- 1 day ago
LIVE NOW: Beyond the Headlines
Today we’re joined by Architect and Environmental Planner Joseph Michael Espina, the 2024 PRC Outstanding Professional of the Year in Environmental Planning.
We’re breaking down Cebu’s biggest urban challenges —
🌧️ Flooding
🏙️ Rapid development
🚶♂️ The push for a more walkable city
We’ll also dive into:
🌲 Upland development issues
📄 Needed reforms in CCPL permitting
🏛️ Why Cebu needs an Office for Strategic Management
Plus: practical steps ordinary citizens can take to help build a safer, greener, and more livable Cebu.
Tune in now! 💬👀📺
Today we’re joined by Architect and Environmental Planner Joseph Michael Espina, the 2024 PRC Outstanding Professional of the Year in Environmental Planning.
We’re breaking down Cebu’s biggest urban challenges —
🌧️ Flooding
🏙️ Rapid development
🚶♂️ The push for a more walkable city
We’ll also dive into:
🌲 Upland development issues
📄 Needed reforms in CCPL permitting
🏛️ Why Cebu needs an Office for Strategic Management
Plus: practical steps ordinary citizens can take to help build a safer, greener, and more livable Cebu.
Tune in now! 💬👀📺
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
01:30Stay safe, everyone.
01:33Today on Beyond the Headlines, we're joined by architect and environmental planner, Joseph Michael Espina, the 2024 PRC Outstanding Professional of the Year in Environmental Planning.
01:46We'll talk about Cebu's major concerns from flooding and rapid development to the push for a more walkable city.
01:54We'll also discuss upland development issues, needed reforms in central Cebu protected landscape, permitting, and why Cebu needs an office for strategic management.
02:06Plus, what ordinary citizens like you and like me can do today to help build a safer, greener, and more livable Cebu.
02:16So, good afternoon, architect Yumi.
02:19Yeah, good afternoon. Good morning or good afternoon?
02:22Good afternoon.
02:23Good afternoon, DJ. Thank you for inviting me to your program and the headlines and also good afternoon to our viewers.
02:31Yes. So, you're a very famous celebrity here in Cebu. So, for people who are meeting you the first time, how would you prefer to be addressed? Is it architect, engineer?
02:44Oh, probably. Architect because that's my very first profession aside from the others.
02:51Yeah. I also learned that you were once the Dean also of the University of San Carlos.
02:57Yes. Years ago, I retired from the Academy in 2019, just before the pandemic.
03:02Yes. So, given all the milestones that you've had and you still have in your career, what particular motivation did you have that moved you into city and environmental planning?
03:16Yes. So, actually, I mentioned that I was a former Dean of the School of Architecture, Fine Arts, and Design of the University of San Carlos.
03:24It was years ago. I served there for nine years as Dean. And, actually, we did a lot of help to the city of Cebu and other cities, of course, with our students doing projects.
03:40Well, anyway, from there, I found out that, really, we were only discussing these things and then the principles, the theories, it's all in the academe.
03:50But, the real action is in the local government. So, it's there that I thought that I could help plan, particularly the city of Cebu.
04:01That's why I joined the city planning office as the city planner for three years.
04:08Oh, for three years. Yeah.
04:09And, I've also gathered here, because I stalked your profile.
04:15Yeah. No, just kidding. But, I also gathered here that you were part of the Metro Cebu Land Use and Transportation Study.
04:22Yes. That was way back in the 1980s under Dr. Kau.
04:26Yes. And, you were also part of the Metro Cebu Roadmap Study in 2015.
04:30Yes. Yes. That's with JICA in 2015, right.
04:34Sige. So, given all the knowledge that you've gathered through the years, plus your expertise put in, we've seen severe flooding in Cebu during Typhoon Tino.
04:47So, what really happened?
04:49Well, actually, if you look at the data from Pag-Asa, they're mentioning that there was 183 millimeter rain during the landfall of the Typhoon Tino.
05:03And, then, it increased, the rainfall increased, moving up towards the mountains to about 300 and even 428 millimeters in Toledo.
05:15So, there's this, actually, phenomenon they call orographic effect.
05:22When the Typhoon reaches the mountains, it is being forced, the air mass is being forced to the mountains, and it releases a lot of rain.
05:35So, if you look at what happened, the rainfall actually is very intense, about 400 millimeters in the mountains.
05:44This was the intersection of the four or five major watersheds of Cebu, which is Mananga in the south, and then, we have Botuanon in Cebu City and Mandawe,
05:57and then, we have Kot Kot in Liloan, Consolation, and then, we have Lusaran even in going to Balamban.
06:05So, this is where the rainfall happened, the intense rainfall.
06:09And, then, it traveled downward with all those flash landing.
06:14It took about one hour or one hour, 30 minutes, to reach the urban area.
06:20That's where we suffered a lot of casualties and destruction.
06:24And, you can even see from pictures, cars floating.
06:28So, this was the cause, the intense rainfall due to this Typhoon Tino.
06:34And, they said that this was a 100-year occurrence, a 5% chance that it could happen now.
06:44And, it happened.
06:45And, we don't know when the next one will be.
06:47It could be closer, but not really 100 years from now.
06:53But, that's what happened.
06:55Actually, you have a good visuals here, which we can show to our viewers.
07:02For us, because that also includes me, to be educated on the relationship of the different watersheds,
07:10and also, the waterways that are leading to the areas that were severely flooded during Typhoon and after Typhoon Tino.
07:18Okay. So, that map shows the rivers that run through the cities of Cebu and Mandawai.
07:28This is the map that we used in the City Planning Office.
07:32If you see there, the dark green portion is the Mananga River watershed.
07:37The light green is the Butuanon River watershed.
07:40These are the largest watersheds that fly through the rivers that fly through the cities of Cebu and Mandawai.
07:48Okay. Well, anyway, if you look at the smaller watersheds there, that is Guadalupe River that's colored orange.
07:57Then, the purple is the Kirilumsan River.
08:00Then, we have the Buhisan watershed.
08:04And, then, all those smaller watersheds, the Lahog watershed, even Mahiga Creek is there.
08:10But, these are the smaller watersheds.
08:12But, the intense rainfall happened in the uplands.
08:16The headwaters of Butuanon is in Cebu.
08:20But, the flooding really is in Mandawai.
08:24So, it's actually the effect of the rainfall on the large watershed.
08:29Imagine, 183 millimeters during landfall.
08:33It grew to 300 millimeters in just one day.
08:37The Pag-asa told us that that is equivalent to a one-month rainfall.
08:43So, that is a very intense rainfall causing so much flash flooding in urban areas.
08:50And, I could actually sense from the, or see, from the visuals that we have on screen about the rivers leading to Butuanon in Talisay.
09:04And, also, Mananga in Talisay and also Butuanon watershed leading towards Mandawai.
09:12Can you educate us further about the relationship between, among these two watersheds, plus that of Cebu, which is colored pink and purple.
09:26Well, anyway, if you define what a watershed is, it's like a cauldron.
09:33The boundaries of the watershed are the ridges.
09:37So, the ridge, actually, between Mananga and Butuanon is the trans-central highway.
09:45Okay?
09:45If you go towards Ayala Heights, the right side is the headwaters of the Butuanon.
09:51It goes all the way down to Mandawai City.
09:54On the left is the headwaters of Mananga that goes all the way down to Talisay.
09:59And, this is where the heavy rainfall happened in that area.
10:04But, the smaller watershed of Guadalupe, Lahog, and all those rivers that run through the urban area of Cebu City
10:12is entirely separate from those larger watersheds of Mananga and Butuanon.
10:18Butuanon, separate.
10:19So, the waters from Mananga does not go to these smaller watersheds inside the city of Cebu.
10:29And, even so, with Butuanon, it goes to Mandawai.
10:32And, correct me if I'm wrong, but the blue portions here that look like veins, they're the waterways.
10:40Yes, those are the rivers.
10:42And, if I am correct with what I'm seeing, it's actually telling me that there is no connection, even,
10:50from these rivers around Buhisan and Guadalupe.
10:58They don't have any connection with Mananga and Butuanon.
11:04Yes, exactly.
11:05They don't have any connection.
11:06And, that's not part of the larger watershed.
11:10Imagine, Butuanon watershed is about 6,600 hectares in area.
11:17And, if you catch that rainfall of 183 millimeters, can you imagine the volume of water rushing down towards Mandawai?
11:25That's what's happened.
11:26And, so, if my understanding is correct, then, so, that's the reason why Cebu City, in general, except Bakayan, in Villa del Rio,
11:40were not necessarily as flooded as Talisay, Mandawai, and also Consolacion.
11:48Exactly.
11:49Villa del Rio is connected to Butuanon.
11:52Yes, Villa del Rio, Bakayan, it's all under the Butuanon watershed.
11:59Okay.
12:00Sige, I'll have to address the elephant, no, in the map.
12:04Yeah.
12:05Because, from the map, I can actually see Monterazas de Cebu, no?
12:10And, there are a lot of speculations, no, that are circulating online on how the property is relating, no,
12:21to all the flooding that just transpired after or during Tino.
12:25Yeah.
12:27So, Monterazas, if you look at the, you can see, actually, two levels there.
12:33There's a lower level, which is the 200-meter elevation, is the location of the rice.
12:42200-meter elevation, is the elevation of Cebu Plaza, or Marco Polo now, Alta Vista, and Maria Luisa even.
12:53That's the 200-meter elevation.
12:55But, beyond that, the next ridge is the ridge that separates this Butuanon, of this Kinalum San watershed from the Guadalupe River watershed.
13:11So, that's the ridge portion.
13:13So, the Monterazas actually flows down to Kinalum San River, and not to Guadalupe River.
13:21And, that's where the minor flooding, I say minor because it's usual for these areas to get flooded,
13:29especially if there are houses there, and then, especially with this intense, very intense rainfall that happened.
13:36And, two detention pans of Monterazas were broken.
13:44So, it flooded these lower portions, but not as much as what happened in Mananga and Kutkut.
13:52So, how many detention pans does Monterazas have?
13:56Monterazas now has about eight detention pans, but they're going to increase it as they expand.
14:02You know, Monterazas has 200 hectares in area, and a lot of this, they have a zoning plan,
14:12and they have zones for the green areas, and then the neighborhood commercial for the whole development,
14:20and then the high-end residential up in the ridge, and then the lower-end residential, the intense residential.
14:28These are all zoned in the 200 hectare development.
14:34So, just to manage also how the public is interpreting the visuals that we just saw.
14:44So, can you really say that there is no relation between the Monterazas development,
14:50and also the flooding in Talisay, in Bakayan, and even in Kutkut, in Liloan?
14:56Yes, there is no relation at all, because it's a different watershed.
15:02So, can you also, because I think there's another visual for this specific to Monterazas,
15:06can you also help explain to our viewers what were the environmental considerations that are being done,
15:14as far as you know, as part of city planning?
15:19Okay, actually, this passed through the, the RICE passed through the zoning board,
15:25and they were required an ECC from the DNR, and they actually complied with the ECC,
15:32and there were a lot of requirements.
15:34As you can see, the DNR inspected the RICE, and then they can see the violations.
15:42There were some violations, the trees were cut, but actually there were not many trees there.
15:47We could see even the picture shrubs.
15:50These are not full-grown trees, you know, these are shrubs, but these are covering the landscape there.
15:57It helps in reducing the flooding.
16:00But of course, when you do development like this, it is too intensive, you know,
16:05when you open a lot of areas there.
16:07But it is actually allowed in our zoning ordinance, because this is zoned as residential.
16:15Even in our 1996 zoning ordinance, which was existing at the time of this approval, it is residential.
16:25Okay, so there was a question that why is it that it's above 18% slope?
16:3018% slope actually is allowed if you have engineering interventions.
16:38So cases like this, we do engineering interventions to address the slopes here.
16:46In a large development such as Monteras, which is 200 hectares, you don't look at specific locations.
16:54So look at the overall when you do planning, because it is the entire thing that they are planning.
17:01And they have to do a lot of greening, actually.
17:05Now they could not because they are still developing.
17:09That's why they are doing all of that excavation, because they need the foundations to set up that building.
17:17And the building actually is a terrace, no?
17:21So terrace, meaning there are a lot of greens.
17:24That's why the zoning board approved this also, because there are a lot of terrace and greens in their plans,
17:32that are included in the plans.
17:34And as a layperson looking at this, what is the impact now, just in case this will be put on hold,
17:44and then the landscape will continue to look like this until it's resolved.
17:49How will that impact also flooding and drainage?
17:53I think there was already, the DNR already issued a hold order,
17:57but that's why I'm concerned also, because it's already exposed, it's open.
18:03Yeah.
18:03And this is very prone to landslide now, if they leave it in that condition.
18:10So there has to be interventions or mitigating measures now to address the open areas there.
18:17So I don't know if they will be allowed to cover it up.
18:23I don't know how they can do that.
18:25But that's what is the present situation now.
18:30If it's not resolved soon, no?
18:34Yes.
18:36I'm afraid it might cause more landslides in that area.
18:41And there was a visual there about the 1996 zoning map.
18:47Yeah.
18:47Can you help our viewers also understand that better?
18:52Well, that is, if you look at the zoning map on the right,
18:56you can see that the yellow portion of the residential areas, that's 1996.
19:01Then the red portions are the commercial area.
19:05That's a red strip going up towards a green forest is the Transcentral Highway.
19:12It is zoned commercial in the 1996 zoning map.
19:17But if you look at the 2025, it has just recently been approved last June 30.
19:24We changed all of that.
19:27The Transcentral Highway is now residential.
19:31Instead of intense development like a commercial area, which is happening actually,
19:36you go up the Transcentral, there is those high-rise multi-story buildings
19:42even after Cebu Plaza or Marco Polo.
19:46So, it's beginning to happen up there.
19:49So, we changed it to residential zone.
19:52And then you can see from the 1996 to the proposed zoning ordinance,
19:58present 2005 zoning ordinance,
20:00we reduced the residential areas going to the uplands.
20:06It's substantially reduced.
20:08But, you know, you have to look at the problems, really, that we are facing.
20:13When you do a long-term plan, you have to look at the root causes for problems.
20:18And the root causes here are, I was always been of the opinion
20:23that there are two global phenomena that we are experiencing.
20:26First is climate change.
20:28That's very real now.
20:29Very normal.
20:31Second is urbanization.
20:32Urbanization is meaning majority of population now moving towards cities.
20:39And they move towards highly urbanized cities like Cebu.
20:43Now, we have to address this urbanization.
20:46Otherwise, we get too congested.
20:49So, if you look at our Metro Cebu plan when we were in Jaica,
20:54there were three strategies of initiating this addressing climate change and urbanization.
21:06Can we go to that?
21:08Yes.
21:09Okay.
21:10So, if you look at the slide here.
21:15Okay.
21:21Those are the two.
21:24Our first.
21:27That slide previous.
21:30Okay.
21:31So, those are the two global realities.
21:34These are global phenomena.
21:38So, first is climate change.
21:40You can see that in all other countries.
21:42Even they're suffering from flooding, from typhoons, from earthquakes, and all that.
21:47Second is urbanization, which is what we are facing now in Cebu
21:51because of the migration from the other islands.
21:55So, we have to address this.
21:57In the Jaica master plan, our initiatives are three.
22:03So, three-level strategies.
22:04The first is the dispersal of the growth centers to the north and south.
22:17A multinodal development instead of centralized in Cebu.
22:23So, if we disperse concentrations, let's say, to Danau as a growth center and to Karkar in the south,
22:30we will need a mass transit, an MRT.
22:33Fortunately, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of Japan
22:38visited their office last year.
22:41And they told us they were intending to do a feasibility study for an MRT.
22:47So, first phase will be consolation to Talisai.
22:50But eventually, it will go to Danau and Karkar.
22:54But that's what we need to spread out development north to south along the coast instead of towards our watershed.
23:02Very critical watershed because this is our food and our water security.
23:07And of course, that's causing our flooding now.
23:10The second is to define...
23:12Before we move, so what we're trying to say then here is we would like to have more development
23:19near the coastline, away from the mountains.
23:24Exactly.
23:25So, that's why we are stretching it from north to south instead of east to west.
23:33Yeah.
23:33Okay.
23:34It's because the mountains of the island of Cebu is very close to the coastal areas.
23:39And it's in the coastal areas where, if you notice, all the municipalities, except probably one in Barili,
23:46I think they're all coastal.
23:48And they are all in the flat, relatively flat areas along the coast.
23:54So, it's very easy to do a linear mass transit train and MRT along all these municipalities along the coast.
24:04So, that's dispersal.
24:06And this one is a welcome news to a lot of people, including myself.
24:12And you mentioned that JICA is already into this one in terms of looking at the feasibility.
24:18Exactly.
24:19JICA and DOTR.
24:21Okay.
24:21So, if we are to be optimistic, I know we're not supposed to commit to timelines, but just to manage the expectation of our viewers,
24:30around what schedule are we looking at to make this happen?
24:37That's why these plans are long-term.
24:40We cannot really project when it will happen.
24:44But, you know, an MRT like this takes years.
24:47The gestation period, even in Manila, it's still doing the subway.
24:52But there are, you know, steps that we can do, progressive steps going towards that.
25:01Like, for example, I was suggesting, let's say, a bus, e-bus or an ordinary bus, flying from north to south, P2P, point to point.
25:13Every municipality stops from the now.
25:15So, you can actually have a mass transit north to south by using buses.
25:21Right now, we can do that if the LTFRB and the LGUs agree to have a bus route that is point to point.
25:30So, probably, it will take only, what, 30 minutes?
25:34And it will also encourage a shift.
25:37What we really need because of the traffic in Cebu is a shift from a car-riding public to mass transit,
25:45which is, let's say, buses, no, buses, that's a high-capacity transport.
25:50So, if we can encourage that shift, we can reduce the traffic north to south and then encourage buses.
25:56I've been hearing portions of this one, but in case you've also heard developments such as this one,
26:03what about bypass or parallel roads?
26:06Because some people are saying the reason why the current national road from north to south is congested,
26:15it's also because everybody is going through that road, regardless of whether they have a business there or not.
26:21Yeah, exactly.
26:22But these are now addressed little by little.
26:27There's a plan for the Metro Cebu Expressway, you heard about that,
26:31and now to car-car.
26:32But again, it takes so long to develop that.
26:36There are parallel roads in the coastal areas, like, for example, the coastal road through SRP that is there already.
26:44So, there are two roads along Mandawi and Cebu City, the coastal road,
26:49and the main north-south road, which is Pidel Rosario, Imus, and all the way to Mandawi.
26:57So, they really need to have, actually, we suggested to DPWH to develop another road,
27:05which is the Green Loop.
27:09I wasn't able to finish the three strategies, but the Green Loop, actually,
27:14actually is one of the transport initiatives that we are proposing in Metro Cebu, the Metro Cebu plan.
27:24The Green Loop is a transit-oriented development around the four, it's circumferential around the four local government units of Cebu,
27:34Mandawi, and Laco-Laco, and Cordova.
27:36It is, the objective is to shift development away from the hills and the mountains towards the urban area.
27:46If, if government improves that road, so this road goes to Hernan Cortez in Mandawi, no, from, from Mango Avenue, it goes straight.
27:59That's another parallel route.
28:00Another parallel route is the BRT route that goes all the way to Talamban.
28:05Now, in Talamban, it reaches Bacayan and Pitos.
28:08You will notice that's just one road.
28:11So, we were proposing a crossroad from Pitos to Consolacion.
28:17Okay.
28:18Pitos to Consolacion, or Pitos to Mandawi.
28:21Because the connecting road to both, if you can imagine the coastal road and Talamban, there is only how many crossroads?
28:31Andres Abeliana, the ML Quezon, AS Fortuna, ML Quezon, then Abeliana, and then no more.
28:42So, we have to have another road to open Pitos to Consolacion.
28:47So, these are the things, because these are still very relatively cheaper land for the DPD WH to acquire in terms of right of way.
28:58I was able to actually try a small road.
29:02No, I don't know what road was that.
29:04Connecting Pitos to Consolacion, no?
29:07Yeah.
29:08Although, it looked like it was a scary ride, no?
29:11Exactly.
29:12Because it's not developed.
29:13That's a very small road.
29:15Very small road.
29:16If we can bring in DP WH to widen and straighten that road into a, you know, even a highway, no?
29:23To connect the Pitos area to Consolacion.
29:27Because the Pitos area in our plan could be the Northern Growth Center of Cebu.
29:33If we can have it sustainable, the Pitos area, we cannot, there will be less traffic going to the city.
29:42Now, this one, it's not because I'm disagreeing with you, no?
29:47But it's more of clarification, because these are also question marks on the public, which also includes me.
29:57You mentioned earlier, and don't worry, we will go back to the greenbelt now.
30:00You mentioned earlier that we are encouraging people to ride the mass transit instead of using our own cars.
30:10Yeah.
30:11And even some families have three, four, five cars, and then they just use one person, one car, no?
30:17Which is not also an efficient way of transporting from point A to point B.
30:22But some people are reluctant to do that. It's also because of them getting stuck, you know?
30:28And so that's why in BRT, a lot of clarifications is, are these just buses that are new or will they really be moving rapidly, no?
30:38As what the name itself suggests, no?
30:42Because I think that management of perception is also crucial on the green loop, no?
30:47Because if it's really moving, then more people will really take that route.
30:51Yeah.
30:52Actually, transportation should be a system.
30:55It's not only buses.
30:57It works together with the other modes of transportation.
31:00If you look, at the highest is the mass transit, maybe a train.
31:05And then the lower, let's say buses, feeds to the train.
31:11And then jeepneys feeds to the buses.
31:14And then the smaller transports feed to the...
31:19It's a hierarchy of transport options.
31:22So the people, the public can choose where, especially where the directions are.
31:28But the important thing is, you know, they call it the end, you know?
31:33You have to get to your exact destination through public transit.
31:40So this is actually a system that should work.
31:44And the city has already discussed the LPTRP, local public transport plan, with the LTFRB.
31:55And together with Mandawi.
31:56So we can organize a system of modernized jeepneys first, and then they can probably include buses later.
32:06Are we also anticipating eventually, and the context, you see, before I'll ask the question, the context there is the number of vehicles, no?
32:15And even motorcycles have increased significantly, especially during and after the pandemic.
32:21Given the access and affordability of these vehicles, I think we cannot also, as of this time, stop people from not buying them, no?
32:31Because they are more available and accessible.
32:34Are we also anticipating that eventually, no?
32:37We will have to regulate this eventually?
32:41Eventually, but, you know, things should happen, should be more positive than negative.
32:48Okay.
32:49Controlling is not good.
32:50It has to be positive.
32:51I was talking about mass transit.
32:53If we have a mass transit, you know, a system that will, you know, get you to your destination, then people will shift from being car riding public to mass transit.
33:08It should be more positive initiative.
33:13And actually, just looking at the green loop, no?
33:17And how we are trying to disperse the growth center, I think the plan is a good one, no?
33:25So can you tell us also about the green belt, no?
33:29I'm sure this is different from the green belt in Makati, no?
33:31The green belt is actually a nature-based solution.
33:40It is considering watersheds.
33:43So if you look at the green belt, in the north, it starts with the Kansaga Bay area.
33:48It goes up the Kot Kot and the Kansaga River towards the headwaters, which is near Ayala, that area.
34:01And then it goes down from the forest area or watershed.
34:06It goes down in the south towards Mananga River.
34:09So that's the entirety of the green belt.
34:13And there we have to impose green initiatives.
34:16So wider floodplains, no?
34:20Make it green, plant more trees, and then conserve the forest so that this can be called the green belt.
34:28And we can define it, actually.
34:30But now you see that even in the Kansaga Bay area, the Kansaga River is very narrow.
34:37That's why it's flooded and affected SM Consolation and all that.
34:41That's the river that should be addressed.
34:44So that's the picture of the green belt, which is actually addressing the major watersheds of Mananga, Butuanon, and Kot Kot.
34:56So if we can address that, it will catch, it's like a sponge, you know?
35:01It will catch rainwater from the uplands towards the urban area.
35:06So it's like a belt to protect the urban area.
35:11We can focus our green initiatives in this green belt.
35:16By the way, architect Yumi, because I was given a sign, there is a question coming from our reporter here.
35:25No, he's also viewing the show as of this time.
35:28So our concerns were raised by environmental planners, specifically during your tenure at CPDO.
35:35Did your office verify that Monterazas, ah, it's about Monterazas Decibus projects, EIA, and related hazard studies were prepared and signed by licensed environmental planners as required under Republic Act 10 587?
35:52And how was that compliance checked?
35:56Actually, it's the role of the DNR to issue the ECC.
36:01And before the ECC is that EIA, environmental impact assessment.
36:06Now, I'm not sure if the signatory, there was a licensed environmental planner, which is required, but they got the ECC from the DNR.
36:17And also they complied with other requirements.
36:21It is in there because in the city planning development, we issue the location clearance and the location is in the residential zone.
36:31That's why it was approved.
36:32It was approved.
36:33Okay.
36:34So it passed through the DNR with their ECC.
36:38Actually, the ECC, they had two.
36:40One when it started under Landco before, and then when it was bought, transferred to the new developer now.
36:50So they had, they applied for a new ECC.
36:54I think it was 2024 that they were able to secure.
36:58Another one, an updated one.
37:00Yes.
37:01Okay.
37:02This one is also to, because I'm also curious about that, but you may or may not comment now.
37:07Now that Earl raised the question.
37:10Some people were asking why DNR is DENR is now tagging Monterazas when in the first place, they were the ones who issued the ECC, you know?
37:21Exactly.
37:22I don't know because they have a lot of issues.
37:24If you look at the other watersheds, which are more critical, and the disaster actually happened there, they should have, you know, they should have also addressed this area.
37:36So there are a lot of things that they are addressing now.
37:40Okay.
37:41It's, at least for me, I just find it odd that they are now tagging and investigating it when, in fact, the permits were also issued, you know?
37:50Exactly.
37:51So I think among, unless I'm wrong, but among the people they should be asking is also themselves, you know?
38:00So I think, you know, but anyway, at least we're addressing also some questions from our viewers.
38:05Do you have other questions?
38:06Okay.
38:07Okay.
38:08Okay.
38:09So, growing back to the greenbelt then, there were also questions in our previous episodes about floodplains, no?
38:17Because it appeared now that the rivers no longer were, are on the same width, no?
38:24With, yeah.
38:25Compared to its original state.
38:28And partly because of the floodplains now being occupied either by informal settlers, and some of them are even titled, no?
38:38So, how did that happen also?
38:39Well, actually, that's why we were wondering why the DPWH and the contractors did not follow the JICA master plan.
38:53There's a drainage master plan, flood and drainage master plan made by JICA, I think 2007 or 2010, I'm not sure of the date, but this should have been followed, no?
39:08And these were proposing nature-based solutions, watershed-based, and then wider floodplains, instead of the, what they're doing now, narrowing the rivers, and then titling the land that is beside the floodplains.
39:25So, now, it's nature that is reclaiming all of that, and we have to respect that, because this is a natural waterway that we have to reclaim from what is happening now, being titled.
39:43And I know that it's a huge issue to also close, but in your opinion, how can this still be reversed?
39:52I'm more referring to the ones that were titled and were legitimately owned already by buyers also of these properties.
40:01Now, can this still be resolved?
40:03Yes, exactly.
40:04That was my question before I was in the city.
40:07And there were instances where there were also titles.
40:11Correct.
40:12And owners.
40:13Yeah, yeah.
40:14These were titles.
40:15Even the back of SRP.
40:17Now, these are titled land, but these are waterlogged.
40:20But fortunately, I just heard very recently this year that the DNR was able to revert it to the state.
40:2933 hectares of the lands there was titled was being reverted by the DNR.
40:35So, in fact, it can be done if only the DNR can work on reverting these titles to their natural state as floodplains.
40:47So, I think it can be raised possible.
40:50And correct me if I'm wrong, but going back then on the mass transit line for the dispersal,
40:58I think that's also why it's urgent for this to be done as soon as possible because I also learned from the previous interviews that part of the prerequisite,
41:10especially for the informal settlers, to no longer be allowed to build back is also to find an alternative space for them to dwell or to live.
41:23And if not for this one, correct me if I'm wrong, and I'm referring to the first level of strategy, where should we bring them?
41:35Yes.
41:36We might be bringing them from the river to the mountains.
41:38I have been always telling people that, you know, flooding and drainage and all that, you know, is directly related to housing.
41:48If you cannot address housing, it's very difficult to address our drainage system, especially in the urban areas.
41:55So, housing first, but where to locate it?
41:59No, there's very little land within the urban area and it's very expensive to purchase by the city.
42:07So, that's why we are suggesting dispersal.
42:10If the cities can purchase land that is cheaper outside the city of Cebu and provide that connection,
42:18which is a mass transit, probably buses, to ferry people from these areas.
42:25Resettlement sites, large resettlement areas to the city.
42:29And these resettlement sites could be, you know, sustainable.
42:33Commercial will be there and all that, all the facilities.
42:36They don't have to go to the city.
42:38Yeah, because they also have livelihood.
42:40It's not good to put them somewhere and then there's nothing to do.
42:43Yeah, it has to be integrated planning in these outlying areas so they can, you know, stay there.
42:51And to our viewers, that could be something that you can look forward on Friday, you know,
42:57because part of the infrastructure that's going to be discussed by the Cebu Provincial Government is the bypass road.
43:03Exactly.
43:04So, that's a topic of interest for viewers on Friday.
43:07But for now, I have a few questions also here because I've read some news items that you stated sometime even as far back as 2024.
43:16And I think they are also having an impact already today, you know.
43:21And I'm referring to what you said back in 2024 that when you were the head of City Planning and Development Office,
43:30you called actually for stricter building rules in the Central Cebu Protected Landscape or CCPL.
43:39So, what exactly, because this is 2024, so let's update it to 2025, what exactly needs to change now?
43:48Yeah.
43:49Well, at the CCPL, you know what's happened?
43:51The law which was created in 2007 says that the CCPL is under the sole jurisdiction of the DANR PAMBI, Protected Area Management Board.
44:04That city is not even in charge of all the approvals there.
44:09But when we called the PAMBI CCPL office to appear before the City Development Council,
44:19they actually told us that they need the help of the city to regulate because it's very difficult to regulate now,
44:26especially with the Transcentral there that's being opened, there are a lot of roads now being open.
44:32So, it's difficult to regulate.
44:35So, what my question also with the law is that, you know, the composition of the PAMBI, no, is majority are barangay captains, no,
44:46and very few advocates, and even the Archbishop, I think, is the chairman of the PAMBI.
44:52So, I was questioning why is it that the implementers, the barangays, are themselves the regulators, which is the management board.
45:03So, this has to be separate because they have a conflict of interest.
45:08Correct.
45:09So, I was questioning the composition of the PAMBI in that way back in 2024.
45:17And it's still, I would assume, that's still the same composition today.
45:21They did a revision in 2017.
45:25But all they revised is from six zones.
45:28You know, there were six original zones, including a riparian zone.
45:34Riparian zone are the floodplains, actually.
45:37So, now, they reduced all of that into two zones.
45:40Now, that's the strict protection zone, which is the forest, like the Tabunan forest.
45:46It's a strict protection zone, and a multiple-use zone.
45:50The multiple-use zone, it's like anything goes there.
45:53That's why that's happening there.
45:55So, a lot of development, even along the riversides, there are pig pens and all that.
46:01Very difficult to control.
46:03They should bring back the six original.
46:06Because I'm sure this was well studied when the law was crafted in 2007.
46:12But they changed it in 2017.
46:15I don't know why.
46:16Only two zones.
46:19Yeah.
46:20So, I think we're now seeing the result of these changes.
46:24Also, in 2024, and I can say that it also has already an impact given what happened on the typhoon.
46:30You were also saying that there was a building that's already finished,
46:35and your office only received the application of occupation permits only after the construction.
46:41Exactly.
46:42That's happening in the CCPL.
46:44Because they give the final approval, the PAMBI.
46:48It's not even the city.
46:50But now, in our new zoning ordinance, past just this June 30, 2025, we have no regulations.
46:58Like I was telling you, greenhouses instead of open farming, all those things.
47:05And then a watershed, a dam probably.
47:08And that's what the DPWH is talking about now, Secretary Vince, about the Sabo dams to control water.
47:16I was suggesting that years before to the DPWH that instead of addressing only the rivers downstream,
47:26we should address the upstream because this is where the water comes from.
47:31So, detention funds to catch the water before they go to the urban areas.
47:37So, I hope that happens now.
47:40Yeah.
47:41We've already seen, because I think in the past, the context was more of prevention, no?
47:46But now, this is already reaction.
47:48So, it's even more urgent, no?
47:50For these gaps to be addressed the soonest.
47:54Exactly, yeah.
47:55So, before they close the afternoon, I also, because I stalked you, no?
48:00You were recognized by then President Pinoy, no?
48:03For the conceptualizing, conceptualization of the Green Loop, no?
48:09Which you just described, no?
48:11In the country.
48:12And you've been also vocal about pedestrianization, no?
48:16Yeah.
48:17So, how do you see a more walkable Cebu in the future?
48:21Actually, pedestrianization, we want it done in the historic district of Cebu.
48:28The heritage district has already been identified and delineated through an ordinance.
48:35So, it's there already.
48:36All we need is to do the implementing rules and regulations.
48:40What happens in the heritage district?
48:42So, controlling of building heights, preserving the historic district, widening the sidewalks
48:49for more people to walk rather than ride in cars.
48:53Because what's happened there, it's very car-centric inside the heritage district.
48:58We should reduce the number of cars, increase the number of people walking along the sidewalk,
49:04and then plant more trees, lighting, underground cabling, and all these things.
49:10Allow more people walking.
49:12That's pedestrianization.
49:13And then open up mini parks all around so that people can walk.
49:19Because right now, our historic district is dying.
49:25Businesses are moving out because of the, you know, they cannot, people cannot shop.
49:31They're difficult to park.
49:33So, they just pass by your store.
49:35They don't walk and shop, just not like in malls, no?
49:38Correct.
49:39In the corridors, you can walk and then shop left and right.
49:43But in the city, you cannot do that anymore.
49:45Not like before.
49:46I remember Cologne Street was very walkable.
49:49There were less cars then.
49:51Less cars then.
49:52The shops were very successful economically.
49:55So, these are what our planners and our architects and our engineers can do for the field.
50:00How about for the ordinary citizens?
50:02What can we do to also help make Cebu more livable and mobile?
50:08A lot of things that's going on.
50:11Garbage even.
50:13It's very problematic in the city.
50:17People just throw garbage in the city.
50:19I was suggesting, implement the three-meter easement.
50:22Because there is no coordination than the city and the DPWS.
50:28The DPWS says, we cannot move on our rivers if you do not clear the three-meter easement.
50:34And then we cannot do the pavement on the three-meter easement if it's not cleared of settlement.
50:40So, first things first is resettlement.
50:43So, it's housing really to address flooding.
50:46And then if we clear the three-meter easement.
50:48We can actually use that for even for transport, not these electric tricycles.
50:54Eventually.
50:55Instead of, you know, tricycles in the highways.
50:59Eventually that could happen.
51:01And then greening of our waterways.
51:04So, right now, the residents, the informal settlers are there.
51:10It's their backyard.
51:11So, they just throw garbage in the river.
51:14Instead of making it a backyard, make it a front yard.
51:18If there's a three-meter easement, then it's a front yard.
51:22People can see very visible if you throw garbage in the river.
51:27So, that is the principle behind that three-meter easement.
51:32I think one of the things before we close the interview, at least a takeaway for me.
51:37In the previous episodes, we've been talking about climate change, and then there's rain.
51:43And then in the succeeding episodes, we spoke about the uplands, which have an impact on the downstream.
51:51That's why there's flooding.
51:53And I think my takeaway for this one, it's also the component of development and housing as a crucial piece.
52:00So, flooding is a huge problem that also requires a more integrated solution to all this.
52:09Because otherwise, we will just be solutioning a portion of it, which does not necessarily eliminate the problem.
52:16Exactly, yeah.
52:17And in fact, if I may comment, what I also learned that the flood control is already in the river.
52:22But flooding can already happen even before that, which should need to be addressed.
52:28So, I think that's my takeaway for today.
52:30But before I let you go, what Cebu, so I'm now looking ahead, 10 to 20 years now.
52:40So, what do you hope for Cebu to look and feel 10 to 20 years from now?
52:47So, this is now a legacy question.
52:49Well, actually, I'm moving for the three strategies for land use.
52:59First is dispersal, and then greening with the green belt, because that green belt actually is a protective green absorptive belt, so that it can catch the rainfall.
53:14It does not go to, what can you do with the urban area?
53:17It's there already.
53:18It's built up.
53:19Very difficult to widen those rivers and creeks in the urban area.
53:24So, we have to address it further uplands.
53:27So, this green belt and the detention pants should be the focus of the agencies, no?
53:35Instead of, you know, addressing the clean up and then there's garbage and all that.
53:40And then finally, the green loop.
53:42We have studied that in the university for quite some time.
53:46And actually, slowly, it's been...
53:51The Sisilex actually is the closing link of the green loop.
53:57It's a circumferential loop around Cebu, Mandawi, Napolapo, and Candoval.
54:02It goes back to Cebu City.
54:05The bridge is there already.
54:07Now, we conceptualize this university in 2015.
54:10The bridge is there already.
54:12All it needs is, you know, developing the rest of the green loop into more transit oriented.
54:20Can you imagine if there's a bus route clockwise and counterclockwise along the green loop?
54:28Now, with all the modernized stations, all that.
54:31Government should spend for that because it's there.
54:34When government spends for infrastructure, the developers gather around that green loop.
54:41So, they do not go up the mountains and instead shift development towards the urban areas.
54:48We need to concentrate development along high-rise buildings and then disperse the housing to the outskirts.
55:00Outskirts.
55:01Yeah.
55:02So, thank you very much for your time this morning, no?
55:05Oh, this afternoon, Architect Yumi, no?
55:09It's been a good conversation actually that we've had.
55:13Another thing also that our viewers can be consoled with, if we use that term, there really are plans also that are already in place.
55:25For the past few episodes, we spoke about Mega Cebu Master Plan.
55:30We also spoke about Metro Cebu Integrated Flood and Green Age Master Plan.
55:36And now, we're also seeing the three levels of strategies also that are supposed to be already in place on a planning perspective.
55:45And it's just a matter for us to implement them.
55:49And I can also tell that it takes a lot of political will also to make them happen.
55:55So, thank you once again for joining us this afternoon.
55:58So, that wraps up this edition of Beyond the Headlines.
56:02We hope today's conversation helps shed light on the bigger picture behind the story.
56:08And once again, we'd like to thank our guest, Architect Joseph Michael Espina, for helping us connect the dots in ways that matter.
56:16Thank you for being with us today.
56:18I'm DJ Moises.
56:19Thank you everyone and good afternoon.
56:21Good afternoon.
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