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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 712 
Introduced by REP. JAVIER MIGUEL “JAVI” L. BENITEZ 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines is one of the fastest urbanizing countries in the East Asia and 
Pacific region1. 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 areas2.  
Cities are catalysts of economic growth. Urban areas account for 75 to 80 
percent of the country’s gross domestic product since 20003. The National 
Capital Region (NCR) alone contributed 38 percent of the GDP on average in 
the period 2010-20154.  
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 20125.  
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 
1 World Bank (2017). Philippines Urbanization Review: Fostering Competitive, Sustainable and Inclusive 
Cities. 
2 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.  
3 Asian Development Bank (2012). Philippines Urban Sector Assessment and Road Map. 
4 Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022. 
5 Philippine Statistics Authority. Family Income and Expenditure Survey 2012.  
July 1, 2024
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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 hazards6.  
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. 
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 earnestly sought. 
JAVIER MIGUEL L. BENITEZ 
6 Asian Development Bank (2014). National Urban Assessment. 


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 712
Introduced by REP. JAVIER MIGUEL “JAVI” L. BENITEZ 
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE CITIES 
AND COMMUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY, AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES 
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 State shall, pursuant to the 
constitutional mandate to undertake a continuing program of urban land 
reform and housing which will make available to underprivileged and 
homeless citizens decent and affordable housing, access to basic services, and 
adequate 
employment 
opportunities, 
and 
in 
consonance 
with 
the 
constitutional guarantees on social justice, general welfare, public health, and 
ecological balance, recognize the right to the city of all which encompasses the 
collective access to sustainable resources, meaningful participation in urban 
planning and governance, and social inclusion. 
It is likewise declared the policy of the State to promote inclusive, 
resilient, and sustainable urban development. 
Toward 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 disasters. 


 
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Further, 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. – All cities and municipalities, with a majority of 
barangays classified as  
urban by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), 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 and Communities. – 
To fulfill its economic, political and social functions, a local government unit 
covered under this Act shall conform with and implement plans, programs and 
activities, guided by Ambisyon 2040 and the Philippine Standards for 
Sustainable Cities and Communities, according to the following principles: 
 
(a) Inclusive urban circular 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 safe, adequate 
and affordable housing under different tenurial arrangements, 
giving priority to on-site resettlement, as well as universal 
healthcare, accessible education, infrastructures, livelihoods, food 
security and nutrition; and safe and inclusive public spaces that 
foster social cohesion; 
 
(c) Urban renewal which includes slum upgrading to improve 
housing, infrastructures and services; urban greening, including 
the promotion of urban agriculture for food security and 
communal wellness; and the development of inclusive, safe, 
accessible and enjoyable open spaces and parks; 
 
(d) Urban mobility and connectivity which provides for inclusive, 
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 


 
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transportation to strengthen global and urban-rural linkages and 
management; 
 
(e) ICT infrastructure for digital connectivity which provides for fast, 
secure, stable, and affordable internet connectivity that would be 
able to cater to technological innovations and enhance 
digitalization to strengthen global and urban-rural linkages and 
management; 
 
(f) 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; 
 
(g) 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; 
 
(h) Climate resilience which builds the capacity of urban areas to 
adapt to and manage threats and risks posed by climate change 
and disasters to constituents especially vulnerable groups, and to 
facilitate post-disaster rehabilitation and recovery; 
 
(i) 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, artifacts and cultural spaces 
associated therewith; 
 
(j) Participatory 
urban 
governance 
which 
involves 
political 
participation in the formulation, implementation, monitoring, and 
budgeting of urban policies in order to promote transparency, 
effectiveness, and inclusiveness in the engagement of a diverse set 
of inhabitants and their organizations, especially of urban poor 
and marginalized groups, upholding communal spirit and 
supporting community-building; and 
 


 
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(k) Alignment of economic, social, and environmental policies 
between and among national, regional, city, and municipal 
government units, facilitating the achievement of the goals of each 
unit. 
 
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development 
(DHSUD), in consultation with relevant government agencies, local 
government units, civil society organizations, the private sector and the 
academe, shall, within 180 days from the effectivity of this Act, harmonize 
existing national housing and urban development plans with this Act and 
formulate, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local 
Government (DILG), the National Economic and Development Authority 
(NEDA), and the PSA, a National Housing and Urban Development Sector 
Plan (NHUDSP) to operationalize the goals of this Act, taking into 
consideration the unique and evolving economic, social and institutional 
contexts of the country. 
 
The NHUDSP shall provide short-term, medium-term, and long-term 
strategic plans to achieve the goals of this Act. 
 
The NHUDSP shall also generate estimates and projections to determine 
present and future demand for infrastructures and services in urban areas, and 
shall identify policy and program 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 NHUDSP, the DHSUD, 
NEDA, DILG, and the PSA 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, income group, and persons with disability; 
 
(c) Sustainable urbanization rates - measured in terms of ratio of land 
consumption rate to population growth rate; 
 
(d) Urban planning and management - measured in terms of 
proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil 


 
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society in urban planning and management that operate regularly 
and democratically; 
 
(e) 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 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 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; 
 
(j) Open spaces in cities - measured in terms of average share of the 
built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by 
sex, age and persons with disability; 
 
(k) Safe spaces in cities - measured in terms of proportion of persons 
who are victims of physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, 
persons with disability, and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 
months; 
 
(l) 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; 
 


 
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(o) Urban economy - measured in terms of percentage of the labor 
force in the education and Research and Development sectors, and 
unemployment rate and number of businesses; 
 
(p) Innovation-geared education - measured in terms of the number of 
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics higher 
education degrees; 
 
(q) Use of renewable energy - measured in terms of percentage of 
consumed energy from renewable sources; 
(r) Universal healthcare - measured in terms of number of in-patient 
hospital beds and physicians; 
 
(s) Food security - measured in terms of percentage of city budget 
spent on initiatives on urban agriculture; 
 
(t) Water and wastewater management - measured in terms of water 
consumption per capita, percentage of households with access to 
basic water supply, percentage of treated wastewater that is 
reused; 
 
(u) Access to ICT services - measured in terms of proportion of 
population that has access to fast, secure, stable, and affordable 
internet services to cater and accommodate online or digital 
transactions or services necessary for the conduct of daily activities 
in the modern society; and 
 
(v) Such other targets and indicators as determined by DHSUD, 
NEDA, DILG, and PSA consistent with the principles that guide 
sustainable cities and communities as provided in Section 4 of this 
Act: Provided, That at any time, but not more than once every five 
years, such targets and indicators may be reviewed or revised as 
the need arises to conform to changes and new developments 
brought about by the latest trends in institutionalizing sustainable 
cities and communities. 
 
SEC. 6. Urban Planning and Development. – The DHSUD, in coordination 
with NEDA, DILG, and DPWH 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 NHUDSP 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. 
 


 
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National agencies and local government units shall ensure the genuine 
and adequate participation in urban, regional, spatial and environmental 
planning; Provided, That, 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 shall be made available pursuant to 
Section 7, Article III of the 1987 Constitution. 
 
SEC. 7. Incentives for Sustainable Cities. – The DILG and the Department 
of Budget and Management shall incorporate the annual targets set by DHSUD, 
DILG, and NEDA in the awarding of the Seal of Good Local Governance under 
Republic Act No. 11292 otherwise known as "The Seal of Good Local 
Governance Act of 2019." 
 
SEC. 8. Appropriations. – 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 which fall within 
their respective legal mandates, 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 by the national 
government agencies 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 with guidance of the Public-Private Partnership 
Center, 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. Public Participation. – National Agencies and Local Government 
Units shall ensure the genuine and adequate participation in urban, regional, 
spatial and environmental planning through the following: 
 
(a) Incentives for the private sector - 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, otherwise known as the “Philippine 
Green Jobs Act of 2016”; 
 
(b) Capacity building for communities - dthe DHSUD shall provide 
technical assistance to homeowners’ associations, neighborhood 
associations, people's organizations, and other local organizations 
to empower them as partners in achieving the goals of this act, and 


 
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enable them to undertake community-level actions towards 
becoming sustainable communities; and 
 
(c) Informed 
participation 
- 
information, 
education 
and 
communication materials shall be developed to make the 
NHUDSP accessible to all. 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 process. 
 
SEC. 10. Report to Congress. – The DHSUD, NEDA, and DILG shall 
submit an annual 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 of the Philippines, through the Committee 
on Housing and Urban Development of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement of the Senate. 
 
SEC. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within six (6) months 
from the effectivity of this Act, the DHSUD, in consultation with the NEDA, 
DILG, PSA, 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. 12. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act or a portion 
thereof is declared unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision 
not affected thereby shall remain in force and effect. 
 
SEC. 13. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, orders, rules and 
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are 
hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 14. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from 
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved.