Davao City, December 13, 2023 – The Regional Land Use Committee (RLUC) XI convened for its CY 2023 4th Quarter Meeting via Zoom presided by NEDA XI Regional Director and RLUC XI Chairperson, Maria Lourdes D. Lim, CESO II.

As part of the CY 2023 Davao Regional Development Report (DRDR) formulation, RLUC XI which serves as the body tasked to address matters related to land use, discussed and approved the contents of the Regional Spatial Development Framework (RSDF) chapter of the said document. As 2023 marks the first year of implementation of the Davao Regional Development Plan, 2023-2028, the chapter on RSDF provided the status of the initiatives involving the mainstreaming of the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) which focuses on agglomeration, connectivity, and vulnerability reduction into the strategies of the Davao Region stakeholders.

Among the achievements per NSS key principle are as follows:

  • regional agglomeration– a.) constitution of the Metropolitan Davao Development Council under the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority; b.) commencement of the formulation of Comprehensive and Sustainable Urban Development for Metropolitan Davao Project; c.) finalization of the Metropolitan Davao Public Safety and Security Master Plan; d.) start of the conduct of the Master Plan on Comprehensive Wastewater Management in Davao City; e.) formulation of the Creative Industries Roadmap;
  • connectivity– ) construction of the portions of the Davao City ByPass Road, Davao City Bypass and Flyover; b.) formulation of the detailed engineering design for the Samal Island-Davao City Connection Project;
  • vulnerability– a.) flood-control and drainage projects all over the Region; b.) capacity building activities towards disaster resiliency; and c.) mainstreaming of the Metro Davao Earthquake Model at the local plans.

For the first 3 quarters of this year, 831 projects with a total contract value of P37.9 billion were realized for the development of Davao Region.  Compared to the same period in 2022, this is a 71% rise in the number of projects finished and a 247% increase in contract expenditure.

The Committee members were also apprised on the updates on the land use issues and actions undertaken by the City Government of Davao in Marilog District, Davao City. Said issues primarily involve: (1) land development, construction of buildings/ structures with no necessary permits; (2) incompatibility of the activities/ structures with the new zone classification of the property with the approval of the new Zoning Ordinance of Davao City for 2019-2028; and (3) administrative penalties imposed hindering the identified establishments from pursuing their intent to secure the necessary permits to be able to continue operations, among others. A series of dialogues/ consultations was conducted by the City of Davao together with the concerned individuals to discuss and settle these issues.

JANAH JOY J. VICERA, NEDA XI