Before the 10th public hearing on Thursday, November 7, the House Quad Committee panel filed a bill seeking to confiscate any illegally acquired real estate by foreign nationals.
According to the panel, the bill seeks to provide for a civil forfeiture in favor of the State, for any unlawfully acquired real estate properties by any foreign national. Its appeal to prohibit land ownership by aliens was cited by the panel under Article XII, Sections 7 and 8 of the 1987 Constitution.
House Bill No. 11043 or the Civil Forfeiture Act aims to preserve land ownership for Filipinos. Citing from the Philippine Constitution under Sections 7 and 8 of Article XII, the panel is seeking a stronger measure for the government to monitor the transfer of land ownership.
“Save in cases of hereditary succession, no private lands shall be transferred or conveyed except to individuals, corporations or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain,” the bill’s description read.
The bill's filing coincides with the Quad panel’s previous inquiry on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). Several personalities, mostly of foreign blood, were found to own a landmass in the country. It is suspected that their businesses and real estate came from the illegal POGO operations, before its ban.
Tignan> Bill para bigyan ng kapangyarihan ang govt na kumpiskahin ang mga ari-arian na iligal na nakuha ng mga foreign nationals lalo na sa pamamagitan ng POGO, isinumite ng mga miembro ng Quad Comm bago magsimula ngayon ang hearing @dzrhnews pic.twitter.com/kOVLeTosgI
— milky rigonan 💋 (@milkyrigonan) November 7, 2024
The bill was filed by the following Representatives:
- Aurelio Gonzales Jr.;
- David Suarez;
- Robert Ace Barbers;
- Bienvenido Abante Jr.;
- Dan Fernandez;
- Joseph Stephen Paduano;
- Romeo Acop;
- Johnny Pimental;
- Gerville Luistro;
- Ramon Gutierrez;
- Francisco Paolo Ortega;
- Jefferson Khonghun; and
- Jonathan Keith Flores.
