EO on inter-agency body for resettlement for Davao HPBS, MRP projects amended

The City Government of Davao has issued on February 16, 2022, Executive Order (EO) No. 7 series of 2021, known as “An Order Amending The Executive Order No. 56 Series of 2021, Creating The Local Inter-Agency Committee For Resettlement For The Davao High Priority Bus System Project And Mindanao Railway Project.”

“To ensure the successful integration and effective management of the resettlement aspects of HPBS Project and MRP, there is a need to formulate a Local Inter-agency Committee for Resettlement to properly manage and coordinate the concerns pertaining this aspect across all agencies,” EO 7 states.

The new Order added the heads of the City Legal Office (CLO) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Region 11 as regular members.

The Local Inter-Agency (LIA) for Resettlement is composed of the Office of the City Mayor as chairperson and DoTr Region 11 as co-chairperson.

The rest of the members include the chiefs or representatives of the National Housing Authority Region 11, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development 11, Presidential Commission on Urban Poor Region 11, Commission on Human Rights Region 11, Department of the Interior and Local Government Region 11, Philippine National Police Region 11, Department of Education Region 11, Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 11, Department of Labor and Employment Region 11, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 11, Department of Trade and Industry Region 11, Technical Education and Skills Authority Region 11, Registry of Deeds for Davao City, the City Assessor’s Office, the City Planning and Development Office, the City Social Welfare and Development Office, the City Engineer’s Office, and the affected barangays.

The LIAC for Resettlement is mandated to plan, coordinate, implement and align across agencies all project components of the HPBS and MRP.

It shall conduct at least one meeting every month and hold periodic consultations and coordination with other local government units, national government offices, and the private sector.

EO 7 also provides, “The affected barangays are hereby directed to provide its full cooperation and ensure that its own projects are at all times concurrent with the LIAC for Resettlement, to afford the least amount of inconvenience to the public.”

The Office of the Assistant City Administrator for Administration is the Secretariat of the LIAC for Resettlement and is tasked to handle all its administrative and secretarial functions.

The funding and operation costs of the LIAC for Resettlement will be sourced from the available funds of the City Government of Davao or the project itself, subject to the usual accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

EO 7 reiterated that Davao City employs its mandated power under the law to provide adequate, safe, and modern transportation, being a local government unit (LGU) mandated by law to deliver an efficient and effective provision of basic services and facilities to its people.

It also cited Section 2, paragraph (c) of Republic Act No. 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, which declares that it is a State policy to require all national agencies and offices to conduct periodic consultations with appropriate local government units, non-governmental and people’s organizations, and other concerned sectors of the community before any project or program is implemented in their respective jurisdictions.

Underscoring Section 25, paragraph (b) of the same Code, EO 7 also mandates all national agencies and offices with project implementation functions to coordinate with one another and with the LGUs concerned in the discharge of these functions, as well as Section 18 of the same Code, which authorizes LGUs to establish an organization that shall be responsible for the efficient and effective implementation of their development plans, programs, objectives and priorities.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr), through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Project Implementation – Mindanao Cluster, wrote the City Government of Davao on June 30, 2021, expressing its intent to create a LIAC to handle the resettlement aspect of its Davao HPBS and the MRP projects.

For full provisions of EO 7 series of 2022, visit https://dcstaging.davaocity.gov.ph/transparency/executive-orders/2022-2/. CIO