Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

nouse Bit No, 3831

ENITEZ, Ph.

Introduced FRANCISCO “KIKO”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippines is one of the fastest urbanizing countries in the East Asia and Pacific region’.
In 2015, the level of urbanization or the proportion of urban population to total population is,
51.2 percent or 51.73 million persons. By 2050, 84 percent of the population will live in cities
and urban areas*.

Cities are catalysts of economic growth. Urban areas account for 75 to 80 percent of the
country’s gross domestic product since 2000°. The National Capital Region (NCR) alone
contributed 38 percent of the GDP on average in the period 2010-2015*.

Urbanization provides resources and opportunities for employment, livelihood, services and
innovation, driving rural-urban migration. According to a survey conducted for AmBisyon
2040, the country’s long-term development plan, 30 percent of Filipinos prefer to live in big
cities while 29 percent want to live in urban centers in the province.

However, cities fall short on its promise of prosperity for all. Poverty incidence in urban areas
remains prevalent at 12.5 percent in 2012°.

Vulnerability of the poor in urban areas is aggravated by spatial exclusion and exposure to
natural and health hazards. Due to increasing competition for land and land speculation, cost
of land skyrockets, making housing unaffordable to low-income families. The urban poor find
refuge in informal settlements that lack basic infrastructures, utilities and services. In Metro
Manila alone, 584,000 families live in informal settlements, Meanwhile, the adverse impact of
climate change and natural disasters threaten to displace families living in danger zones,
estimated at 104,000. Around 70 percent of cities in the Philippines are coastal and vulnerable
to environment hazards’.

Moreover, inadequate transportation infrastructures, alongside the spike in volume of motor
vehicles, results in worsening traffic congestion, incurring 3.5 billion daily in economic losses,
according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The high carbon footprint of fossil-
fueled motor vehicles also poses health and environmental risks. According to the State of
Global Air 2019 Report, the Philippines is among the top ten (10) countries with highest
mortality attributable to air pollution, with 64,000 deaths.

| World Bank (2017). Philippines Urbanization Review: Fostering Competitive, Sustainable and Inclusive Cities.

? UN Habitat (2015). Achieving Sustainable Urban Development Philippines Project Brief. The World Bank
estimates the level of urbanization at 65 percent in 2050. Meanwhile, the Philippine Development Plan 2017-
2022 estimates urban population at 56 percent by 2050, citing the 2014 World Urbanization Prospects.

* Asian Development Bank (2012). Philippines Urban Sector Assessment and Road Map.

* Philippine Development Pian 2017-2022

® Philippine Statistics Authority. Family Income and Expenditure Survey 2012.

® Asian Development Bank (2014). National Urban Assessment


To abate urban dysfunctions and fulfill the promise of economic and social inclusion of
urbanization, the State must enact policies and institute programs ensuring inclusive, resilient
and sustainable urban development, in accordance with the Constitution and in the performance
of our commitment to and responsibilities under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
and the New Urban Agenda, which calls for the recognition, promotion and protection of the
right to the city of all people.

Towards this end, the State must ensure the equitable and sustainable distribution of urban
resources, inclusive social order, embracing and celebrating the diversity of identities and
cultures, and meaningful participation in urban planning and governance.

In view of the foregoing, the approval of this measure is eamestly sought.

(a ea
REP. JOSE FRANCISCO “KIKO” B. BENITEZ, Ph.D.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No, 3831

Introduced by REP. FRANCISCO “KIKO” B. BENITEZ, Ph.D.

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE CITIES ANI
COMMUNITI IN THE COUNTRY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as "Sustainable Cities and
Communities Act".

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — In consonance with the constitutional guarantees on
social justice, general welfare, public health, and ecological balance, and the constitutional
mandate to undertake a continuing program of urban development and housing to provide
underprivileged citizens decent and affordable housing, access to basic services, such as but
not limited to healthcare and education, and adequate employment opportunities, the State
recognizes the right to the city of all, encompassing the right of the people to equitable and
sustainable resource distribution, meaningful participation in urban planning and governance,
and social inclusion

To fulfill and protect the right to the city, it is hereby declared the policy of the State to
promote inclusive, resilient and sustainable urban development, and to ensure access of all to
the resources and opportunities that cities offer.

Pursuant thereto, the State shall promote the right to the city, encompassing the right of
the people to equitable and sustainable resource distribution, social inclusion, access to
employment and livelihood opportunities, and meaningful participation in urban planning and
governance.

Towards these ends, the State shall ensure the inclusive use of urban space for housing
and livelihood, improve access to basic services, develop integrated public transportation
systems and green infrastructures, protect ecosystems, and manage risks to climate change and
natural disasters.

Furthermore, the State shall pursue programs to celebrate diversity and cultural heritage,
foster creativity, innovation and participation in urban planning and policy-making, and
maintain public order and safety through the prevention of crime, violence and discrimination.

SEC. 3. Coverage, — Alll cities and municipalities, with a majority of barangays classified
as urban by the Philippine Statistics Authority, hereinafter referred to as urban areas, are hereby
mandated to align their plans, programs and activities towards the full implementation of this
Act.


SEC. 4. Guiding Framework for Sustainable Cities. —To fulfill its economic,
political and social functions, urban areas shall conform with and implement plans, programs
and activities according to the following principles:

(a) Inclusive urban economy which creates decent jobs with fair wages, supports
entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, ensures safe and non-discriminatory
working environments and promotes resource-efficient industries and consumption;

(b) Spatial justice which promotes multiple use of land to prevent forced evictions,
displacement, marginalization, and gentrification, and ensures that urban
development provides vulnerable and marginalized sectors the access to adequate
and affordable housing under different tenurial arrangements, universal healthcare,
accessible education, infrastructures, livelihoods, food security and nutrition, safe
and inclusive public spaces that foster social cohesion:

(c) Urban renewal which includes slum upgrading to improve housing, infrastructures
and services, and urban greening, including the promotion of urban agriculture for
food security and communal wellness, and the development of safe, accessible and
enjoyable open spaces and parks;

(d) Urban mobility and connectivity which provide for safe, accessible, affordable,
efficient and sustainable public transportation through the development of adequate
transportation infrastructures, utilities and intermodal transportation systems,
including non-motorized modes of transportation such as walking and bicycling, and
enhances digitalization and technological innovation to strengthen global and urban-
rural linkages and management;

(e) Urban safety which ensures freedom of all persons, regardless of gender, age, health
status, income, nationality, ethnicity, and political, religious or sexual orientation,
from crimes and all forms of violence and discrimination in the workplace and public
spaces;

(1) Ecological balance which requires the sustainable management of natural resources,
protection and conservation of biodiversity, natural ecosystems and landscapes,
proper waste management and sanitation, provision of green infrastructures and the
development and use of renewable energy sources in transportation, industry and
households to reduce carbon footprint and improve water and air quality:

(g) Climate resilience which builds the capacity of urban areas to adapt to and manage
threats and risks from climate change and natural disasters, and facilitate post-
disaster rehabilitation and recovery:

(h) Cultural diversity which respects, protects, and promotes the diverse livelihoods,
customs, memory, identities, expressions, and sociocultural forms of its inhabitants,
preserves tangible cultural heritage, such as artistic creations, historical sites and
monuments, and safeguards intangible cultural heritage, such oral traditions,
performing arts, indigenous knowledge and traditional skills, as well as the
instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith; and,

(i) Participatory urban governance which enhances political participation in the
formulation, implementation, monitoring, and budgeting of urban policies in order
to strengthen the transparency, effectiveness and inclusion of the diversity of


inhabitants and their organizations, especially of urban poor and marginalized
groups, upholding communal spirit and supporting community-building.

‘The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, in consultation with
relevant government agencies, local government units, civil society organizations, the private
sector and the academe, shall, within 180 days since the effectivity of this Act, harmonize the
National Urban Development and Housing Framework with this Act and formulate, in
coordination with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), a National
Sustainable Cities Roadmap to operationalize the goals of this Act, taking into consideration
the unique and evolving economic, social and institutional contexts of the country.

The National Sustainable Cities Roadmap shall provide long-term strategic plans to
achieve the goals of this Act, and shall generate estimates and projections to determine present
and future demand for infrastructures and services in urban areas, and shall identify policy and
programmatic interventions to address challenges to sustainable urban development, and
specific periodic targets and indicators and investment requirements thereof.

SEC. 5. Targets and indicators. — In preparing the National Sustainable Cities
Roadmap, the DHSUD and NEDA shall be guided by the principles provided under Section 4
of this Act, as well as the targets and indicators set forth in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and the New Urban Agenda of the United Nations:

(a) Urban population living in slums — measured in terms of proportion of urban
population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing;

(b) Public transport access ~ measured in terms of proportion of population that has
convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities;

(c) Sustainable urbanization rates — measured in terms of ratio of land consumption rate
to population growth rate;

(4) Urban planning and 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:

(c) 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;

(f) 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;

(g) 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;

(h) 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 quality ~ measured in terms of the annual mean levels of fine particulate
matter;


(i) Open spaces in cities — measured in terms of average share of the built-up area of
cities s open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with
disabilities;

(k) Safe spaces in cities ~ measured in terms of proportion of persons who are victims of
physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of
occurrence, in the previous 12 months;

(I) 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 city;

(m) Integrated disaster risk management ~ measured in terms of adoption 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 and indicators as determined by DHSUD and NEDA consistent
with the model of sustainable cities and communities provided in Section 4 of this
Act.

SEC. 6. Urban planning. — The DHSUD, in coordination with NEDA and Department
of Interior Local Government (DILG), shall provide technical assistance to local government
units in the integration of the pertinent provisions of this Act, the National Urban Development
and Housing Framework and the National Sustainable Cities Roadmap in their Annual
Development Plans, Annual Investment Plans, Physical Framework Plans, Development
Master Plans, Comprehensive Land Use Plans, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Plans, and similar plans.

National agencies and local government units shall ensure the genuine and adequate
participation in urban, regional, spatial and/or environmental planning: Provided, That, every
Filipino shall have access to information, official records, public records and to documents and
papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, and research data related to urban
development to enable informed participation in the decision-making.

SEC. 7, Incentives for Sustainable Cities. — The DILG and the Department of Budget
and Management shall develop a grant or cash award incentive scheme for LGUs that are able
to achieve the annual targets set by DHSUD and NEDA. The Department of Finance shall
provide incentives to the participation of the private sector in the achievement of the goals
identified under this Act, in accordance with Republic Act No. 10771.

SEC. 8. Funding. — National government agencies and local government units shall
include in their respective programs the needed operational and institutional requirements in
upholding the enumerated rights in this Act, the initial funding of which shall be charged
against their current appropriations. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the
continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations
Act.

The National Government and local government units shall accordingly pursue
alternative resource mobilization strategies, including, but not limited to, public-private


partnerships, official development assistance, and land value capture, to leverage public
resources and maximize their value to finance the operational requirements of this Act.

SEC. 9. Oversight. ~ The DHSUD, NEDA and DILG shall submit annually a Progress
Report on the performance of their respective duties provided for under this Act and the
compliance of cities and urban municipalities to the provisions of this Act to Congress,
specifically to the Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement, and the
House of Representatives Committee on Housing and Urban Development, and Special
Committee on Sustainable Development Goals.

SEC. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within six (6) months since the
effectivity of this Act, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development
(DHSUD), in consultation with concerned national government agencies, metropolitan area
authorities, local government units, civil society organizations, the private sector and the
academe, shall promulgate the implementing rules and regulations for the effective
implementation of this Act.

SEC. 11. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the validity of the other provisions shall not be affected
thereby.

SEC. 12, Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts
thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 13. Effeetivity. — This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,