(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law a measure allowing foreign investors to lease private lands in the Philippines for up to 99 years, Malacañang announced Saturday.

Republic Act (RA) 12252 or the Act Liberalizing the Lease of Private Lands by Foreign Investors amends RA 7652 or the Investors Lease Act, which seeks to boost foreign investments and provide a “stable environment for foreign investments.”

Under RA 12252, signed on Sept. 3, foreign investors with duly registered projects may now enter into lease agreements for private lands for a maximum of 99 years, but the president may shorten this period for investors under “vital services or industries considered as critical infrastructure” for reasons of national security.

The leased land must be used exclusively for the approved investment project and be proportionate to the project’s requirements.

New law lets foreigner investors lease land for 99 years

Contracts must be registered with the Registry of Deeds and annotated on the land’s title to be binding against third parties.

Registered contracts cannot be altered or canceled except through direct legal proceedings, a provision meant to strengthen investor confidence and ensure predictability.

Under the declaration of policy, the law said that the state adopts a flexible and dynamic policy on the granting of long-term leases on private lands to foreign investors for the establishment of industrial estates, factories, agro-industrial enterprises, tourism, agriculture, agro-forestry, and ecological conservation.

The law also requires foreign investors to register their projects under RA 7042, or the Foreign Investments Act of 1991, as amended; and RA 11534, or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (Create), as amended by the Create More Act.

New law lets foreigner investors lease land for 99 years

The law also requires that leases be registered with the local Registry of Deeds and recorded on the property’s title.

The newly signed RA 12252 also amended Section 6 of RA 7652 on the termination of lease contract., This news data comes from:http://gyglfs.com

The law allows the Fiscal Incentives Review Board, Board of Investments (BOI), or the relevant Investment Promotion Agency or other investment agencies to require investors to explain project delays and to start their projects within a reasonable time if they fail to do so within three years of signing the lease.

RA 12252 emphasizes that lease agreements will be terminated if the investment is withdrawn or the land is used for purposes other than what was approved.

For tourism projects, only ventures with a minimum investment of million, with at least 70 percent infused within three years, will qualify.

Renewals of leases are subject to mutual agreement but will require proof of tangible social and economic contributions to the country.

The law also increased penalties for violations, raising fines from P100,000–P1 million to P1 million–P10 million, along with possible imprisonment of six months to six years at the court’s discretion.

The Department of Trade and Industry, through the BOI and the Land Registration Authority, has been tasked to issue the implementing rules and regulations within 90 days of the law’s effectivity.

RA 12252, which was released by Malacañang on Saturday, takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.