The Regional Land Use Committee (RLUC) of Eastern Visayas endorsed the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) 2017-2025 of Tacloban City during its first semester meeting on April 20, 2017 at the NEDA Regional Office VIII, Palo. Leyte. Per Local Government Code of 1991, local government units, in conformity to existing laws, shall continue to prepare their respective CLUPs for enactment into land use zoning ordinance, which shall be the primary and dominant basis for the future use of land resources.

Way back in 2013, an older version of the Tacloban CLUP was reviewed and endorsed by the same Committee. However, after Supertyphoon Yolanda badly hit Tacloban, the City government saw the need to revise the Plan.

The Plan consists of three (3) volumes, to wit: Volume 1- The CLUP; Volume 2- Revised Comprehensive Zoning Management Code of Tacloban City; and Volume 3- Sectoral, Ecosystem and Special Area Studies. The enhanced version highlights the city’s long-term strategies in support of its vision of making the city more resilient – an important lesson from the Yolanda experience. Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation (DRR-CCA) concerns are now mainstreamed in the Plan.

The Plan also seeks to address the pressing issues on urban congestion, housing needs and backlogs, flooding, road and waterways, industrialization, watershed and forest management, among others. It spells out strategies to better respond to the growing needs of the city in relation to its role as the region’s capital and the only highly urbanized city of Eastern Visayas.

The land use plan covers an estimated area of 4,524.66 hectares (ha.) for production, 12,935.18 ha. for protection, 1,653.52 ha. for settlement and 1,058.64 ha. for infrastructure.

The RLUC VIII endorsed the Plan to the Sangguniang Panglungsod (SP) for adoption and enactment. The Committee likewise recommended its approval by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), subject to incorporation of comments and recommendations from the members. This review and approval process is pursuant to Executive Order No. 72, entitled Providing for the Preparation and Implementation of the Comprehensive Land Use Plans of Local Government Units Pursuant to the Local Government Code of 1991 and Other Pertinent Laws and the new CLUP Guidebooks of HLURB.

Grace A. Arteche, PFPD, NEDA VIII