NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
) 
OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
House Bill No. ___ 
Introduced by Representative Christian Tell A. Yap 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines is one of the most dynamic economies in Asia. According to the United 
Nations Development Program (UNDP), more than half of the world’s population lives in urban 
areas. It is estimated that by 2050, that figure will have risen to 6.5 billion people or two-thirds of all 
humanity.   
The rapid growth of cities, coupled with increasing rural to urban migration, has led to a 
boom in mega-cities. In the National Capital Region (NCR), the overall population as of the 2020 
national census is 13.4 million people, with over half-a-million people living in informal settlements.  
However, extreme poverty and inequality has risen in these highly populated and 
concentrated urban spaces. It is therefore essential to make cities safe and sustainable by ensuring 
access to safe and affordable housing, upgrading highly dense slum settlements, investing in public 
transport, creating green public spaces and improving urban planning through inclusive and 
participatory management. 
This legislation seeks to institutionalize a national policy framework for establishing 
sustainable cities and communities by setting sustainability standards and ensuring development to be 
geared towards sustainability. 
CHRISTIAN TELL A. YAP 
Representative, 2nd District of Tarlac 
July 1, 2022
11:20 am
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1 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
) 
OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
House Bill No. ___ 
Introduced by Representative Christian Tell A. Yap 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING 
FOR 
THE 
DEVELOPMENT 
OF 
SUSTAINABLE 
CITIES 
AND 
COMMUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Sustainable Cities and 
1 
Communities Act". 
2 
3 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State shall, pursuant to the constitutional mandate to 
4 
undertake a continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will make available to 
5 
underprivileged and homeless citizens decent and affordable housing, access to basic services, and 
6 
adequate employment opportunities, and in consonance with the constitutional guarantees on social 
7 
justice, general welfare, public health, and ecological balance, recognize the right to the city of all 
8 
which encompasses the collective access to sustainable resources, meaningful participation in urban 
9 
planning and governance, and social inclusion. 
10 
It is likewise declared the policy of the State to promote inclusive, resilient, and sustainable 
11 
urban development. 
12 
Toward these ends, the State shall ensure the inclusive use of urban space for housing and 
13 
livelihood, improve access to basic services, develop integrated public transportation systems and 
14 
green infrastructures, protect ecosystems, and manage risks to climate change and disasters. 
15 
Further, the State shall pursue programs to celebrate diversity and cultural heritage, foster 
16 
creativity, innovation, and participation in urban planning and policy-making, and maintain public 
17 
order and safety through the prevention of crime, violence and discrimination. 
18 
19 
Sec. 3. Coverage. -All cities and municipalities, with a majority of barangays classified as 
20 
urban by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), hereinafter referred to as urban areas, are hereby 
21 
mandated to align their plans, programs and activities towards the full implementation of this Act. 
22 
23 
Sec. 4. Guiding Framework for Sustainable Cities and Communities. -To fulfill its economic, 
24 
political and social functions, a local government unit covered under this Act shall conform with and 
25 
implement plans, programs and activities, guided by Ambisyon 2040 and the Philippine Standards for 
26 
Sustainable Cities and Communities, according to the following principles: 
27 
(a) Inclusive urban circular economy which creates decent jobs with fair wages; supports
28 
entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation; ensures safe and non-discriminatory working
29 
environments; and promotes resource-efficient industries and consumption;
30 
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(b) Spatial justice which promotes multiple use of land to prevent forced evictions, displacement, 
1 
marginalization, and gentrification; and ensures that urban development provides vulnerable and 
2 
marginalized sectors the access to safe, adequate and affordable housing under different tenurial 
3 
arrangements, giving priority to on-site resettlement, as well as universal healthcare, accessible 
4 
education, infrastructures, livelihoods, food security and nutrition; and safe and inclusive public 
5 
spaces that foster social cohesion; 
6 
(c) Urban renewal which includes slum upgrading to improve housing, infrastructures and 
7 
services; urban greening, including the promotion of urban agriculture for food security and 
8 
communal wellness; and the development of inclusive, safe, accessible and enjoyable open 
9 
spaces and parks; 
10 
(d) Urban mobility which provide for inclusive, safe, accessible, affordable, efficient and 
11 
sustainable public transportation through the development of adequate transportation 
12 
infrastructures, utilities and intermodal transportation systems, including non-motorized modes of 
13 
transportation to strengthen global and urban-rural linkages and management; 
14 
(e) Digital connectivity which provides for fast, secure, stable, and affordable internet 
15 
connectivity that would be able to cater to technological innovations and enhance digitalization to 
16 
strengthen global and urban-rural linkages and management; 
17 
(f) Urban safety which ensures freedom of all persons, regardless of gender, age, health status, 
18 
income, nationality, ethnicity, and political, religious or sexual orientation from crimes and all 
19 
forms of violence and discrimination in the workplace and public spaces; 
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(g) Ecological balance which requires the sustainable management of natural resources; 
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protection and conservation of biodiversity, natural ecosystems and landscapes; proper waste 
22 
management and sanitation; provision of green infrastructures; and the development and use of 
23 
renewable energy sources in transportation, industry and households to reduce carbon footprint 
24 
and improve water and air quality; 
25 
(h) Climate resilience which builds the capacity of urban areas to adapt to and manage threats and 
26 
risks posed by climate change and disasters to constituents especially vulnerable groups, and to 
27 
facilitate post-disaster rehabilitation and recovery; 
28 
(i) Cultural diversity which respects, protects, and promotes the diverse livelihoods, customs, 
29 
memory, identities, expressions, and sociocultural forms of its inhabitants; preserves tangible 
30 
cultural heritage, such as artistic creations, historical sites and monuments; and safeguards 
31 
intangible cultural heritage, such oral traditions, performing arts, indigenous knowledge and 
32 
traditional skills, as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated 
33 
therewith; 
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(j) Participatory urban governance which involves political participation in the formulation, 
35 
implementation, monitoring, and budgeting of urban policies in order to promote transparency, 
36 
effectiveness, and inclusiveness in the engagement of a diverse set of inhabitants and their 
37 
organizations, especially of urban poor and marginalized groups, upholding communal spirit and 
38 
supporting community-building; and  
39 
(k) Alignment of economic, social, and environmental policies between and among national, 
40 
regional, city, and municipal government units, facilitating the achievement of the goals of each 
41 
unit 
42 
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), in consultation with 
43 
relevant government agencies, local government units, civil society organizations, the private sector 
44 
and the academe, shall, within 180 days from the effectivity of this Act, harmonize existing national 
45 
housing and urban development plans with this Act and formulate, in coordination with the 
46 
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the National Economic and Development 
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3 
 
Authority (NEDA), and the PSA, a National Housing and Urban Development Sector Plan 
1 
(NHUDSP) to operationalize the goals of this Act, taking into consideration the unique and evolving 
2 
economic, social and institutional contexts of the country. 
3 
The NHUDSP shall provide short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategic plans to achieve the 
4 
goals of this Act.  
5 
The NHUDSP shall also generate estimates and projections to determine present and future demand 
6 
for infrastructures and services in urban areas, and shall identify policy and program interventions to 
7 
address challenges to sustainable urban development, and specific periodic targets and indicators and 
8 
investment requirements thereof. 
9 
 
10 
Sec. 5. Targets and Indicators. - In preparing the NHUDSP, the DHSUD, NEDA, DILG, and 
11 
the PSA shall be guided by the principles provided under Section 4 of this Act, as well as the targets 
12 
and indicators set forth in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda 
13 
of the United Nations: 
14 
(a)    Urban population living in slums - measured in terms of proportion of urban population 
15 
living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing; 
16 
(b)    Public transport access - measured in terms of proportion of population that has convenient 
17 
access to public transport, by sex, age, income group, and persons with disability; 
18 
(c)     Sustainable urbanization rates - measured in terms of ratio of land consumption rate to 
19 
population growth rate; 
20 
(d)    Urban planning and management - measured in terms of proportion of cities with a direct 
21 
participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly 
22 
and democratically; 
23 
(e)    Protecting cultural heritage - measured in terms of total public and private expenditure per 
24 
capita spent on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage; 
25 
(f)      Deaths and injuries from disasters - measured in terms of number of deaths, missing 
26 
persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population; 
27 
(g)    Economic losses from disasters - measured in terms of direct economic loss in relation to 
28 
global GDP, damage to critical infrastructure and number of disruptions to basic services, 
29 
attributed to disasters; 
30 
(h)    Solid waste management - measured in terms of proportion of urban solid waste regularly 
31 
collected and with adequate final discharge out of total urban solid waste generated; 
32 
(i)      Urban air quality - measured in terms of the annual mean levels of fine particulate matter; 
33 
(j)      Open spaces in cities - measured in terms of average share of the built-up area of cities that 
34 
is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities; 
35 
(k)    Safe spaces in cities - measured in terms of proportion of persons who are victims of 
36 
physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the 
37 
previous 12 months; 
38 
(l)      Urban and regional planning - measured in terms of proportion of population living in cities 
39 
that implement urban and regional development plans integrating population projections and 
40 
resource needs, by size of city; 
41 
(m)  Integrated disaster risk management - measured in terms of adoption and implementation of 
42 
national disaster risk reduction strategies; 
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(n)    Local disaster risk management - measured in terms of adoption and implementation of 
1 
local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies; 
2 
(o) Urban economy – measured in terms of percentage of the labor force in the education and 
3 
Research and Development sectors, and unemployment rate and number of businesses; 
4 
(p) Innovation-geared education – measured in terms of the number of Science, Technology, 
5 
Engineering, and Mathamatics higher education degrees;  
6 
(q) Use of renewable energy – measured in terms of percentage of consumed energy from 
7 
renewable sources; 
8 
(r) Access to universal healthcare – measured in terms of number of in-patient hospital beds and 
9 
physicians; 
10 
(s) Access to food security – measured in terms of percentage of city budget spent on initiatives 
11 
on urban agriculture; 
12 
(t) water and wastewater management – measured in terms of water consumption per capita, 
13 
percentage of households with access to basic water supply, percentage of treated wastewater that 
14 
is reused; and 
15 
(u)    Such other targets and indicators as determined by DHSUD, NEDA, DILG, and PSA 
16 
consistent with the principles that guide sustainable cities and communities as provided in Section 
17 
4 of this Act: Provided, That at any time, but not more than once every five years, such targets 
18 
and indicators may be reviewed or revised as the need arises to conform to changes and new 
19 
developments brought about by the latest trends in institutionalizing sustainable cities and 
20 
communities. 
21 
 
22 
Sec. 6. Urban Planning and Development. -The DHSUD, in coordination with NEDA and 
23 
DILG, shall provide technical assistance to local government units in the integration of the pertinent 
24 
provisions of this Act, the National Urban Development and Housing Framework, and the NHUDSP 
25 
in their Annual Development Plans, Annual Investment Plans, Physical Framework Plans, 
26 
Development Master Plans, Comprehensive Land Use Plans, Disaster Risk Reduction and 
27 
Management Plans, and similar plans. 
28 
National agencies and local government units shall ensure the genuine and adequate participation in 
29 
urban, regional, spatial and environmental planning; Provided, That, access to information, official 
30 
records, public records and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or 
31 
decisions, and research data related to urban development to enable informed participation in the 
32 
decision-making shall be made available pursuant to Section 7, Article III of the 1987 Constitution. 
33 
 
34 
Sec. 7. Incentives for Sustainable Cities. -The DILG and the Department of Budget and 
35 
Management shall incorporate the annual targets set by DHSUD, DILG, and NEDA in the awarding 
36 
of the Seal of Good Local Governance under Republic Act No. 11292 otherwise known as "The Seal 
37 
of Good Local Governance Act of 2019." 
38 
 
39 
Sec. 8. Appropriations. - National government agencies and local government units shall 
40 
include in their respective programs the needed operational and institutional requirements in 
41 
upholding the enumerated rights in this Act which fall within their respective legal mandates, the 
42 
initial funding of which shall be charged against their current  appropriations. Thereafter, such sums 
43 
as may be necessary for the continued implementation of this Act by the national government 
44 
agencies shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
45 


5 
 
The National Government and local government units shall accordingly pursue alternative resource 
1 
mobilization strategies, including, but not limited to, public-private partnerships with guidance of the 
2 
Public-Private Partnership Center, official development assistance, and land value capture, to 
3 
leverage public resources and maximize their value to finance the operational requirements of this 
4 
Act. 
5 
 
6 
Sec. 9. Public Participation. - National Agencies and Local Government Units shall ensure 
7 
the genuine and adequate participation in urban, regional, spatial and environmental planning through 
8 
the following: 
9 
(a) Incentives for the private sector - the Department of Finance shall provide incentives to the 
10 
participation of the private sector in the achievement of the goals identified under this Act, in 
11 
accordance with Republic Act No. 10771, otherwise known as the “Philippine Green Jobs Act of 
12 
2016”; 
13 
(b) Capacity building for communities - dthe DHSUD shall provide technical assistance to 
14 
homeowners associations, neighborhood associations, people's organizations, and other local 
15 
organizations to empower them as partners in achieving the goals of this act, and enable them to 
16 
undertake community-level actions towards becoming sustainable communities; and 
17 
(c) Informed participation - information, education and communication materials shall be 
18 
developed to make the NHUDSP accessible to all. Every Filipino shall have access to 
19 
information, official records, public records and to documents and papers pertaining to official 
20 
acts, transactions or decisions, and research data related to urban development to enable informed 
21 
participation in the decision-making process. 
22 
 
23 
Sec. 10. Report to Congress. -The DHSUD, NEDA, and DILG shall submit an annual report 
24 
on the performance of their respective duties provided for under this Act and the compliance of cities 
25 
and urban municipalities to the provisions of this Act to Congress of the Philippines, through the 
26 
Committee on Housing and Urban Development of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
27 
on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement of the Senate. 
28 
 
29 
Sec. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within six (6) months from the effectivity of 
30 
this Act, the DHSUD, in consultation with the NEDA, DILG, PSA, local government units, civil 
31 
society organizations, the private sector and the academe, shall promulgate the implementing rules 
32 
and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act. 
33 
 
34 
Sec. 12. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act or portion thereof is declared 
35 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision not be affected thereby shall remain in 
36 
force and effect. 
37 
 
38 
Sec. 13. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof 
39 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
40 
 
41 
Sec. 14. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its publication in 
42 
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
43 
 


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Approved,