Introduction

General Assumptions/Principles Underlying the Plan

 

   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 regions 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 regions 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 regions 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 regions 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--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 plans 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.