AN ACT DECLARING CERTAIN PORTIONS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT CENTER SITE OPEN FOR DISPOSITION TO BONA FIDE RESIDENTS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OR COMMUNITY FACILITIES

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of Republic Act No. 9207 (National Government Center Housing and Land Utilization Act of 2003):

Short Title (Section 1):
- This Act shall be known as the "National Government Center (NGC) Housing and Land Utilization Act of 2003."

Declaration of Policy (Section 2):
- It is the policy of the State to secure the land tenure of the urban poor.
- Lands located in the NGC, Quezon City shall be utilized for housing, socioeconomic, civic, educational, religious, and other purposes.

Disposition of Certain Portions of the NGC Site to Bona Fide Residents (Section 3):
- Proclamation No. 1826, Series of 1979, is amended by excluding 184 hectares on the west side and 238 hectares on the east side of Commonwealth Avenue.
- These areas are declared open for disposition to bona fide residents:
    - Determination of bona fide residents on the west side shall be based on the 1994 census survey.
    - Determination of bona fide residents on the east side shall be based on the 1994 census survey and the 2000 occupancy verification survey.
- Existing legal agreements, programs, plans, and actions consistent with this Act are adopted.

Disposition for Local Government or Community Facilities, Socioeconomic, Charitable, Educational, and Religious Purposes (Section 4):
- Certain portions of land within the aforesaid area are reserved for disposition for local government or community facilities, socioeconomic, charitable, educational, and religious institutions.
- Only institutions already operating and with existing facilities or structures, or those occupying the land, may avail of the disposition program.
- The existing site allocation shall be used as the basis for determining the specific areas for disposition.
- For institutions without specific lot allocations, the land area to be allocated shall be based on the area actually used by them at the time of effectivity of this Act.

National Government Center Administration Committee (Section 5):
- A National Government Center Administration Committee is created to administer, formulate guidelines and policies, and implement the land disposition.
- The Committee is chaired by the Chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, with members including the Chairperson of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, the Mayor of Quezon City, the General Manager of the National Housing Authority, the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways, and two representatives from duly recognized people's organizations (one from the NGC East side and one from the NGC West side).

Precedence of Proclamations (Section 6):
- Obligations arising from contracts entered into by the Home Guaranty Corporation pursuant to the implementation of previous proclamations shall remain valid, legal, and unassailable, as long as they are consistent with this Act.
- Conveyance contracts executed after the approval of this Act shall be entered into by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council or the National Housing Authority.
- The trusteeship function of the Home Guaranty Corporation over the National Government Center Housing Project (West side) is transferred to the National Housing Authority, excluding areas where the Home Guaranty Corporation has acquired proprietary interest.

Tax Exemption (Section 7):
- All lands already sold and/or disposed by the government pursuant to existing housing programs, and those to be disposed and/or sold after the effectivity of this Act, shall be exempted from payment of Capital Gains Tax.

Oversight Committee (Section 8):
- A Congressional Oversight Committee is created to monitor the disposition of land subject to this Act.
- The committee shall be composed of three Senators and three Representatives, appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively.
- The committee shall be co-chaired by the chairpersons of the Senate and House of Representatives committees on natural resources.

Implementing Rules and Regulations (Section 9):
- Within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of this Act, the National Government Center Administration Committee shall promulgate the rules and regulations to effectively implement the provisions of this Act.

Appropriations (Section 10):
- The funds necessary for the implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual appropriations of each agency concerned.

Repealing Clause (Section 11):
- All laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules and regulations, and issuances, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Separability Clause (Section 12):
- If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Effectivity (Section 13):
- This Act shall take effect upon its approval.