Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has signed into law a measure that extended foreign investors’ land lease limit to 99 years, a document from the Official Gazette showed.Republic Act No. 12252 amends RA 7652 or the Investors Lease Act, which seeks to boost foreign investments and provide a “stable environment for foreign investments.”The law, signed by Marcos on Sept. 3, allows foreign investors in the country to lease private lands not exceeding 99 years but the President may shorten this period to investors under “vital services or industries considered as critical infrastructure” for reasons of national security.The move must also be recommended first by the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) and other government agencies, according to the law.Aside from this, the leased land must be used only for the approved and registered investment and must be subject to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law and the Local Government Code.The law also provides that the foreign investor must have an approved and registered investment under the Foreign Investments Act of 1991, &#x27;Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, and CREATE MORE Act as prescribed by the Investment Promotion Agency (IPA).  For the Register of Deeds to register the lease contract, the following conditions must be present, according to the law: <ul><li>-The investor presents proof of an approved and registered investment under subparagraph 4;  </li><li>-The date of commencement and maximum duration of the lease are certain; </li><li>-The technical description of the property subject of the lease is clearly specified; </li><li>-The lessee has performed preparatory acts for the commencement of its investment project; and </li><li>-There is a provision in the lease contract providing for its termination in case of a change in the purpose or project for which the lease was intended, or in case of failure to commence the investment project within a reasonable period from the signing of the lease contract.</li></ul>The law also set limitations.For example, foreigners, corporations, associations and partnerships that do not invest in the Philippines are still covered by Presidential Decree No. 471 and other laws on lease of lands to foreigners.But if proven that the leased area was used for the purpose other than declared or if the approved and registered investment in the country is withdrawn within the period of the lease contract would “warrant the ipso facto termination of the lease contract without prejudice to the right of the lessor to be compensated for the damages the lessor may have suffered thereby.”“Any lease contract under this Act which is renewable at the option of the lessee subject to the same terms and conditions of the original contract shall be interpreted to mean as renewable upon the mutual agreement of the parties,” the law read.“In addition to the conditions for the renewal of a lease contract, the foreign lessee shall show that it has made social and economic contributions to the country,” it added.Tourism projects under the lease of private lands by a foreign investor would be limited to projects that have an investment of “not less than 5 million US dollars.”Seventy percent of the figure must be “infused in said project within three (3) years from the signing of the lease contract,” according to the law.Contracts made or executed that violate the prohibited acts would be considered null and void ab initio (from the beginning) and both contracting parties would be fined not less than P1 million but not more than P10 million.Those who also violate the law may be jailed from 6 months to 6 years, depending on the court’s discretion.The Department of Trade and Industry through the Board of Investments, and the Land Registration Authority are tasked to craft its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) within 90 days.The bill was among the priority measures of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council within the 19th Congress or until June this year, in an effort to further open the economy to foreign investments.The Philippines lags its neighbors in terms of attracting foreign investments. Despite several amendments that have liberalized some of the country&#x27;s investment laws, the country continues to struggle to attract outside investors compared to countries like Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.

Marcos has signed into law a measure that extended foreign investors’ land lease limit to 99 years, a document from the Official Gazette showed.

Marcos has signed into law a measure that extended foreign investors’ land lease limit to 99 years, a document from the Official Gazette showed.

Marcos OKs law extending foreign investors’ land lease to 99 years

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Marcos OKs law extending foreign investors’ land lease to 99 years

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 05, 2025 05:19 PM PHT

|

Updated September 05, 2025 05:44 PM PHT

Read More:

Investor Lease Act

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr

RA 12252

land lease

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