Creba, other industry players told to build resilient structures
DEPARTMENT of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. urged housing and real estate industry players not just to build homes, but to build resilient structures with the necessary facilities in the communities for proper sewage management, water and sanitation, drainage, and wastewater treatment.
Speaking before the general membership meeting of the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations Inc. (Creba) led by its national president Noel Toti Cariño last week, Abalos said that these facilities are essential in fulfilling the country’s commitment to sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Abalos cited DILG Memorandum Circular 2019-62 which enjoins local government units (LGUs) to grant incentives to residential, commercial and industrial establishments that have wastewater management facilities or systems. The circular also makes it mandatory for LGUs to ensure that all residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, and government establishments have proper sewage treatment and septage management systems.
Abalos said that in ensuring the LGUs’ support to housing development, the DILG has been intensifying its interventions, such as enhancing LGU capabilities and supporting digitalization of LGU regulation and services.
To monitor compliance with the legal requirements, Abalos said LGUs are required to submit quarterly reports and are subject to random on-site validation visits.
Abalos also said that in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to analyze the full devolution initiative, the DILG has already identified the core functions and services that should be devolved to LGUs and those that should be “unbundled” or performed by national government agencies.