President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. enacted a statute permitting foreigners to rent land in the Philippines for a duration of up to 99 years.<\/p>\n
Republic Act (RA) No. 12252 modifies RA No. 7652 or the Investors’ Lease Act by further easing the leasing of private properties by foreign investors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe policy of the State is to guarantee the integrity of investors’ leasing agreements to create a stable climate for foreign investments,\u201d the legislation stated.<\/p>\n
The statute prolongs the duration of foreign investors’ land leases to 99 years from the existing 75, aligning the nation with the practices of Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.<\/p>\n
According to the law, the President, based on the suggestions of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) or other bodies, may impose a shorter lease duration for foreign investors in sectors deemed as \u201cessential infrastructure\u201d for national security reasons.<\/p>\n
The law permits long-term land leasing for \u201cthe creation of industrial zones, factories, assembly or processing facilities, agro-industrial ventures, land development for industrial or commercial purposes, tourism, agriculture, agro-forestry, ecological preservation, and other comparable priority productive activities.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the context of tourism initiatives, the 99-year lease is confined to projects with an investment of no less than $5 million, 70% of which must be injected into the project within three years.<\/p>\n
According to the statute, foreign investors who breach their lease agreements face penalties ranging from P1 million to P10 million or imprisonment of up to six years.<\/p>\n
The lease agreement can be rescinded if the foreign investor does not initiate the investment project within three years of signing.<\/p>\n
This measure was prioritized by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council for passage before the 19th Congress concluded.<\/p>\n
Mr. Marcos enacted the statute on Sept. 3, but a copy was published on the Official Gazette website on Sept. 4.<\/p>\n