Manila: The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) reported a significant increase in the number of approved and updated Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs) across the country, recording 334 approved plans from mid-2022 to December 2025. The figure is significantly higher than the 238 approvals recorded during the same midterm period of the previous administration.
According to Philippines News Agency, at the provincial level, 25 Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plans (PDPFPs) have likewise been approved as of December 2025, which is five times more than the five approved during the midterm of the previous administration. DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling said the surge reflects the Department's intensified efforts to institutionalize risk-informed and data-driven land use planning nationwide through its PLANADO (Plan and Do) Program.
Senior Undersecretary Henry Yap, who supervises the implementation of the program, emphasized that the increase in approved CLUPs signals stronger local compliance and improved planning governance. "This is not just about numbers. Each approved CLUP is a concrete step toward ensuring safer and more resilient communities as directed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Proper planning protects not only the lives of our fellow Filipinos but their livelihoods as well," Yap said in a news release on Sunday.
Anchored on the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the PLANADO Program streamlines workflows, standardizes review mechanisms, and strengthens technical assistance to local government units (LGUs) through digital tools and structured mentoring. Through Department Order No. 2026-011, DHSUD institutionalized the CLUP Acceleration and Modernization Initiative, targeting 100 percent risk-informed and data-driven CLUPs nationwide by 2028. The initiative fast-tracks plan preparation and review while promoting the integration of climate and disaster risk assessments into spatial planning.
Since the release in 2014 of the CLUP guidelines by the then Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), only 967 of 1,515 or 64 percent of CLUPs nationwide are risk-informed as of January 2026. With the CLUP acceleration initiative in full swing, DHSUD aims to ensure that all LGUs adopt risk-informed, climate-responsive, and people-centered land use plans that directly support disaster resilience and sustainable settlement development.
"Under Bagong Pilipinas (New Philippines), our direction is clear -- each city and municipality should have clear and people-centric plans. Proper planning lays the foundation for progress. And when we have strong foundations, we can better ensure not only safe but more importantly, dignified lives for every Filipino," Yap said.
