President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. will sign an executive order declaring that all idle government lands would be used for national housing programs, Malacanang announced on Monday, Nov. 7.

In a press statement, the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said the order would be directing the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHUSD), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Land Registration Authority (LRA) to conduct an inventory to identify the idle lands, estimated to be more than 16,000 hectares.

The OPS said with the issuance of the EO, it would be implementing Section 24 of the Republic Act. 11207 which mandates “several government agencies to jointly identify idle state lands suitable for housing and rural development.”

Under the said law, the DHSUD is also empowered to “own and administer government-owned lands that have not been utilized for the purpose they have been originally reserved or acquired for at least 10 years and identified as suitable for urban development.”

The OPS clarified that the executive will enforce the “existing law” and not “create new regulations.”

Marcos is scheduled to meet with banks and financial institutions to assist DHSUD to reach its target of building one million units per year or six million by 2028.