Preamble
WHEREAS, it is the declared policy of the State to promote the maximum and efficient utilization of land in order to support the vital government programs of rural development, low-cost housing, infrastructure and others similarly designed for the primary benefit and upliftment of the poor and the underprivileged; WHEREAS, large tracts of productive agricultural and urban lands of private ownership throughout the country remain idle and undeveloped due to non-cultivation and non-utilization by the owners thereof; WHEREAS, the apparent and continued accumulation of private lands for speculation and other non-productive purposes serves as a deterrent to the execution of country-wide socio-economic programs; WHEREAS, to attain the New Society's objectives, specifically those pertaining to rural development and urban growth, it is imperative to induce the proper utilization of idle lands and amend for this purpose existing provisions of law. NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby decree and order as part of the law of the land the following provisions: