PLANNING IN THE

PHILIPPINES
 PLANNING IN THE PHILIPPINES

(3) Three Periods:

1. PRE-COLONIAL TIMES
2. SPANISH COLONIAL TIMES
3. THE AMERICAN PERIOD
 1. PRE-COLONIAL TIMES:

• Like other cities in the world the earliest

Filipino communities developed out of the
need for their inhabitants to band together.
• They were formed for security, or to be close
to critical resources like food and water.
• Most of the earliest towns were by the coast
for the fisherfolk or were where there was
abundant agricultural land for the farmers.
La Trinidad, Benguet
Kaingin, Madalag, Aklan
• The basic socio-political unit was the barrio,
consisting of 30 to 100 families; decentralized;
located along coast lines and riverbanks;
agricultural and fishing villages.
Community grouping
 2. SPANISH COLONIAL TIMES:
• Manila became capital
• 1573 – Laws of the Indies pronounced by King
Philip II – Spanish town planning influenced by
the Romans and the Piazza planning of Italian
Renaissance.
• 1596 – spatial segregation along racial and
social lines – Indios and Chinese have separate
districts; Parian or market – spatial
concentration of merchants and artisans to
regulate the exchange of goods.
• 1600s to 1700s – process of Hispanization
through the founding of cabeceras
(poblaciones) and visitas (barrios); natives
living on the unplanned fringes of the
neighborhood; debajo de las campanas.
• Laws of the Indies:
- In 1573, King Philip II proclaimed the Laws of
the Indies that established uniform standards
and planning procedures for colonial
settlements.
- This law provided guidelines for site selection,
layout and dimensioning of streets and
squares, the location of civic and religious
buildings, open space, cultivation and
pasturing lands, and even the main procedural
phases of planning and construction.
• The Plaza Complex:
- a result of several ordinances of the Laws of
the Indies.
- The plaza is surrounded by important
buildings such as the Catholic church,
municipal hall, Marketplace and merchant’s
stores, elementary school, the homes of the
“principalia”, and other government buildings.
Cordoba from Madina, Azahara, Spain - October
2007
• Intramuros - the walled City of Manila
- 1.2 sq. KM in area; perimeter is 3.4 KM
- home of the Spanish (except for the friars &
the high ranking officials).
- decentralization occurred and settlements
were built in Malate, San Miguel, and Paco,
among other areas.
• Early 1600s – Manila became the first primate
city in Southeast Asia.
• 1650 – chapels or small churches in the cabecera
were built to attract tenacious natives from the
barrios (hinterlands) through fiestas and
processions.
• 1790s – opening of the Manila- Acapulco galleon
trade; emergence of semi-urban places in the
provinces.
• 1850s-late 1800s – Chinese dominated central
commercial business districts in all settlements;
commercial shops on the ground floors of
centrally located houses; no more spatially
segregated peripheral clusters of Chinese.;
decentralized residential pattern for Spaniards.
 3. THE AMERICAN PERIOD:

• 1890s – other port cities continue to become

regional urban centers; bridges were built
along postal routes facilitating transport in
Luzon.
• 1903 – City of Manila was incorporated
covering Intramuros and 12 fast-growing
suburban towns.
Ayala Bridge
Manila streetcar, early 1900s
• The American Agenda:
- guide urban growth and physical
development.
- put more emphasis on other values such as
sanitation, housing, and aesthetic
improvements.
• 1905 – Manila and Baguio Plans of Daniel H.
Burnham introduced the City Beautiful
western type of town planning.
Parsons' plan for Cebu.
The sweeping seaside boulevard named for Admiral Dewey. It
went as far as where the Bangko Sentral stands today.
• Burnham’s Design for Manila:
- Designed with grand avenues and a strong
central civic core.
- Included a civic mall to house national
buildings (only the Finance and Agriculture
buildings were built).
- Fronted Manila Bay like most Baroque plans
fronted a large body of water.
• Burnham also planned the filling of
Intramuros' moats to create recreation
grounds for tennis, golf, and an aquarium.
• He argued that the historic walls be preserved
overall, but opened at strategic points for
traffic flow.
The landfill that became South Port Area is another part of
Burnham's plan:
Lighthouse and Anda Monument, Intramuros, Manila,
1901
Fort Santiago
bridge crossing Pasig River
Lanchas at the Pasig River
Manila now
Calle Del Rosario
Calle Real de Manila
A typical Manila street scene Calle Rosario, Binondo
Present day
Old Luneta Hotel
Old Luneta, with background of San Agustin church
and an American Flag …
Manila cathedral
Old Manila before the War
• 1910 – rebuilding of settlements complete
with hygiene and sanitary facilities and
drainage systems called sanitary barrios.
• 1920s - Barrio Obrero or the working class
district evolved as government response to
the needs of low-income labor families in
urban areas.
• 1928 – zoning ordinance for Manila
promulgated but took effect only in 1940;
zoning became popular in America in the
1920s.
• Manila as the First Chartered City:
- On July 31, 1903, by virtue of Act No. 183,
the city of Manila was incorporated.
- Manila encompassed Intramuros, and the
towns of Binondo, Tondo, Sta. Cruz, Malate,
Ermita, Paco, and Pandacan.
- The population then was 190,000 people.
• 1935: National Economic Council: Chief
planning agency formulating national
economic policies and preparing broad
economic as well as social development.
(Revitalized in 1950)
• 1938: Established the Philippine Home site
Corporation.
• Growth of Manila:
The Arrabales
a. Quiapo- the illustrado territory; the enclave
of the rich and powerful. Also the
manifestation of folk religiosity.
b. Binondo- the trading port developed by the
Chinese and Arabs.
c. Sta. Cruz- the main commercial district with
swirls of shops, movie houses, restaurants, etc.
Baluarte de San Diego
• d. San Nicolas- also a commercial town built
by the Spanish with streets of “specialized”
categories (i.e. ceramics, soap, etc.)
e. Sampaloc- centered on two churches (Our
Lady of Loreto and Saint Anthony of Padua).
Also known as the first “University Town”.
 Gabaldon Schools in the Philippines

• The legacy of 534 schools left by the Spanish

was quickly expanded to an infrastructure of
around 3,000 school buildings constructed
under this program over the next 30 years.
• The heritage significance of the so called
“Gabaldon Schools” is now widely recognised
in the Philippines and the progressive
conservation of surviving examples is now
official policy of the Department of Education.
Kuguita, North coast of the island, Mambajao,
Camiguin Island
• This original classroom building is a
characteristic example of a Gabaldon School
of the 1920's.
• The design is based on one of a range of
standard Gabaldon models and prototypes
designed for elementary schools and high
schools of varying sizes and number of
classrooms, which also display distinctive
regional architectural influences.
• At Kuguita, details of the colonnade and
windows exhibit Islamic influences of the
region.
Silay North Elementary School
Burgos Central School (Pangasinan)
• The school was destroyed during World War II
but was rebuilt in 1949.
• Although it has been in use since then, it fell
victim to poor maintenance until its
renovation in 2004.
• Total rehabilitation was completed in January
2005 by the Heritage Conservation Society
(HCS).
 Further Suburbanization:
• After the war - RA 333 designated Quezon city
as new Capital and master planning it by the
Capital City Planning Commission.
• In 1939, Commonwealth Act No. 457,
authorized the transfer of the capitol to an
area of 1572 hectares.
• A master plan of Quezon City was completed
in 1941 by Architects Juan Arellano, Harry T.
Frost, Louis Croft, and Eng’r. A.D. Williams.
• “City beautiful” plan reflected the aspirations
of an emerging nation and the visions of a
passionate leader.
Events related to Planning after the
2nd World War to the Present
Old Manila
• Constitution Hill:
- In 1946, a search committee was formed to find
a new site a 158 ha area in the Novaliches
watershed was selected and called Constitution
Hill and National.
• Government Center
- The three seats of government were to form a
triangle at the center of the complex
- It included a 20 hectare civic Space referred to
as the Plaza of the Republic.
• After World War II: unabated migration of
families into the city from all parts of the country.
“The squatter phenomenon”.
• 1946: National Urban Planning Commission:
NUPC created by President Sergio Osmena
under EO 98.
– reconstruct towns and cities destroyed during the
Second World War.
– PAH: Presidential Assistance on Housing
– NHC: National Housing Commission
• 1947: People’s Home site and Housing
Corporation, PHHC: replaced the NHC and PHC
(Philippine Home site Corporation).
• 1948: July 17, 1948 Presidential Decree 233:
creation of Quezon City as the new Capital of
the Philippines.
– CCPC: Capital City Planning Commission: Architect
Juan M. Arellano created a development plan for
Quezon City.
• 1950’s The Department of Social Welfare
under the administration of President Elpidio
Quirino created the “Slum Clearance
Committee” to relocate squatters outside the
city.
• 1950: NPC (National Planning Commission)
replaced NUPC and CCPC.
– functions were authorized to design any kind of
town, city or regional plan for any part of the
country
– To draft a Building Code
 Manila circa 1950
A shot of Manila post-Independence. Intramuros in the background.
• 1950s - National Planning Commission (later
on as NEDA) was established.
• 1954: NPC prepared a master plan for Manila
which was published in 1956.
• 1954: Social Security Service, SSS
• 1955: President Ramon Magsaysay EO 149
established the National Housing Council: NHC.
• 1956: Home Financing Corporation of Manila
• 1957: Development Bank of the Philippines,
DBP
• 1958: (2) two United Nations expert came to
the Philippines. Charles Abramsland, Otto
Koenighsberger.
• 1959: RA 2264 Plan for Philippine towns and
cities. Responsibility of Local government.
• RA 2264 – local Autonomy Act of 1959
empowered LGUs to enact zoning ordinances
and subdivision rules; all towns and cities
required to form planning boards to craft
development plans under the guidance of the
NPC.
• 1960: Intermediate structures consisting of
regional authorities.
– took care of planning and development between
national departments and local political units.
– to diffuse the rate of growth which was
considered to be overly centered in Manila
• Authorities Established:
1. Mindanao Development Authority
• First regional authority established in 1961, patterned after
TVA, Tennessee Valley Authority.
• To develop Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan
• Authorities created concurred with development of ports,
tourism, etc.
2. CLCVA: Central Luzon – Cagayan Valley Authority
• Concentrated on water resource projects
• Collection of basic data on the region
• Survey of Cagayan and Pampanga Rivers assisted by French
and Japanese specialists.
• Formulate plans for the two rivers.
• Designed provisional studies on irrigation systems and
dumpsites in the Magat River-Multi Purpose Study.
3. LLDA: Laguna Lake Development Authority
• engaged in feasibility and design study aimed at
hydraulic control of the lake for agriculture.
• industrial and transport pursuits
• pilot demonstrations in hog management in Laguna
• Fish culture in Rizal
4. Mountain Province Development Authority
• economic report on the province
• projects studies of vegetable industry
5. Bicol Development Company, 1966
• economic survey of the region
• rice crash Programme
• fishing project
• Tiwi Geothermal deposits and Abaca Industry
6. Revised Administration Code
• Special Uniform Charter of Regional Development
Authority
• Country divided into 9 regions
• 1961: NFC, National Finance Corporation of
the Philippines.
• 1962: Tapping the potentials of the Pampanga
River Basin.
• 1963: Central Bank of the Philippine was
established.
• 1963: Sapang Palay: pilot project of
Presidential Committee on Squatters.
• 1963: Center for Urban Studies started to take
shape which led to the creation of LGC (Local
Government Center) of University of the
Philippines Institutes of Public Administration.
• 1964: National Urban Planning, Housing and
Financing Authority.
– due to rise of urban dwellers, in the 1960’s 30%
were urban dwellers.
• 1965: Council of Administrative Management
– headed by PIA General Armand Fabella
– regional development authority should only do
planning and their operational functions turned over
to pertinent line departments.
– October 1965: University of the Philippines
established the Institute of Planning or SURP through
RA 4351.
• 1966: Republic Act 4852: establishment of
CITRUS: Central Institute for the Training and
Relocation of Urban Squatters.
– 25 October 1966: President Economic Staff, PSF:
Bernard Wagner engaged for 2 years through
International Development Aid.
• 1967: February 1967 MPC should have
completed the Master Plan for the city for 11
years.
– MPC: limited to that of consultancy. Planning up
to individual cities and municipalities. Since no
funding, no plans were done.
– 15 November 1967: Principal Agencies and offices
concerned with housing and urban development.
– Presidential Assistance on Housing PAH
• 1968: Creation of PRECHUS: Presidential
Coordinating Committee on Housing and
Urban Settlements.
• Feb-June 1969: Conference on “Man and his
Environment” to assess the following:
1. to recognize the ills of the city, its causes and
effects.
2. to adopt measures to use or at least alleviate
these ills.
3. to recognize the need for planning and the
procedures and methods of planning.
4. to implement these plans.
• 1969: Data bank for Urban and Regional
Planning written by Gerardo Calambia
– describes the need for a planning data bank
 – May 16, 1969: Committee from the Board of
Technical Survey and Maps, NPC and UP Institute
for Planning formed task force committed on Land
Use Planning
• 1970: Physical Planning Strategy of the
Philippines
– 9 November 1970: Joint Resolution Number 3,
congress of the Philippines – Basic Policy which
shall guide the country and economic
development through environmental planning
• 1972: Country Side Development Programme:
to stabilize the unhealthy balance between
urban growth and rural underdevelopment.
1. land reform
2. farmer’s cooperatives
3. small and medium scale industry assistance
4. rural electrification
5. self-employment
6. road construction
7. media dispersal
• 1972: Regional Development Council
– RDC for each 11 regions
1. to conduct a comprehensive survey of the
resources and potentialities of the region.
2. to prepare long range and annual socio-
economic development plans for the regions.
3. to translate the national economic good into
more specific regional objective.
 – September 1972: Integrated Reorganization Plan
– division of country into 11 later 12 administrative
regions.
– establishment of Regional Development Council
– restructuring of field offices of implementing
national agencies.
• 1973: PD. 107 creation of the National
Economic Development Authority, NEDA
• 1974: Regional Planning Strategies of the
Philippines, blended significant factions of all
(3) meanings of Regional Planning.
1. Planning for a region as a separate economy.
2. Testing the consistency of regional plans with
each other and the national plan.
3. Putting “Space Tags” as projects on the national
plan with (2) objectives in mind.
a. to assure the best possible location of industry
b. to reduce the gap in productivity and income among
various regions in the country.
• 1975: NEDA organized sectoral workshops to
strengthen planning authorities and to ensure
that sectoral decisions taken at the central
level combine to serve the needs of
regionalization.
• 1975: Regional Planning Assistance Project
• 1976: Mindanao Regional Development
Project.
• 1976: Manila Bay Metropolitan Region
Strategy Plan Study.
• 1976: NEDA came out with a set of “National
and Regional Planning Guidelines” to
incorporate the national policy of the
development of the 12 administrative regions.
– publishes internal statistic papers: entitled
“Reforms in National Policies Affecting Regional
Development” which states basic policy guides for
specific areas.
– Creation of Human Settlement Commission
• Which has regulatory powers on land use.
• 1976: Budget Commission issued guidelines
on the preparation of the National Budget of
1977.
– to pave the way for allocation on an area rather
than sectoral basis and ensure the flow of
resources to the regions.
– to realize fund is direct to regional offices.
• 1978: Regional Development Investment
Programme
• 1979: Zero based budgeting further took
ground.
• 1980: Regionalization of budget of National
Government Agencies.
• 1981: Regional Budgeting System improved
further with the adoption of a mechanism for
the formulation service and integration of
budget proposals of government agencies of
the region.
• 1983: Improvement of the Budget process to
ensure efficiency in allocation of budgetary
resources for the development programmes
and projects.
• 1987 Constitution and Local Government
Code of 1991 – devolved powers to LGUs;
local autonomy; developments plans under
the supervision of NEDA.
• Housing Development:
• Philippine Homesite and Housing Corporation
- Precursor of the National Housing Authority
- Built homes for the masses (“the projects”,
i.e. proj.4, proj. 6, etc.)
• Philamlife Homes
- icon of middle class suburbanization
- Master Plan was designed by Architect and
Planner, Carlos P. Arguelles, based on
suburban developments in California with
modifications.
• BLISS (Bagong Lipunan sites and services)
- Walk-up developments for government
sector.
 Regional Policy Perspective.
• Within regions, regional policy must be crafted
in such a way that it promotes the exploitation
of agro-industrial linkages in terms of
infrastructure programs as well as policies and
guidelines that facilitate investment decision-
making in agriculture and industry.
• There are a number of considerations that
have to be made in this regard. Such as:
• First, a good deal of physical planning and
locational analyses must be done to produce a
physical distribution framework that layouts
the optimal spreading of infrastructure
facilities (e.g. roads and bridges, power
generation and distribution, water supply and
communications) to facilitate agro-industrial
linkages.
• Second, industrial location within the region
must be given greater attention.
• This will involve the need to consider human
settlement provision, people-oriented services
and other social amenity as industries tend to
attract and concentrate population around
them.
• Third, regional and local plans must veer from
being indicative towards being more
operational, providing a clearer and coherent
integration of social, economic, physical and
institutional reforms as well as investments
and priorities for developing agriculture and
industry.
• These plans should be used as basis for
resource allocation.
• In this regard, investment planning should
seek to identify the backward and forward
linkages between agriculture and industry so
as to pinpoint areas for infrastructure
development where public investments can be
critical and those that are ripe for private
investment.
 References:
• www.uwec.edu/geography/ivogeler/w111/
central1.htm
• www.cyburbia.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11
982
• http://pupclass.blogspot.com/2008/06/module-
4-planning-3-history-part-1.html
• http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-
10371.html
• www.blogtext.org/LateBloomer/article/14592.ht
ml
• ikaunangpahina.wordpress.com/.../
• www.flickr.com/photos/sarfrazh/2140173949/
• edia.org/wiki/C%c3%b3rdoba,_Spain
• www.tribo.org/photos?a=...lan&i=503/
• http://www.dawbinarchitects.com.au/gallery.
htm
• http://heritageconservation.wordpress.com/2
006/07/27/baguio-central-school/