Photo Release

IRR circumventing the law: Sen. Francis Pangilinan, during the hybrid plenary session deliberating on the budget of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Thursday, November 19, 2020, raises an issue on the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 10752 which he said renders the law itself inutile. Pangilinan said that under RA 10752, or “The Right-of-Way Act,” owners of real property acquired for national government infrastructure projects eligible for compensation must be a Filipino citizen; must not own any real property or any other housing facility, whether in an urban or rural area; and must not be a professional squatter or a member of a squatting syndicate. However, the IRR has a fourth criteria that could not be found in the law, which states that the property owner who will be compensated for their structures must not occupy an existing government right-of-way, the senator said. “The additional requirement under the IRR becomes a hindrance, obviously, in the implementation of the law. It seems that people applying for replacement costs under the Right-of-Way Act can be entitled to replacement costs only if they are not occupying an existing right-of-way,” Pangilinan said. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)