The 17th PIEP National Convention was held on October 16, 2008 at the Legend Villas, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila. It’s theme was Opportunities and Challenges: Partnering with Stakeholders.

The PIEP president, Dr. Nathaniel A. von Einsiedel, stated that in the previous years, PIEP emphasized too much on how planning should be and not so much in supporting its members with the opportunities to practice environmental planning. He encouraged the younger PIEP members to take the challenge of leadership, update PIEP members on planning opportunities and bring together stakeholders. He also commented that Planning is a balancing act between: technical and political; indigenous and sustainability; critical needs and available needs; private and public sectors; specific and broad concepts.

The two-day National Convention had 15 sessions altogether where each of the speakers substantially talked on their corresponding topics and the open forums were actively participated by those present.

Session 1:
Strategies for Attracting Private Sector Participation in Local Planning and Development: The Taguig City Model by Freddie R. Tinga of Taguig City. Mayor Tinga presented the targeted major projects of Taguig as follows: wireless broadband network; security cameras and audio visual equipment; construction of additional classrooms in public schools; improvement of means of transportation.

Session 2:
Metroplaces and Institutions (Revisited) by Arturo G. Corpuz of Ayala Land, Inc. According to Dr. Corpuz, environmental planning had become marginalized because there are just too many plans, but little implementation. Metroplaces are new engines of growth… human capital, technology, infrastructure and innovation. However, there is a misalignment between MM-based functions and formal LGU-based planning and development templates and in turn, productivity and growth are compromised. For instance, with respect to the economy, investment opportunities are not maximized; in line with transportation, services are not efficient due to scale and sub-optimum service alignment. Thus, an honest-to-goodness metro perspective is needed more than just lip service… metroplaces need to be formalized and politicized in its technical and functional aspects.

Session 3:
Planning Consideration in Ancestral Domain by Noela Zuñiga of National Commission on Indegeneous People. According to Ms. Zuñiga, during the American Regime, a law existed concerning our minority groups from 1919. This created the Bureau of Non-Christian tribes and Indigenous People. In 1964, a law was passed to look into the concerns of provinces. Then, the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA), RA 8371. The IPRA according to Ms Zuñiga, is the most important legal framework in recognizing the rights of indigenous people. More specifically, these rights are on ancestral domain, self-governance and empowerment (partners of LGUs), social justice and human rights, and cultural integrity.

Session 4:
Balancing and Harmonizing Cultural Heritage Conservation with Urban Development by Maria Cristina V. Turalba of the UP College of Architecture. Professor Turalba presented the revitalization of Intramuros, Manila because this is an important historical site. She stated that Intramuros was the second most destroyed city in the World after WW II, where only San Agustin Church remained undestroyed. An intangible heritage of the City is the Grand Marian procession held in December of every year while the tangible heritage is the buildings and the people living within the walls of the city. However, the building of Manila Bulletin has violated the height limits of structures of the city. The cadastral map and land titles are still intact. However, there are some unknown owners of legal land. Under PD1919, Intramuros should be reconstructed into its original Spanish colonial forms. The revitalization of Intramuros would improve the investment climate and the increase the number of visitors.

Session 5:
National Security Considerations in Planning and Development by Gloria Mercado of the National Defense College of the Philippines Alumni Association. Dr. Mercado stated that national security should be included in the development process because protection of people is a must. She discussed the instruments of national power, namely: environment, techno-scientific instrument, media instrument and religious instrument. According to Dr. Mercado, as there is a correlation between high incidence of poverty and insurgency, a strong link between security and development should be established.

Session 6:
Truth and Fallacy about Industrial Estates by: Elmer San Pascual of Philippine Economic Zone Authority. According to Mr. San Pascual, since 1995, there are currently 176 Economic Zones operating all over the country … CALABARZON area has 62 manufacturing industrial estates. In 1999, Information Technology (IT) Parks were established and now there are moves to try to include tourism ecozones, more specifically, Medical Tourism Parks/Centers. This aims to attract more foreign investors into the country and to encourage Filipino medical doctors and nurses to service foreigners in the country instead of abroad. He noted that there are non-negotiable areas with foreign investors, namely: the observation of Filipino workers’ rights and the protection of the country’s environment.

Session 7:
Special Economic Zones: Boon or Bane to Local Development? by James Gordon, Jr. of Olongapo City. The Special Economic Zone or the Freeport Zone, according to Mayor Gordon, Jr. has a large workforce. Olongapo has 81,799 workers or 39.45% of the Freeport workforce. A Freeport reduces the cost of doing business and if business enterprises located in the zone are appropriately endorsed, these may generate positive impacts and compliment those outside the zone. He also mentioned that Subic has 9 seaports and many beaches and an ecology department was established to protect the environment. For example, they have objected to coal power plant investment in the area in order that the beaches would not be damaged.

Session 8:
Retirement Village Development: A Strategy to Spur Local Economic Development by Ernesto M. Ordoñez of Philippine Retirement Incorporated. Mr. Ordoñez stated that retirement is a gift, being the second half of one’s life. Where the competitive advantage of China is in manufacturing and India is in information technology (IT), the competitive advantage of the Philippines is in retirement. The Philippines is known for health care all over the world. This is because the cost of living in the Philippines is low and genuine care is given, not to mention, the Filipinos are known for being smiling people. Mr. Ordoñez discussed the 3 legs of retirement … housing, health care and lifestyle services and the probable roles of the government and private sectors in the development of retirement villages. He stated that with the present world economic crisis, developing retirement villages in the country could be a good avenue.

Session 9:
Government Incentives, Prospective Markets and Requirements for Establishing Retirement Facilities by Edgar B. Aglipay of the Philippine Retirement Authority. PDGen.? Alglipay talked about the positive attitude of people towards retirement as they are able to do what they want at their own pace. However, in the developed countries, the tradition of caring for the elderly has been broken because there are less young people than old people. This means that there are less young people who contribute to the social security system of old people and in turn, less pension funds available for the old. In the retirement industry, Aglipay explained that a lot depended on the private sector for health care, retirement housing, etc.

Session 10:
The Role of Environmental Planners and their Prospects for Engagement in the Rationalized Local Planning System by Austere A. Panadero of the Department of Interior and Local Government. Undersecretary Panadero stated that there are too many plans that need to be prepared by the LGUs and that these plans are too sectoral. Some of these plans are products of MOAs and need to be rationalized. Considering that the LGUs have varying budgets, the linkages between priority plans and LGU budgets should be tightened. With regard to the CLUP and the CDP, he stated that the LGUs are not planning experts but, that the PIEP is in a position to assist the LGUs on this matter. For instance, with respect to talks on climate change, the LGUs could partner with the PIEP in finding solutions to problems of changes in rain patterns, river protection, etc.

Session 11:
Forging Partnerships with Civil Society Organizations in Planning and Development by Anna Marie A. Karaos of the Institute on Church and Social Issues. Dr. Karaos presented the initiatives taken by the NGOs at the local level in support of social development objectives. She explained that projects could be harnessed to contribute to the improvement of communities. Through the PHILSA, Dr. Karaos mentioned that a small grant was secured for implementing projects in cities, e.g., Mandaue, San Fernando, Quezon City, etc. She also advocated for the inclusion of the poor in projects as current policy favors their exclusion.

Session 12:
Enhancing Coalitions with Practitioners in the Allied Profession by Frederick C. Altavas of the Philippine Association of Landscape Architects. Arch. Altavas talked about the Council for Build and Natural Environment (CBNE) and its coordination activities with the PRC with respect to updating and upgrading the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) of professional organizations, e.g., PIEP, UAP, Association of Plumbers, etc.

Session 13:
Ms. Earth Foundation by Jessica Trisko of __(name of her university in Canada) . Ms. Trisko stated that the goal of the Ms. Earth Foundation is to promote the protection of the environment all over the world. She talked about her visit to Palawan and mentioned that the opening of a bicycle lane in one of the largest cities in Palawan could be a solution to the area’s transportation problem. As a current graduate student in Canada, she hoped to learn more about the activities of the PIEP as the environmental planners’ professional organization in the Philippines.

Session 14:
Thrusts and Priorities of Development Partnersin the Philippines by Calixto M. Mangilin of the National Economic Development Authority. Mr. Mangilin discussed the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) and the (MTPIP). As the MTPDP is the master plan of economic development of the country, he presented the 10-point agenda to fight poverty. With respect to the MTPIP, its purpose is to tighten planning and allocate basic resources. He also cited some areas of assistance from the WB, ADB, New JICA of Japan, KFW of Germany, France, Spain, Korea and China.

Session 15:
Breaking Barriers to the Global Market by Nadir Ehsan of the City Development Initiatives for Asia. Mr. Ehsan stated that development agencies seek professional resources in the region. The expectations are not only professional capacity, but also standards of practice that meet international levels and demonstration of good organizational governance in all dealings. To meet these expectations, he stated that there is a need to educate clients and society. There is also a need to focus on the next generation and instill professional skills, emphasizing on ethics, transparency, etc. For companies and individuals, the possible steps are: focus on bi-laterals rather than on multi-laterals as a starting point; start a co-operation, if very intensive and difficult; and consider partnering with international companies to first work in the Philippines on development cooperation projects.