Dr.Sopon Pornchokchai, President, Agency for Real Estate Affairs and FIABCI-Thai (Intenational Real Estate Federation, Thailand’s Chapter) asked Mr.Rey Cartojano about the 99 year lease of land in the Philippines.  The following is his answer.  Thanks indeed.
 

The Philippine 99-Year Foreign Leasehold (RA 12252)
A Brief Assessment
By Atty. Rey D. Cartojano, EnP, REC, REA, REB
For – Dr. Sopon Pornchokchai, FIABCI-Thai

Republic Act No. 12252 (signed 3 September 2025, effective 19 September 2025) is narrower than its popular framing suggests. It does not open land to expatriates, retirees, or residential buyers. Amending the Investors’ Lease Act (RA 7652), it extends the maximum leasehold for qualified foreign investors—those holding an approved, registered investment in a priority productive sector—from 75 years to a single consolidated term of up to 99 years. The lease attaches to the approved project, must serve only the authorised purpose, and terminates automatically on withdrawal or misuse. Eligible sectors are limited to industry, agro-industry, tourism (minimum USD 5 million), agriculture, agro-forestry, and ecological conservation. The constitutional ban on foreign land ownership stands: the law confers time, not title.

 

Is There an Influx of Foreign Lessees?

Too early to observe, and the premise misstates the mechanism. The IRR was finalised only in late December 2025, and projects of this scale unfold over years of feasibility, financing, screening, and construction. No meaningful body of registered leases could yet exist, and current commentary is uniformly prospective. The law also targets capital, not people: it deepens corporate, project-bound commitments rather than admitting individual lessees. The real question is whether qualifying leases accumulate over the coming years.

 

Will It Boost the Economy?

In principle, yes. The Philippines has lagged its ASEAN peers in FDI (roughly USD 8.9 billion in 2024, against far larger inflows to Vietnam and Indonesia), and short, uncertain tenure was a known deterrent. A guaranteed 99-year term that is registrable and usable as collateral improves bankability and aligns the country with Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia—benefiting renewable energy, data centres, manufacturing, logistics, and tourism estates.

Three qualifications temper this. First, tenure is one variable among many; power costs, infrastructure, regulatory predictability, and governance risk—underscored by contemporaneous flood-control scandals—lie beyond the statute. Second, the reform is one of a package (CREATE and CREATE MORE, the Right-of-Way Law, the 13th Negative List), making its independent effect hard to isolate. Third, the payoff depends on enforcement and on productive rather than speculative land use; the three-year commencement rule, anti-dummy safeguards, and penalties (PHP 1–10 million plus possible imprisonment) address this, but only practice will show their efficacy.

 

Conclusion

RA 12252 removes a long-standing structural impediment to long-horizon foreign investment, replacing a renewal-contingent regime with a guaranteed term competitive within the region. Whether this yields measurable economic gain remains open and depends on complementary reforms and implementation. As of mid-2026 there is no post-enactment data attributable to the statute; its promise is plausible but unproven—a tool that creates the conditions for investment without guaranteeing its arrival.

 

References

Republic Act No. 12252 (2025). An Act Liberalizing the Lease of Private Lands by Foreign Investors… Amending
       Republic Act No.7652. lawphil.net.

Board of Investments. (2025). Draft IRR of RA No. 12252 (public consultation). boi.gov.ph.

Divina, N. T., Gamo-Sisayan, C. M. T., & Romero, A. I. M. (2026). Philippines’ 99-year lease reform (RA 12252). Asia Business
       Law Journal. law.asia.

Ocampo & Suralvo Law Offices. (2026). The IRR of RA No. 12252: A guide for foreign investors. ocamposuralvo.com.

Philippine Information Agency. (2025). PBBM signs into law R.A. 12252. pia.gov.ph.

Philippine Daily Inquirer. (2025, December 26). Implementing rules on 99-year land lease law out. business.inquirer.net.

UNCTAD Investment Policy Hub. (2025). Philippines – Extends private land lease period for foreign investors to 99 years. unctad.org.