ENE182 SUSTAINABLE URBAN AND INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING

CPDO INTERVIEWof City Government of Valencia

 GROUP 4

BERNARD MONTEMOR ALONZO GABRIEL JASPER VIC DELA CERNA KING ZHYTT DRIZ
bernardlouis.montemor@g.msuiit.edu.ph alonzogabriel.limocon@g.msuiit.edu.ph jaspervic.delacerna@g.msuiit.edu.ph kingzhytt.driz@g.msuiit.edu.ph
VALENCIA
CITY
Valencia, officially the City of Valencia (Cebuano:
Dakbayan sa Valencia; Filipino: Lungsod ng
Valencia), is a 2nd class component city in the
province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the
2020 census, it has a population of 216,546 people. 

Valencia attained its city status after the ratification of Republic

Act No. 8985 on January 12, 2001. The city is the most populous
among all cities and municipalities, and the 6th largest in terms
of area in the province of Bukidnon. It is also the most populous
inland/landlocked city in Mindanao. It is the third largest city in
Northern Mindanao in terms of population, after Cagayan de Oro
and Iligan respectively. The city serves as the center of trade and
commerce in the province of Bukidnon.
CITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR’S PROFILE

ENGR. MARLINO M. GUERRERO

He graduated Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering on

March 1988 at Notre Dame University in Cotabato City.

He also finished his Master of Public Service Management

degree at Capitol University in Cagayan de Oro City.

He is a registered civil engineer and environmental

planner.

He’s been a City Planning and Development Coordinator

of Valencia City for 9 years now.
 INTERVIEWEE’S PROFILE

AR. BJORN DAN S. DIDAAGON

He graduated Bachelor
of Science in Architecture on 2012
at University of Science and Technology of Southern
Philippines (USTP) in Cagayan de Oro City.

He is a registered architect.

He’s been the architect for the City Planning and

Development Office for 3 years now.
TRANSCRIPT OF CLUP INTERVIEW OF THE
OFFICE OF CITY PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR OF
VALENCIA CITY, BUKIDNON
"Valencia City plays a role as the commercial
hub of the Province of Bukidnon alongside the
Municipality of Maramag. Also, Valencia City has
one of the largest agricultural lands in the
province, and that’s the potential that the city
government is trying to nurture. At the same time,
Valencia City is one of the prime producers of
rice and other agricultural products not just in
Bukidnon but also in Northern Mindanao."

WHAT ARE THE POTENTIALS

AND QUALITIES OF VALENCIA
CITY?
ARE THERE ARE ZONINGS IN
THE CITY? (INDUSTRIAL ZONE,
AGRICULTURAL ZONE,
COMMERCIAL ZONE, ETC.)
Yes, there is. Currently, we are refining the previous CLUP, and we are
assigning it properly and evenly. For example, areas that are industrial
were expanded and broadened compared to the previous CLUP, which
was relatively small. For the agricultural protection zone, we have some
areas that were protected, such as rice fields. We maintained them in
our zoning and aren’t open for negotiation. Then, we also have
agricultural production zone. These are areas that have a variety of
crops, such as cassava, corn, and sugarcane. There is also identified as
an Agri-industrial zone in which crops such as sugar cane were
processed and turned into molasses. We also have industrial,
commercial, residential, or settlement zone, along with an institutional
zone. Although the 2021-2030 CLUP was not yet approved, we made
some changes and arranged them properly. Hopefully, it will be
approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod earlier this year.
WHAT ARE THE LATEST OR
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OF
VALENCIA CITY?
"I think the most recent development of the city is the boulevard along
the Pulangi River (Pulangi Riverside Boulevard). Actually, we are planning
to expand it more and, there were some parts of it are need to be
repaired. However, it isn’t the LGU’s responsibility since it is a project of
the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). We also had the
New Farmer’s Market, and many roads were recently established, such
as the Valencia Bypass Road. If you look at it, 70-80% of our proposed
projects are composed of public roads, especially in far-flung areas,
barrios, and other isolated barangays. That’s one of the main goals of
our mayor because she wants to spread the projects. Once the roads
are established, many opportunities will follow. Many businesses will
come, and the transition of agricultural products to the market will be
smooth."
WHAT ARE THE
AGRICULTURAL LAND USE
PLANS OF THE CITY?

We have agricultural protection zone and agricultural production zone.

The agricultural protection zone is one that is non-negotiable. These
are the area that can’t be meddled with. Although, there are some
farmers that were trying to plant other crops on it but failed to grow.
That’s why we are trying our best to ensure that they will not continue
this kind of activity, because as I’ve said from the start, we are one of
the prime producers of rice and other agricultural products. Our main
goal is the food security of Valencia. So, the scenario we are always
preparing for is example, COVID-19 pandemic. What if the city
implements a complete lockdown where no one can enter or leave? So,
our goal is we are able to sustain our own food for the people of
Valencia. That’s why we shouldn’t meddle with our agricultural
protection zone. As for the agricultural production zone, I mentioned it
earlier.
WHAT ARE THE PLANS AND SOLUTIONS
FOR THE FLOODING TO LESSEN THE IMPACT
IN THE FLOOD PRONE AREAS OF VALENCIA
CITY?
"Currently, if you can see the situation of our city, our drainage or watercourse is
not that good or of high quality. There are suspended matters that have been
stacked. As a result, our plan is to construct a detailed drainage system. It is
included in the new CLUP. Once we can settle the new CLUP, maybe we could
persuade other officers to discharge the drainage water into some outlets
instead of releasing it into the roads. We identified some possible outlets of
drainage water around the city where we can safely discharge it. Then, we
could possibly put some water treatment plants. Although this is not yet sure,
this is what we are trying to envision for the next few years. The possible
locations for the water treatment plants are the Pulangi and Lumbo areas. The
plan is to build a large basin where we could excavate an estimated 30 hectares
where we can discharge the water with less mechanical intervention. We’ll add
some chemicals and let it pass through multiple chambers, and we release the
water to the Pulangi River. The principle is to treat the water, pass it through
multiple chambers until the water is clean, then release it into the river. It is a
more sustainable approach than building enormous dams considering the city's
capacity."
WHAT ARE THE PLANS OR
EXISTING PLANS IN POWER
ELECTRICITY OF THE CITY?

For power electricity, our plan is to build a solar farm. It is

a super long-term plan. I don’t know if this will be put into
reality, but we are planning to put it in San Carlos at
around 30-40 hectares. Frankly, we can’t really power the
whole city since it is a massive investment, but what we
can do is assist in the production of electricity in
Valencia. At least we have ways to contribute to FIBECO
Inc. (First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative, Inc.). Our main
goal is to prevent the power shortage and provide an
additional energy source through the solar farm.
WHAT ARE FUTURE PLANS OR
EXISTING PLANS FOR WATERWORKS
AND SUPPLY IN THE CITY?

In our CLUP, we planned on making large-scale developments.

We assigned some areas that are possible locations for these
projects. One is located along the Valencia Bypass Road, and the
other is in the large area beside Robinson’s Place Valencia. We
assigned that area as a commercial space. What will happen
now since we want huge developments, we also need a large
volume of water. We visited different water sources around the
city, including Lilingayon, Magsal, Guinoyoran, Banlag, and
Concepcion. Currently, our largest water source is in Magsal. It is
one of the projects our mayor is prioritizing. We already had the
agency or department that would give us funds which is the
Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) under the
Department of Agriculture (DA).
WHAT ARE THE LONG-TERM PROJECTS,
PROGRAMS, PLANS, OR LAWS TO
ADDRESS SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
PLANS IN VALENCIA CITY?
"For solid waste management, we proposed having industrial
processing plants. Actually, we have already negotiated with the
manufacturers of the facility. However, the problem is the funding
because it is a private company, and they call for a large amount
of money. We are now trying our best to pursue the proposed plans
of having processing plants that can be up to 5 hectares of area.
What we currently have is we had two automatic waste
segregation machines. It is not enough because solid wastes are
hard to decompose, and it requires burning to eliminate. Thus,
requiring another facility to burn the solid wastes. But we both know
we can’t do that because it will significantly contribute to global
warming. One of the problems here in the city is there’s no sufficient
attention and budget has been put into maintenance."
"My answer to this question is related to my
answer to the question you asked earlier about
the flooding of the city. They are related because
if there is water that needs to be discharged, it
should be treated. We can’t just release it
immediately because it will significantly affect
our urban areas. So, as much as possible, we
should provide some treatment for our
wastewater. That’s the purpose why we are
trying to put water treatment facilities."

WHAT ARE THE PLANS OR EXISTING

PLANS FOR WASTEWATER
MANAGEMENT OF THE CITY?
WHAT ARE THE PLANS OR EXISTING PLANS
FOR ROAD AND TRANSPORT OF THE CITY?
"Last year, we had a meeting about the transport plan. What we are trying to prioritize
are the routes of the motorelas because the Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG) is now strict about motorelas using national highways. They want to
lessen the number of motorelas using the national highways. So, we are creating new
routes from Lumbo (south) stretching up to Bagontaas (north). As much as possible, we
are building new roads for the motorelas so that they don’t need to use our national
highways. They are only allowed to cross but not allowed to trace the path of the
highways. We also have further plans for our Valencia Bypass Road. We will utilize it more
because we have put many developments there such as we are considering to place
there our new city hall. We also proposed to build a large open space there similar to the
Capitol Grounds of Malaybalay City. It will be 50 hectares of open space. There will be a
running track, parks, playgrounds, and others. We will also build sub-roads in that area
so that they will be connected to the main roads and highways. Our highways are
composed of parallels. Parallel 1 is the Sayre Highway, while the Parallel 2 is our Valencia
Bypass Road. Then, the DPWH is still proposing Parallel 3 at the eastern side of the city,
which is located along Batangan stretching up to Lumbo. Also, we planned to lessen the
motorelas because there’s a high number of them and they are one of the primary
causes of our traffic. So, we are trying to implement multicabs instead of motorelas since
multicabs have a larger capacity. In addition, we are trying to save fuel consumption
because the Department of Energy is now strict about it."
"Yes, the one that I mentioned earlier is the
open space. It will be called Valencia City
Central Park. We will be putting sports
facilities there. There is also an existing private
soccer stadium owned by a prominent family
here in Valencia that has not been used, and
maybe we could utilize it for the public. That’s
how big our vision is, but we’re still uncertain if
this will be put into reality."

ARE THERE ARE PROPOSED PLANS

FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
RECREATIONAL AND TOURISM
SITES OF THE CITY?
ARE THERE ARE PLANS FOR THE PUBLIC
CEMETERY SUCH AS EXPANSION?

Yes, there is. We are still finding or scouting some

areas in the diversion road where we can expand
our public cemetery. Currently, we are
developing our existing public cemetery. The City
Engineer’s Office is planning to build a
columbarium. We are trying to make or buy our
device, equipment, or machine for cremation
that does not emit smoke because the
neighboring area is residential.
ARE THERE ARE ANY
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
PLANS IN THE CITY

For now, part of our sustainable

development plan is building solar farms and
utilization of our solid wastes converting
them to renewable energy. That’s the plan
the City Environment and Natural Resources
Office (CENRO) wants to propose, but the
proposal was not included in the budget.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACED IN THE CITY
IN TERMS OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE
PLANNING OR LAND USE PLANNING?

"Urban sprawl. Also, houses that are already established in our planned areas. It
is difficult every time we construct roads because many residents will get mad,
especially in the barrios. That’s one of our challenges in infrastructure planning
since our plans were not realized because residents and owners won’t allow the
project of the government. There are also clients who accept the projects, but
there’s misunderstanding and miscommunication between parties which will
eventually result in conflict. Therefore, the problems are the residents and their
attitude. However, there’s no problem with the funding and budget for
infrastructure since we can ask from the DILG, especially for road projects. We
have many sources, such as the NTF-ELCAC or the National Task Force to End
Local Communist Armed Conflict. They are the ones who fund our farm-to-
market roads. The goal is to penetrate the areas where our brothers and sisters
in the mountains live or the indigenous peoples. We build roads so that we can
have access to them. We already have eight successful 20 million-peso projects
funded by the NTF-ELCAC. There are still seven upcoming projects which are also
funded by the NTF-ELCAC. Another source of funds is the PRDP of the DA. We
have a newly approved 350-million-peso road project in Banlag, and they are
also the ones who funded our project for the water source."
WHAT WOULD BE VALENCIA CITY LIKE OR
WHAT CAN YOU ENVISION FOR THE NEXT
YEARS IN ACCORDANCE TO THE CLUP?

-If we look at our CLUP and imagine if all those plans will be put
into reality, Valencia City will become a booming and blooming
city since our city is the center of the province. Many people
from other municipalities will come to our city. If you compare
our city to Malaybalay City, their role in the province is
situational, and their expansion is quite complicated. Whereas
here in Valencia, there’s more area to be expanded. Before, we
only had two urban barangays, but in our proposed CLUP, we
now have nine urban barangays. If these urban barangays will
boom, you can’t imagine what will happen to the city, especially
if huge investors will come to the city. What’s important now is
that we have plans and direction in case we can’t finish it. Well,
at least the succeeding officers will have guidelines. These are
the things that we can pass on to the next generation of officers.
THANK
YOU!