The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development on Wednesday highlighted the need for well-coordinated planning among government, non-government organizations and other stakeholders toward sustainable and inclusive Filipino communities under the administration’s Bagong Pilipinas.

This as the DHSUD launched the PLANADO (Plan & Do) Program, an initiative to streamline and digitalize land use and urban planning and development processes toward enhanced building smart, green, resilient, and inclusive human settlements.

DHSUD Undersecretary Henry Yap, representing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar, led the opening ceremony, highlighting the significance of supporting and assisting local government units and various “urban actors” in planning to improve cities and communities.

“At the department, apart from building and implementing shelter programs, we see ourselves as facilitators in the planning process. We help different stakeholders, from government agencies to local communities, to coordinate our actions towards the common goal of creating a well-planned community,” Yap said in his message.

The PLANADO Program will focus on two major outputs — to achieve a zero backlog on Comprehensive Land Use Plans and Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plans by 2028 and to promote urban development for the next generation (UrbaNext 2040).

PLANADO will employ tools and strategies to integrate and automate land use and urban data, plans, and processes. It will also institutionalize a recognition and awards program to incentivize notable initiatives and projects on land use and urban development. It will also establish a network of planning professionals and practitioners to develop smart, sustainable human settlements.

Spearheaded by DHSUD’s Environmental, Land Use and Urban Planning and Development Bureau under Director Mylene Rivera, the three-day PLANADO event also serves as a venue for knowledge exchange among industry stakeholders.

Rivera explained the relevance of PLANADO to government initiatives on human settlements and urban development, touting the program as “a comprehensive approach toward expediting the development of responsive and user-friendly land use plans that are aligned with regional, national and sectoral development plans as reflected in the PDP 2023-2028.”

She said PLANADO intends to promote urban transformation in line with Ambisyon Natin 2040 and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s flagship “Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program.”

Held in Cebu City, the event was participated in by officials of various partner agencies, civic society, and the private sector.

Among those present were Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama; DHSUD Assistant Secretary Daryll Bryan Villanueva; NEDA Undersecretary Carlos Bernardo Abad Santos; PIA Director General and Undersecretary Jose Torres; PIA Assistant Director General and Assistant Secretary Allan Vincent Lorenzo; United Nations Habitat Country program manager Christopher Rollo; GIZ advisors Niel Suñer and Agnes Pantastico; national and regional representatives from DA, DENR, DILG, DoE, DoST, DoT and DoTr; DHSUD regional directors and service directors; local government representatives and members the academe, among others.