Section 15Sec./Art. 15

Lands for Authority Projects, Management, Conversion, and Classification. - Lands identified and designated for Housing and Urban and Rural Development, pursuant to Section 24 of Republic Act No. 11201, shall be assessed by the Authority for program or project feasibility. Should the site evaluation be in the affirmative, said lots may be transferred to the Authority for administration.

This shall not, however, preclude the Authority from pursuing its continuing mandate of identifying, acquiring, and managing lands for the immediate and future needs of its beneficiaries. In pursuit thereof, the Authority must consider, among others, the degree of availability of basic services and utilities, access to modes of transport, proximity to economic opportunities, and the preservation of the social capital of beneficiaries.

Subject to the approval of concerned government agencies, lands identified and approved by the Authority for rehabilitation projects to be developed within areas declared to be under a state of calamity by the President or any competent authority or upon the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) or any Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (LDRRMC), shall be converted and/or re-classified, to facilitate its immediate development.

For purposes of site selection under this modality, the Authority shall be guided by the hierarchy of priorities in the acquisition of land under Section 9 of Republic Act No. 7279, and ensure that protected lands, under special laws as Republic Act No. 8371, or the "Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997" and Republic Act No. 6657, or the "Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988", as amended, and other agrarian reform laws, shall be preserved for equally important land uses.

The Authority, in coordination with the DHSUD, the DILG, the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), shall craft the necessary rules and regulations to implement this provision within one hundred eighty (180) days after the approval of the Act.

The conversion and reclassification of lands for housing projects shall be without prejudice to the rights of the beneficiaries under Republic Act No. 6657, as amended.

The Authority, under the supervision of the DHSUD, shall take the lead in the disposition of the lands intended for calamity victims: Provided, That the Authority, in coordination with the LGUs, shall determine the beneficiaries according to existing rules and regulations and undertake the identification and evaluation of lands suitable for disposition.