17/08/2026
MHSD EQUIPS 11 LDS LGUs WITH CDRA PLANNING TOOLS AIMED AT ENSURING SAFER COMMUNITIES
Eleven local government units (LGUs) in Lanao del Sur have moved forward in updating their comprehensive land use plan (CLUP) and zoning ordinance (ZO), and were able to start integrating and mainstreaming climate and disaster risk assessment (CDRA) into their plans with the exhaustive technical assistance provided by the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD), the Housing Arm of the BARMM on August 11-13, 2026, held at the De Luxe Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City.
The activity was organized and facilitated by the Environment Land Use and Urban Development Division (ELUUDD) under the Technical and Regulatory Service (TRS), in close collaboration with the MHSD-Lanao del Sur.
Minister Zaide C. Ali graced the event and showed his continuing support in empowering the working men and women of the LGUs in completing their respective mother plans for the welfare of the communities that make up each of the municipalities.
In his message, Minister Ali expressed his full support for the conduct of the training and its success in obtaining its objectives.
“Activities like this are important as they help us strengthen our local planning processes and make sure that our plans continue to reflect the needs and realities of our communities. The work being done through this workshop is a valuable part of our shared effort to improve human settlements and local development,” he underscored.
Over the course of the training workshop, participants from the LGUs of Balabagan, Bubong, Ditsaan-Ramain, Kapai, Maguing, Malabang, Masiu, Picong, Poona Bayabao, Saguiaran, and Tamparan were engaged in series of comprehensive lectures and workshops that were delivered and managed by the MHSD speakers and facilitators.
The lectures were Overview of Climate Disaster Risk Assessment in Land Use and Developing the Exposure Database Planning by Ali M. Macadaag, Housing and Homesite Regulation Officer (HHRO) IV, Understanding the Fundamental Concepts, Terminologies, and Principles of Climate Change by Engr. Johary M. Macapantar, Administrative Aide VI, Collecting and Organizing Climate and Hazard and Summarizing Findings (Major Decision Areas) by Marjan P. Saminoden, Project Development Assistant, Scoping the Potential Impacts of Hazards and Climate by G.E. Alexis M. Beltran, Conducting Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment by Benjamin D. Alangca, RPF, EnP, and Climate Disaster Risk Assessment: Policy Intervention by Atty. Janice-zah M. Macapantar, Chief of the ELUUDD.
Meanwhile, the workshops that followed each lecture included the development of CDRA policy interventions, maps, and writeups and the consolidation and enhancement of CDRA maps and write-ups.
Representatives from all the 11 LGUs reported the workshop outputs they produced before the MHSD team composed of Director Suharto S. Wahab of the TRS, PD Alangca, Chief Atty. Macapantar, and the other resource speakers. The team provided technical comments and inputs for the needed revisions or inclusions for improvement of the CDRA part of their plans.
Director Wahab encouraged the LGU representatives, who are mostly composed of municipal planning and development coordinators, municipal disaster risk reduction and management officers, municipal engineers, GIS mappers, and technical working group members, to endeavor completing their CLUPs and ZOs.
He encapsulated his message into the acronym CLUP, formed from ‘cooperation’ to denote active participation, ‘love’ to mean passion in their planning process, ‘understanding’ to internalize the importance of CLUP formulation and the need to encourage their local chief executives to invest on it, and ‘patience’ to cope with the demands of their tasks and responsibilities. He then associated CLUP to coordination, linkages, unity, and protection.
Ways forward were then discussed after the output presentations whereby deadlines for submission of required details were agreed on, such as the completed CDRA that will be in the last week of August, existing land use in the first week of September, and the proposed land use in the first week of November, all of this year.
The MHSD’s intensified provision of technical assistance to the LGUs, follows the directive of Minister Ali as he also encouraged the local governments to complete their CLUP to ensure sustainable and more meaningful developments for the communities.
This is in support of the policy agenda of the BARMM government on ‘Mas Matatag na Bangsamoro’, championed by Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua.
