1.
2 PHYSICAL CONFIGURATIONS
AS OUTCOMES OF SOCIO-
ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
AN OVERVIEW OF THE SPATIAL POLICY ON
ASIAN AND EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
The Republic of the Philippines is made up of
more than 7,000 islands stretching 1,851 km
from north to south. The 11 largest islands,
which include Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro,
Samar, Leyte, and Cebu, make up 96% of the
country's surface area.
The Philippines is one of the most urbanized
developing countries in Asia: by 1990 about
half of the population was living in urban
areas.
There is a large disparity between the rich and
the poor among the general population, and
many relocate to cities seeking work. The
eradication of poverty is one of the most
pressing tasks the country faces. Three quarters
of the poor live in rural areas.
Situated in this predominantly Christian country
(accounting for 93% of the population), the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) in particular suffers marked
underdevelopment
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND SPATIAL PLANNING
SYSTEM
The local government administrative system in
the Philippines is three-tiered, consisting of:
1) provinces and highly urbanized cities,
2) cities ("component cities") and municipalities,
and
3) barangays (the smallest administrative unit).
The planning system as it relates to land
policies from the national to regional levels
entails spatial planning and socioeconomic
development planning. There are plans under
both of these frameworks that are
implemented at the regional level, a region in
this case being a division created out in order
to bunch multiple provinces together for
nominal administrative purposes
Spatial planning is largely a public sector
function to influence the future spatial
distribution of activities. It aims to create a more
rational territorial organization of land uses and
the linkages between them, to balance demands
for development with the need to protect the
environment, and to achieve social and economic
objectives. Spatial planning tries to coordinate and
improve the impacts of other sectoral policies on
land use, in order to achieve a more even
distribution of economic development within a
given territory than would otherwise be created
by market forces. Spatial planning is therefore an
important lever for promoting sustainable
development and improving the quality of life.
Spatial planning systems refer to the
methods and approaches used by the
public and private sector to influence the
distribution of people and activities in
spaces of various scales. Spatial planning
can be defined as the coordination of
practices and policies affecting spatial
organization.
Spatial Planning is critical for delivering
economic, social, and environmental benefits by
creating more stable and predictable conditions
for investment and development, by securing
community benefits from development, and by
promoting prudent use of land and natural
resources for development.
Separate professional disciplines which
involve spatial
planning include land use, urban / urban
renewal, regional, transportation, economic
and community planning. Spatial
planning takes place on local, regional,
national and inter-national levels and often
results in the creation of a spatial plan.
Figure:Planning system
MAJOR AUTHORITIES RELATING TO SPATIAL
POLICY
Program name or
Organizations
administrative field
Medium-Term Philippine National Economic and
Development Plan Development Authority
National Framework for National Economic and
Physical Planning Development Authority
Physical Framework Plan for Metropolitan Manila
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority
SPATIAL PLANNING AND TERRITORIAL
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
Socioeconomic Planning System at the National and
Regional Levels
A Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan
(MTPDP) remains in force for six years,
corresponding to the term of office of the country's
president (however, the recent plan is a five-year
plan, "Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016",
starting from the second year of the presidency). It is
a national program that outlines the policies the
president wishes to institute during his or her term.
MTPDPs corresponding to presidential terms came
into being in 1986. These replaced the four-year and
five-year plans that had continued since the 1970s.
MTPDPs lay out major policy initiatives,
socioeconomic strategies, and major national
programs. Regional development plans,
meanwhile, stipulate strategies, programs and
projects that facilitate the goals of the national
plans.
The National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA), which charged with drafting
the MTPDPs, coordinates with related agencies in
formulating the plan. The final product is subject
to the approval by a NEDA committee made up of
government cabinet members (the "Cabinet
Committee") and chaired by the president.
The NEDA's drafts for the national development
plan and its policies serve as the basis for drafting,
reviewing, and deliberating the regional
development plans. Regional Development
Council (RDC) organized in each region (except for
NCR, ARMM and CAR which have different
organizations) is the counterparts of NEDA
regional office established in each region (except
for NCR and ARMM) that decides how plans
should be implemented at the regional and
municipal levels. Each RDC is made up of
regional/municipal representatives,
representatives from government arms in the
region, and members of the private sector.
Spatial Planning Systems at the National
and Regional Levels
Rooted in the notion that spatial planning
should be done from a long-term perspective,
the 30-year "National Physical Framework Plan,
1993-2022" (NPFP) was formulated. The second
and current plan was renamed the "National
Framework for Physical Planning, 2001-2030"
(NFPP). Just as NFPP took over NPFF after eight
years from its beginning, NFPP too is planned
to be reviewed in about a decade from its
beginning year and currently, in 2012, the next
NFPP is under study.
The NFPP lays out policies and initiatives
related to the distribution, utilization,
management, and development of land and
material resources. The ultimate purpose of the
plan is to raise land productivity, protect and
ensure the sustainability of resources, facilitate
the coherent development of housing, and
build an infrastructure that helps promote or
assist in development. Similar to NFPF, NFPP
was established through the office of NEDA by
NLUC (National Land Use Committees), which
consists of related ministries and is in close
connection with NEDA. Today NLUC is
positioned as one of the subordinate
committee of NEDA committee (its position was
changed by Executive Order No.770 in 2008.)
There was a reason behind the name change from
NPFP to NFPP. The previous plan restricted the
actions of the lower-tiered administrative
authorities. The new framework, in contrast, is
designed to relieve such restrictions and give local
authorities more say in policy decisions.
In a development that paralleled the creation
of the NFPP, at the regional level, Regional
Physical Framework Plans (RPFPs) came to be
drafted. Just as with the NFPP, the RPFPs
presented local authorities with choices and
directions for policy. The national and regional
NEDA offices direct the creation of RPFPs
(except for NCR and ARMM), but each RPFP
must be approved by the local Regional
Development Council (see above) (this also
excludes NCR and ARMM, and also CAR).
Except for two regions (NCR and CAR), target
year of current RPFPs of all the regions
including ARMM is 2030.
Metropolitan Planning System
Metropolitan Manila (NCR or Metro Manila) is
the only urban area in the country of which its
geographical area and administrative power is
legally defined (by 1995 Act for creating Metro
Manila Development Authority). (There are
cases out of NCR where a big city and its
surrounding local government units naming
themselves Metro Sebu, Metro Davao, etc., and
carrying out wide-area administration for partial
duties, according to their voluntary agreement,
which have legal basis in the 1986 Constitution
and the Local Government Code of 1991).
After Metropolitan Manila Development
Authority (MMDA), the government agency,
came into being in 1995, the first spatial
planning document it issued was the "Physical
Development Framework Plan for
Metropolitan Manila, 1996-2016" (PDFPFMM).
The plan was amended in 1999 (its name and
planning period remains as it was in 1996) and
is maintained until now, but at the moment in
February 2012, to replace it, formulation of a
plan called "Metro Manila Green Print 2030" is
under preparation.
As a plan corresponding to Regional
Development Plans of other regions, Regional
Development Plan for the National Capital
Region 2010-2016 (RDP-NCR) was established.
For this plan MMDA plays the role of NEDA
regional offices in the cases of other regions and
the plan is established through the approval of
Metro Manila Council (MMC) which corresponds
Regional Development Councils (RDCs) of other
regions. MMC is the policymaking organization
of MMDA that consists of all the cities' and
municipalities' mayors in NCR and was given the
status as a RDC by an executive order in 2002.
OTHER POLICIES WITH
SIGNIFICANT TERRITORIAL
EFFECTS
Industrial Cluster Strategy
The Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016 (PDP)
sets out "Industrial Cluster Strategy" to promote
creation of industrial clusters (geographical
accumulation of specific industry) reflecting
industrial activity and infrastructural character of
respective domestic area which will contribute to the
creation of regional wealth through export. In this
strategy, through developing industrial clusters, the
government intends to promote fostering of inter-
business cooperation between small and medium
tiny companies to strengthen network toward
collaboration, and this is based on the understanding
that the past development policy had lead the
country to "fall into the path of a trickle-down jobless
growth" (words from the Preface of PDP.
Trickle-down is an economic thought that
expresses vitalization of economic
activities of large enterprises and
wealthy class will make a stream of
wealth pouring down onto low-income
class that will finally bring benefit to the
whole nation).
