Can Cebu City grow ‘green’?

City Hall needs P2.5M counterpart for P10M study

● Letter from Gov. Hilario Davide III to Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama does not state when the P10-million study will begin, only that it will identify policies for social and economic growth, as well as resiliency

● City’s counterpart of P2.5M will pay for hosting of a study team, as well as organization of a counterpart local team and a learning workshop with the other participating cities

CEBU City was chosen by an international organization to be part of a “green growth” study, along with four other cities in Asia.

The study, “Urban Green Grown in Dynamic Asia Project”, will cost around P10 million and will be undertaken by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

OECD is an organization of 34 high-income countries that provides, among others, a fo-

rum where governments can work, share experiences and come up with solutions to common problems.

In a letter to Mayor Michael Rama, Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III said the project will examine policies in promoting “greening” and competitiveness in fastgrowing economies.

Davide heads the Metro Cebu Development Coordination Board (MCDCB).

The project will also examine policies for the improvement of the city’s environmental performance and urban quality of life, as well as “increase institutional capacity to achieve green growth.”

The other four cities that will be covered by the study are Bangkok in Thailand, Johor Bahru or Iskandar in Malaysia, Bandung in Indonesia and Hai Phong in Vietnam.

According to Davide, the OECD study is “very timely” considering that the roadmap study for sustain- able urban development of Metro Cebu, conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), has just been completed.

One of the programs included in the roadmap study is the “operationalization” of the Mega Cebu spatial plan.

Davide said the spatial plan, which has been identified by the MCDCB as one of its 14 priority roadmap projects, can be initiated by presenting it as the focus area for the OECD study.

“We are now at a critical juncture in Cebu’s development journey and we would like to take this opportunity of creating a better future by focusing on the policy dimension of urban structure and land use. This, in consideration of the need to have this detailed in terms of the smart growth principles, thus ensuring that Cebu’s growth is ‘green’ and also consider resilience as well as economic competitiveness,” he said.

Davide’s letter did not state, though, when the study will begin.

MCDCB clarified that the Jica roadmap study is different from that of the OECD. The former focuses on the infrastructure needed to achieve physical development of Metro Cebu, while the latter focuses on policies needed for social and economic development.

For the OECD study, though, the Cebu City Government needs to set aside P2.5 million or 25 percent of the project cost as its counterpart.

The City Council, during its Oct. 14 session, pproved a resolution drafted by Councilor Nestor Archival, requesting the executive department to include the P2.5 million in the City’s annual budget for next year.

The amount will cover the hosting of the study team, provide the team with the necessary data, organize a local counterpart team and organize a learning workshop where other participating cities will be invited.