DILG exec says LGUs mandated to ensure structures are built in safe areas
Undersecretary Marlo Iringan of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) tells the Manila Times that local government units (LGUs) have a mandate to enforce stricter policies to ensure that no structures are built in high risk areas. During the Philippine Model Cities and Municipalities Awards of The Manila Times at The Manila Hotel on Nov. 14, 2025, Iringan said the devastation of Typhoon Tino in Cebu was not just a product of natural disaster, but also of man-made vulnerabilities and failures.
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00:00Our local governments are supposed to come up with their land use planning and these are crafted in accordance with prescribed rules and regulations.
00:08And it is based on evidence, actual evidence and actual study on the situation on the ground.
00:16So inasmuch as LGUS have already crafted their land use plans, they should strictly enforce the provisions of the land use plan.
00:25For example, we noticed that there are former settlers who were devastated by the typhoon.
00:31So in the first place, not to take anything away from them, structures constructed under bridges are not supposed to be there.
00:40So that's one of the things that we need to look into.
00:44And also, in order to ensure preparedness of our local governments, we have actually crafted operational list of protocols for all our local governments.
00:54Itong operational list of protocols is a step-by-step action that our local governments, cities, municipals, and barangay should take into consideration in order to ensure the safety of their constituents.
01:09You mentioned about strict implementations in the local government aspect.
01:13But why is it still available to the local governments?
01:18They were calling out the ANR for instance. Why did they allow this to happen?
01:22I will not comment on that. I will not comment on that because that's already outside of Mali.
01:27But how do you think we can maybe call out LGs?
01:32They have to be very very strict and vigilant in enforcing the provisions of their land use plan.
01:41We acknowledge that there are also certain limitations and constraints in the local governments.
01:47But basically, if you really want to ensure safety of our people, we need to make sure that there are no structures, no people living in high risk areas.
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