LMB 114TH ANNIVERSARY

SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

DENR SOCIAL HALL, QUEZON CITY

OPENING REMARKS

BY ATTY. EMELYNE V. TALABIS

ACTING DIRECTOR, LMB

A pleasant good morning to all our distinguished guests led by our DENR officials Undersecretaries Manuel Gerochi and Atty. Analiza Teh, former Assistant Secretary Atty. Roberto V. Oliva and former LMB Director and now Regional Director of DENR-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Engr. Ralph C. Pablo, former Director Atty. Ramon Casanova, Justice Oswaldo Agacoili, LMB officials and employees, my colleagues, friends, ladies and gentlemen!

It is with great pleasure and pride that I welcome you today in this year’s celebration of the 114th Anniversary of the Land Management Bureau (LMB).

Since its beginning in 1901, the Land Management Bureau, created by virtue of Act 218, known then as the Insular Bureau of Public Lands, had been in the forefront of the surveys, titling and disposition of public agricultural or alienable and disposable lands of the public domain. It was renamed Bureau of Lands in 1906 by virtue of Act 1407 and was placed under the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) in 1916.

Through the years, various initiatives were undertaken to speed up the survey and titling of these lands. The Bureau was then renamed as Land Management Bureau (LMB) in 1987 when Executive Order No. 192 was issued reorganizing the Department of Environment, Energy and Natural Resources into the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The Bureau of Lands evolved into the Land Management Bureau (LMB) under the now DENR, which performs staff functions while its line functions were transferred to the Regional and field offices. The LMB that we know now is the policy-making arm of the DENR, thus its main function is to recommends policies, programs, standards for the efficient and effective management and disposition of A and D lands of the public domain.

The true mark of an organization is its ability to consistently move forward, instituting necessary adjustments to cater to the ever-changing needs of its clients in particular, and the demands of public service in general. The land management and administration landscape of the country and of the world had been in constant advancement. And our land management and administration functions should not be left behind. The history of the Bureau of Lands or LMB as we are known now is replete with significant milestones. Later on, we will be showing an audio-video presentation to highlight these significant accomplishments.

The last decade saw us undertaking the Land Administration and Management Project (LAMP) which aims to reform the land administration system towards socio-economic development. The innovations and reforms implemented under this Project were aggressively pursued with the general objective of fast-tracking the survey and titling of public lands and improving the land information system through the computerization of land records nationwide, conduct of massive cadastral survey, and forging partnerships with local government units (LGUs). The Land Administration and Management System (LAMS), an information designed to provide effective management of land records and efficient land transactions and information services is now installed in all Regional and field Offices. The partnership with the LGUs nationwide on public land disposition was recognized and DENR was given a “Good Practice Award” by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on December 18, 2012. This year, we have completed the century-old cadastral survey of the entire country consisting of 1,634 cities and municipalities which was mentioned by the President, Benigno S. Aquino III, in his 6th State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 25, 2015. Indeed, the improvements realized over the years and the direction we are now pursuing are living testaments to our anniversary theme today which is “Achieving Land Management Reforms Through Digital Enabling Technology”.

Of course, we acknowledge that successes will not and cannot be successes without the challenges that we had encountered. The years also saw us hurdle all these challenges and making these as opportunities for us to grow into what we are today. All these must be attributed in great part to those who have served the Bureau and the land sector of DENR in one role or the other in the past years. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to thank both past and present dedicated agency officiais and personnel for their contributions to the Bureau’s success.

Today, as we commemorate our 114th Anniversary, I reaffirm the program thrusts of the DENR in continuously pursuing these reforms and seeing these into fruition. Next year, we aim to complete the data capture of all survey and public land records and the capacitation of our LGU partners in land disposition. We also affirm the 30-year Land Sector Development Framework (LSDF) which will define the direction and the future of land management in the DENR in particular and the country in general.

Ang direksyong ito ay maituturing kong isang mahalagang paglalakbay para sa land sector. This journey is long and hard and there may be many obstacles along the way that might delay us from reaching our destination. No matter, as long as we do not lose sight of our destination, and we are determined to reach it, we will succeed. Friends, ladies and gentlemen, HAPPY LANDS ANNIVERSARY! Let us all be merry and take pride in what we have achieved and look forward to future successes to come. Thank you!

And now, I invite you to watch this presentation..