Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City. Metro Manila HY

“RECEIVED. A
TE

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
Hirst Regular Session

2029

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Representative Ivan Howard Guintu

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that based on the 2020
Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH), the total population of the Philippines
as of 01 May 2020 is at 109,035,343. The National Capital Region (NCR) has
13,403,551 household population. In’2015, the level of urbanization or the percentage
of population residing in urban areas in the Philippines was recorded by the PSA at
512 percent.

d metropolitan areas exerts pressure on the
natural environment, affordability of housing and services, health, and public safety.
Inadequate transportation infrastructure, alongside an increase in motor vehicles,
results in worsening traffic congestion which the Japan International Cooperation
Agency estimates to be 3.5 billion daily in economic losses. The high carbon footprint
of fossil-fueled motor vehicles also p health and environmental ri which has
been attributed to 64,000 deaths by air pollution according to the State of Global Air
Report 2019.

‘The rapid urbanization of cit

The proposed bill will let the Philippines comply with its obligation to adopt the
United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda to integrate the Sustainable
Development Goals into our national development plans and policies. This is with
emphasis to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and

sustainable.”

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

Ivo JINTU
atative/Pinuno Party ist



Republic of the Philippines
MOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 2029

Introduced by Representative Ivan Howard Guintu

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND
COMMUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOS

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in

Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the “Sustainable Cities and
Communities Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. The 1987 Constitution mandates the undertaking of a
program of urban land reform and housing which will make decent housing and basie services
available at affordable cost to underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and
and ensure the availability of employment opportunities for them.

resettlements areas

Pursuant thereto, it is hereby declared the policy’ of the State to make cities s
sustainable by ensuring access to sale and affordable housing, and upgrading slum sett!

The State shall likewise invest in public transport, create green public spaces, and
improve urban planning and management in a way that is both participatory and inclusive.

SEC. 3. Model for Sustainable Cities and Communities. - Existing cities and
communities shall transition into sustainable cities and communities. A sustainable city or

community shall have the following.

a, Affordable housing;
b. Accessible healtheare services and facilities:

Accessible social services to all, especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged;
d

e

Child care facilities, youth centers, centers for senior citizens and other sectors,
Efficient, accessible, and affordable public transport system.


re

shall set tar:

Alternative means of getting from one place to another, other than private and public
vehicles, such as by walking, biking, using scooters, and other eco-friendly and non-
motorized modes:

Safe, accessible, and enjoyable areas of open space

Preference for use of renewable resources:

Waste management system, where waste is recycled, wherever possible,

Energy efficient homes;

Strong community linkages to deal with issues such as peace and order: and

Access to sports and cultural activities.

SEC, 4. Indicators, The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDAy
s based on the following indicators, taking into consideration Goal No. || of the

United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda, to determine if a city or community has
fully transitioned into a sustainable city or community

a

Urban population living in slums measured in terns of proportion of urban population
living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing:

Public transport access measured in terms of proportion of population that has
convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities:

Sustainable urbanization rates measured in terms of ratio of land consumption rate to
population growth rate:

Urban planning management measured in terms of proportion of cities with a direct
participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate

regularly and democratically:

Protecting cultural heritage _ measured in terms of total public and private expenditure
per capita spent on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and
natural heritage:

Deaths and injuries from natural disasters measured in terms of number of deaths,
missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000
population:

Economic losses from natural disasters _ measured in terms of direct economic loss in
relation to global GDP, damage to critical infrastructure and number of disruptions to
basic services, attributed to disasters

Solid waste management measured in terms of proportion of urban solid waste
regularly collected and with adequate final discharge out of total urban solid waste
generated.


i. Urban air pollution measured in terms of the annual mean levels of fine particulate
matter,

J. Open spaces in Cities ~ measured in terms o average share of the built-up area of cities
that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities:

measured in terms of proportion of persons victim of physical or
ability status and place of occurrence, in the previous

k. Safe spaces in citie:
sexual harassment, by sex. age. di
12 months;

1. Urban and regional planning measured in terms of proportion of population living in
cities that implement urban and regional development plans integrating population
projections and resource needs. by size of

m. Integrated disaster risk management measured in terms of doption and
implementation of national disaster risk reduction strategies:

n. Local disaster risk management measured in terms of adoption and implementation
of local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction
strategies: and

0. Such other targets based on indicators to be determined by NEDA consistent with the
model of sustainable cities and communities provided in Section 3 of this Act.

SEC. 5. Support from National Government, The Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG) shall provide the necessary technical assistance and resource
augmentation to LGUs to assist them in transitioning into sustainable cities and communities.

The NEDA and other related agencies are also hereby mandated to extend the necessary
support and provide relevant input towards the effective implementation of this Act

SEC. 6. Incentives for Transitioning into Sustainable Cities or Communities. ‘The
DILG shall develop a grant or cash award incentive scheme for LGUs that are able to achieve
their annual targets set by NEDA related to transitioning into sustainable cities and
communities.

SEC. 7. Authority to Enter into Contracts and Agreements. LGUs are hereby
authorized to enter into contracts or agreements und receive grants, as may be necessary for

the attainment of the objective of this Act

SEC. 8. Separability Clause.  \f, for any reason, any section, subsection, clause or
term of this Act is held invalid or unconstitutional, such parts not affected by such declaration
shall remain in full force and effect.


SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. All existing laws, orders, decrees, rules and regulations,
or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby amended, modified or
repealed accordingly

SEC. 10 Effectivity, ~ This Act shall take effect fitteen (15) days after its publication
in the Official Gazette ot in a newspaper of general circulation

Approved,