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Compulsory Acquisition and the VGGT: Institutional Pathways in Six Asian Jurisdictions

Augusto B. Agosto

Subject area: Physical Sciences and Environment  ·  Area of research: Property Law

Abstract

Compulsory acquisition is usually assessed by the legality of the taking and the adequacy of compensation, yet these tests say little about how tenure safeguards reach affected holders in practice. This paper examines how the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) are operationalized in the compulsory-acquisition systems of the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, with India as an Asian comparator. Using a documentary comparative legal–institutional method, it traces each system across an eight-stage acquisition lifecycle and interprets the evidence through three dimensions: economic adequacy, governance legitimacy and institutional capacity. Legal sources, institutional materials and implementation evidence are kept at separate evidentiary levels. The six systems allocate valuation, compensation and review to different combinations of courts, administrative agencies and licensed valuers, and similar valuation standards sit within materially different compensation architectures. Tenure identification, the interval between possession and payment, and the scope of review emerge as the junctions at which formal entitlements depend most on institutional mechanisms. The paper develops institutional realization, the process by which a safeguard becomes ascertainable, implementable, reviewable, enforceable, and economically meaningful, and distinguishes valuation architecture from compensation architecture, with implications for legislators, acquiring agencies, and valuers.

Keywords

compulsory acquisition; VGGT; valuation; compensation; institutional realization; ASEAN

References

[1] B. Agosto, “Judicial realization of just compensation: a doctrinal–institutional analysis of agrarian and right-of-way expropriation in Philippine law,” Iconic Research and Engineering Journals, vol. 9, no. 10, pp. 1089–1105, 2026. IRE Journals

[2] ANGOC (Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development), The VGGT and the NLUA: areas of convergence. Quezon City: ANGOC, Nov. 2014.

[3] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), Compulsory acquisition of land and compensation. FAO Land Tenure Studies 10. Rome: FAO, 2008. FAO

[4] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. Rome: FAO, 2012.

[5] M. A. L. Lebrilla, The state of compulsory acquisition of land and compensation in the Philippines. CPBRD Policy Brief No. 2014-03. Quezon City: Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, House of Representatives, 2014.

[6] M. S. Prado, “Significant features and factors affecting the practice of Philippine expropriation: perspectives from national government lawyers and policy implications,” Journal of Management and Development Studies, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 18–41, 2024.

[7] A. B. Quizon and J. I. Pagsanghan, Review of selected land laws and governance of tenure in the Philippines: discussion paper in the context of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Governance of Tenure (VGGT). Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development and Philippine Development Forum–Sustainable Rural Development, with support from GIZ and FAO, n.d.

[8] N. K. Tagliarino, “The status of national legal frameworks for valuing compensation for expropriated land: an analysis of whether national laws in 50 countries/regions across Asia, Africa, and Latin America comply with international standards on compensation valuation,” Land, vol. 6, no. 2, Art. no. 37, 2017. MDPI

[9] World Bank, The World Bank Environmental and Social Framework. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017. World Bank

[10] K. Viitanen, H. Falkenbach, and K. Nuuja, Eds., Compulsory purchase and compensation: recommendations for good practice. FIG Publication No. 54. Copenhagen: International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), 2010, ISBN 978-87-90907-89-1.

[11] Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines 1987.

[12] Decree No. 88/2024/ND-CP on compensation, support and resettlement when the State recovers land 2024 (Vietnam).

[13] Decree No. 101/2024/ND-CP on land investigation, registration, certificates and the land information system 2024 (Vietnam).

[14] Decree No. 102/2024/ND-CP detailing the implementation of the Land Law 2024 (Vietnam).

[15] Expropriation and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act B.E. 2562 2019 (Thailand).

[16] Land Acquisition Act 1960 (Act 486) (Malaysia).

[17] Land Law 2024 (Law No. 31/2024/QH15) (Vietnam).

[18] Law No. 2 of 2012 on Land Acquisition for Development in the Public Interest 2012 (Indonesia), as amended.

[19] Law No. 43/2024/QH15 2024 (Vietnam).

[20] Regulation of the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency No. 3 of 2026 on Land Valuation 2026 (Indonesia).

[21] Regulation of the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency No. 17 of 2022 on Land Valuers (Penilai Pertanahan) 2022 (Indonesia).

[22] Republic Act No. 10752 (The Right-of-Way Act) 2016 (Philippines).

[23] Republic Act No. 12001 (Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act) 2024 (Philippines).

[24] Republic Act No. 12289 (Accelerated and Reformed Right-of-Way (ARROW) Act) 2025 (Philippines).

[25] Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 (Act No. 30 of 2013) (India).

[26] Rules of Court, Rule 67 (Expropriation) (Philippines).

How to cite this paper

Augusto B. Agosto "Compulsory Acquisition and the VGGT: Institutional Pathways in Six Asian Jurisdictions" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 10 Issue 3 2026 Page 3674-3684
Augusto B. Agosto "Compulsory Acquisition and the VGGT: Institutional Pathways in Six Asian Jurisdictions" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, vol. 10, no. 3, Sep. 2026
Augusto B. Agosto (2026). Compulsory Acquisition and the VGGT: Institutional Pathways in Six Asian Jurisdictions. Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 10(3).
Augusto B. Agosto "Compulsory Acquisition and the VGGT: Institutional Pathways in Six Asian Jurisdictions" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, vol. 10, no. 3, Sep. 2026.
@article{1723569,
      author = {Augusto B. Agosto},
      title = {Compulsory Acquisition and the VGGT: Institutional Pathways in Six Asian Jurisdictions},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {10},
      number = {3},
      pages = {3674-3684},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1723569.pdf},
      abstract = {Compulsory acquisition is usually assessed by the legality of the taking and the adequacy of compensation, yet these tests say little about how tenure safeguards reach affected holders in practice. This paper examines how the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) are operationalized in the compulsory-acquisition systems of the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, with India as an Asian comparator. Using a documentary comparative legal–institutional method, it traces each system across an eight-stage acquisition lifecycle and interprets the evidence through three dimensions: economic adequacy, governance legitimacy and institutional capacity. Legal sources, institutional materials and implementation evidence are kept at separate evidentiary levels. The six systems allocate valuation, compensation and review to different combinations of courts, administrative agencies and licensed valuers, and similar valuation standards sit within materially different compensation architectures. Tenure identification, the interval between possession and payment, and the scope of review emerge as the junctions at which formal entitlements depend most on institutional mechanisms. The paper develops institutional realization, the process by which a safeguard becomes ascertainable, implementable, reviewable, enforceable, and economically meaningful, and distinguishes valuation architecture from compensation architecture, with implications for legislators, acquiring agencies, and valuers.},
      keywords = {compulsory acquisition; VGGT; valuation; compensation; institutional realization; ASEAN},
      month = {September},
  }