March on Greenistas! Pre-SONA event headed by Haribon

This morning of July 25, the Quezon City Memorial Circle bled green as the Haribon Foundation led the Green March as a precursor to President Noynoy Aquino's upcoming State of the Nation Address. 

The activity's aim is to serve as a reminder for the President to prioritize the Green Bills (National Land Use Act, Alternative Minerals Management Bill and the Forest Resource Bill) as legislative priorities.

The National Land Use Act (NLUA) or Senate Bill No 3091 as of February 2013 is pending on 3rd reading in the Senate. It has been floating in Congress for almost 20 years. Aquino has certified the NLUA as urgent which will allow fast tracking of the bill. The NLUA is a national framework for the management and allocation of the country's natural resources which seeks to create a National Physical Framework Plan that will categorize land resources into 4 categories:

• Protection (for conservation)
• Production (for crops, fishery, livestock and poultry)
• Settlements development (for residential purposes)
• Infrastructure development (for transportation, communication, water resources, social infrastructure) 

To oversee the implementation of the bill once it becomes a law, a national land use authority will be created, replacing the National Economic and Development Authority Board-National Land Use Committee. Under the House version, the department will be called the National Land Use Policy Council. Under the Senate version, it will be named the National Land Use Commission. 

This blog will provide more information on the Alternative Minerals Management Bill and the Forest Resource Bill in following posts. As to whether the Green March would have proven effective remains to be seen. Stay tuned on July 28 as the President delivers his 5th SONA.

*Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources, Inc. is a membership organization committed to nature conservation through community empowerment and scientific excellence.The name Haribon was coined from Haring Ibon or the Philippine Eagle. It was so named because the existence of the king of birds is a perfect barometer of the state of our forests.

* NLUA information extracted from Rappler