Our Natural

Environment and
the Filipino
Identity
Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje
Department of Environment and Natural Resources

24th National Convention

Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners
November 6, 2015
AIM Convention Center, Makati City
Anthropologic Perspective in
Environmental Planning -- in view of the
Filipino Identity
• Pre-colonization, affinity of
indigenous communities to the
environment
• Spanish colonization, religious
considerations in planning
town centers
• American colonial period, new
concepts to town planning
• Current situation
• DENR measures to
“reimagine the Filipino city”
• The task at hand
Pre-colonization Era

• Raw materials and the start of politico-cultural

evolutions

Image from http://spurtravelpalawan.com/

Stone tools found in

Huluga and on display
at Museo de Oro,
Xavier University.
Photo by Elson T. Elizaga,
Nazca Graphic Design &
Image from https://adventureh.wordpress.com Photography.
http://heritage.elizaga.net/hist
ory/
Pre-colonization Era
• People erect their villages “along sheltered bays,
coastal areas, and mouths of big river systems,”
which were “strategic trade and commercial points.”
• Another factor in choosing the location of a settlement
was the need for protection or defense
• Pre-colonial society in this archipelago was
“anchored” on the “ecological setting.”
 Pre-colonization Era

Bahay Kubo.
Image from abalayan.blogspot.com
Ifugao Fale
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigberto
Spanish Colonization
• To facilitate administration and
control, as well as religious
conversion, the colonizers compelled
natives to relocate to the town center
or poblacion, which was typically laid
out in a grid pattern, with the church,
the town hall (casa real), the court
house and the main square (plaza
mayor) at the core.
• In town planning, the parish church
on one side of the plaza became the
town’s religious, administrative, social
and cultural center
Spanish Colonization
• From 1768-1885 each settlement
could apply for a legua comunal,
consisting of uncultivated land
(20,000 sqm) for cattle and timber
cultivation
• The Spaniards were apparently
less interested in our native flora
and fauna than in one particular
natural resource: gold.
American Colonization
• Residential as well as institutional
structures in the humid tropics relied
on natural ventilation, as well as
natural illumination during daytime.
• But communities also relied on natural
drainage for sewerage, by letting
sewers empty untreated water into
creeks and rivers, and ultimately into
the seas. This remains a problem to
this day.
• During the reconstruction period post
the 2nd World War, countless citizens
flocked to Manila and its suburbs for
jobs and services, and established
informal settlements, many of which
remain to this day.
 Current Situation

• Our streets are full of motor

vehicles, our esteros – those
that have not been built over –
are becoming garbage chutes.
• Riverbanks are overflowing
with informal settlers, and
settlements are being built
even in areas with known
geohazards.
• It is in this milieu that we are
now challenged to “reimagine
the Filipino city.”
 To “reimagine the Filipino city, the
DENR…
• Established extensive terrestrial and
marine protected areas throughout
the countryside
• Established nature enclaves in our
urban centers
 The 22.7-hectare Ninoy Aquino Parks
and Wildlife Center in Quezon City;
 The 33-hectare La Mesa Eco-Park in the
2,659-hectare La Mesa Watershed
Reservation, also in Quezon City; and
 The 175-hectare Las Piñas-Parañaque
Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area, a
bird sanctuary which in 2013 was
included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands
of International Importance
To “reimagine the Filipino city, the
DENR…

Forged partnerships
with private sectors
under the Adopt-an-
Estero program, to keep
esteros reasonably
clean

Conducted annual
coastal cleanups
To “reimagine the Filipino city, the
DENR…
BEFOR
E  Undertaking the most massive
reforestation campaign in our
history, the National Greening
Program, to plant 1.5 billion
AFTER
trees in 1.5 million hectares of
lands for a period of six years
(2011-2016)

Produces geo-
hazards maps

1:10,000 Scale Assessment

 Major Environmental Challenge

Climate Change

• The Philippines is among the ten countries that are

extremely vulnerable to climate change.
Climate Change Adaptation and
Disaster Risk Reduction Initiatives
• The government allocated
around 132 billion pesos from
next year’s national budget of
3.002 trillion pesos:
– The bulk of this outlay will be for
flood control involving 18 major
river basins, principal rivers and
watersheds. Other significant
outlays include those for
reforestation under the NGP, and
farm-to-market roads to alleviate
poverty and enhance our food
security.
– This PhP132-B outlay for climate
change for 2016 is a quantum
leap from the PhP21.5-B
proposed in 2014 by the budget
department for 2015.
The Task at Hand…
• The projected adverse
impacts of climate change
provide impetus for our
government as well as for
the private sector to give a
greater role to environmental
planners.
• But we environmental
planners must also upgrade
our capabilities
commensurately.
• For us, catching up with
developments on climate
change is a continuing
challenge.
The Task at Hand…
Because climate change will
impact on ecosystems and
biodiversity, it can threaten food
security and public health.
Climate change can alter the
natural environment as we have
known it.
And because climate change will
last for generations, it can
influence if not reshape Filipino
identity.