It has since been a policy of the government of the Philippines to dispose of its patrimonial properties. However, there is seemingly lack in policy particularly on the method of disposing these properties due to lack of criteria of what properties should be sold, leased or be the subject of joint venture agreements, that shall determine in which case the government will be at an advantage. Outdated laws, lack of policy on the management of patrimonial properties, duplication of functions of concerned agencies, lack of information to support decision-making and also the lack of capacity to manage these properties are major issues being confronted nowadays. To improve its management, recommendations were made by the study after the determination of the pre-conditions for efficient and transparent management of patrimonial properties, and its potentials, risks and limitations.