The
Bicol Regional Physical Framework Plan (RPFP) provides the
framework and defines the scope of development planning for the
whole region.
The
first edition RPFP 1990-2020, was formulated with the assistance
of the NLUC through the organization and conduct of a capability
building program of the RLUC V Core Team in 1989 to 1991. In
1993, the RLUC Technical Working Groups met again in a national
on-the-job training workshop as part of the Technical Assistance
to Physical Planning Project (TAPP) sponsored by NEDA and the
Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB).
Subsequent activities led to the Refinement of the RPFP. In
2002, with the completion of the National Framework for Physical
Planning (NFPP) and the enactment of laws, which impact on land
using activities, the National Land Use Committee called for the
RLUC-TWGs for a workshop on the Updating of the RPFPs, thus this
document.
The
RPFP serves as guide to decisions on how land and natural
resources may be put to the most beneficial use for the people.
It indicates how resources may be managed and conserved for the
benefit of present and future generations. It is designed to
show the desired direction and amount of growth of the region as
a whole and its sub-regional areas over a plan period of 30
years. It deems to promote the direction and amount of growth
that represents a balance between the need for the region to
fulfill its functional role in the national economy and the need
to ensure sustainable utilization of physical resources. Thus,
it takes into account and seeks to contribute to the attainment
of national development goals and targets.
It
seeks to guide public and private investment to achieve an
efficient settlement pattern providing better access by the
region’s population to basic services. It seeks a rational mix
of land uses that promotes both productivity and environmental
integrity.
In
various analyses conducted especially those requiring maps,
thematic maps of 1: 250,000 scale in digital form were used.
The basemap used came from the National Mapping Resource
Information Authority (NAMRIA). All thematic maps were
subjected to corrections to conform with the NAMRIA base map.
In the absence of an updated land resource evaluation survey at
all level, the output of the 1988 Land Resource Evaluation
Project was still used. Other major thematic maps used were
from official sources, i.e. Strategic Agriculture and Fishery
Development Zone (SAFDZ) map from the Bureau of Soil and Water
Management (BSWM), the Protected Area Map from the DENR-Protected
Area, Wildlife and Coastal Zone (PAWCZ) Sector, the Geohazard
and Mineral Maps from the Mine and Geosciences Bureau, the
Ancestral Domain Map from the National Commission for Indigenous
People (NCIP).
It
should be noted that the RPFP is indicative in nature and does
not intent to usurp the zoning powers of local government units.
General Goals and Objectives
The
Regional Physical Framework Plan (RPFP) for Bicol is a 30-year
(2000-2030) development plan designed to show the desired
direction and intensity of the region’s growth. It embodies a
set of policies and graphic translations of the desired spatial
arrangement of land-using activities in the region. Its major
function, in general, is to guide decisions on resource use
specially land resource base. Specifically, the RPFP aims to:
(1) effect a rational distribution of the regional population;
(2) ensure access by the population to economic opportunity and
social services; (3) guide public and private investments to
achieve optimum and sustained use of natural and man-made
resources; (4) safeguard and protect the integrity of the
physical environment. The RPFP seeks to promote a balance
between regional economic development and sustainable natural
resources utilization and conservation. Once operational, it
will guide the formulation of the next Medium Term Bicol
Regional Development Plan. In summary, the goals will be
translated into their physical or spatial dimensions. It would
shape future development by guiding, directing and controlling
development.
Organization and Parts
This document consists of four major parts. Chapter 1
presents an introduction to the nature of the RPFP, its
definition and characteristics and general objectives. It
discusses the principles underlying the plan and the assumptions
used in related analyses to set the plan in its proper context.
It also presents the plan formulation process undertaken in the
region.
Chapter
2 is an assessment of the first edition of the Regional
Physical Framework Plan, which was formulated in 1989 and
refined in 1993. It discusses the extent to which the RPFP
goals and objectives as well as the spatial strategies have been
implemented or achieved.
Chapter
3 (Planning Environment) gives the factual and analytical
bases of the RPFP. A comprehensive characterization of the
region and sub-regional areas and sectors precedes the analyses.
The succeeding sections present various analyses and studies
conducted on the region’s population, urbanization and
settlement pattern, regional economy and employment, land use,
transportation and other infrastructure and utilities. The
Chapter discusses the results with the aid of matrices, maps and
other relevant figures.
Chapter 4 discusses the framework plan or the solution
design. This Chapter begins with the statement on the region’s
goal and specific objectives that the Plan addresses. The
subsequent discussions further translate these into the spatial
strategy proposed for the region. This part likewise details
the proposed land use plan or the physical framework itself. A
separate section details the Individual components of the
framework (production land use, environmental rehabilitation and
protection plan, settlements plan and infrastructure plan). Each
section presents the related land use scenario by year 2020
vis-à-vis the present land use. A discussion of each component
likewise presents the general and specific proposals on land use
policy.
Chapter
5 sets the proposed plan implementation scheme while Chapter
6 integrates the RPFP with existing plans and planning processes
both horizontally and vertically. Likewise, the Chapter
presents the plan’s temporal aspect or its three major phases of
plan implementation. Chapter 6, inclusive of the
implementation scheme, is a discussion of the proposed
monitoring and evaluation system. The implementation support
activities, i.e. plan information, capability building and
research in Chapter 7 wraps up the Plan.
