Constitutional and Statutory Bases
- Section 16, Article II of the Constitution declares a State policy to protect and advance the people’s right to a balanced and healthful ecology.
- Section 17, Article VII of the Constitution vests in the President the power of control over executive departments, bureaus, and offices, and the duty to ensure faithful execution of laws.
- Executive Order No. 54 (s. 1999) created the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) to facilitate rehabilitation of the Pasig River to its historically pristine condition.
- EO No. 65 (s. 1999) amended EO No. 54 (s. 1999).
- Administrative Order No. 16 (s. 2019) constituted the Manila Bay Task Force to facilitate robust and integrated implementation of rehabilitation and restoration efforts at Manila Bay.
- EO No. 93 (s. 2019) disestablished the PRRC and transferred its powers and functions to: Manila Bay Task Force; DENR; DHSUD; MMDA; DPWH; and DILG.
- Republic Act No. 386, the Civil Code of the Philippines, is recognized as establishing easements that must be observed under Section 2(c).
Policy Purpose and Development Focus
- Executive Order No. 35 creates an Inter-Agency Council to synchronize and strengthen inter-agency efforts to accelerate rehabilitation and development for improved water quality and improved quality of life along the Pasig River and connected communities.
- The Inter-Agency Council’s mandate is to ensure the full rehabilitation of the banks along the Pasig River water system and nearby water systems to provide alternative transportation, propel economic opportunities, and boost tourism activities.
- The rehabilitation and development framework is anchored on a Pasig River Urban Development Plan aimed at realizing the area’s potential for mixed-use development, transportation, recreation, tourism, and sustainable human settlement, considering its historic and cultural value.
Creation, Composition, and Secretariat
- Section 1 creates the Inter-Agency Council for the Pasig River Urban Development (“Inter-Agency Council”).
- The Chairperson is Secretary, DHSUD.
- The Vice-Chairperson is Chairperson, MMDA.
- The Members are: Secretary, DPWH; Secretary, DENR; Secretary, DILG; Secretary, Department of Tourism; Secretary, Department of Transportation; Secretary, Department of Finance; Secretary, Department of Budget and Management; Chairperson, National Historical Commission of the Philippines; Chairperson, National Commission for Culture and the Arts; General Manager, Philippine Ports Authority; Commandant, Philippine Coast Guard; General Manager, Laguna Lake Development Authority; Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.
- The National Housing Authority serves as the Secretariat of the Inter-Agency Council and provides administrative support to member-agencies.
- The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Members may designate alternates with ranks not lower than an Assistant Secretary or its equivalent, fully authorized to decide for or on their behalf.
Powers and Functions of the Council
- Section 2 assigns the Inter-Agency Council general functions and responsibility to facilitate and ensure full rehabilitation of the banks along the Pasig River water system and nearby water systems.
- The Council must formulate a Pasig River Urban Development Plan that serves as the blueprint for rehabilitation of the banks along the Pasig River, its tributaries, and surrounding communities, with the end of achieving mixed-use development, transportation, recreation, tourism, and sustainable human settlement, considering historic and cultural value.
- The Council must implement a coordinated and integrated rehabilitation of the Pasig Riverbanks systems and nearby water systems, including construction of necessary infrastructures in accordance with the Plan.
- The Council must ensure observance of easements under Republic Act No. 386 and other relevant laws or issuances, including all the esteros and waterways that drain into the Pasig River.
- The Council must study, prepare, and implement a comprehensive shelter plan for massive allocation of informal settler families (ISFs) and other unauthorized or unlawful occupants along the Pasig Riverbanks, including:
- (i) identification of suitable relocation sites;
- (ii) strategies for economic and social integration of ISFs; and
- (iii) long-term solutions to address ongoing migration into the Pasig Riverbanks.
- The Council may accept grants, contributions, donations, endowments, bequests, or gifts in cash or in kind from local and foreign sources to support formulation and implementation of the Plan, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.
- The Council must, in coordination with concerned national government agencies and LGUs, review existing Presidential issuances relative to rehabilitation and development of the Pasig River and recommend to the Office of the President the repeal and/or amendment of the same.
- The Council performs such other functions as may be directed by the President.
- The Council may call upon any government department, agency, bureau, or instrumentality, including government-owned or -controlled corporations, and invite LGUs and representatives from the private sector, to provide assistance.
- Subject to compliance with existing laws, rules and regulations, the Council may facilitate public-private partnerships to ensure effective and efficient implementation of this Order and the Pasig River Urban Development Plan.
Funding and Budgeting
- Section 3 provides that initial funding requirements for implementation are charged against the respective appropriations of the member-agencies of the Inter-Agency Council.
- Section 3 provides that continued implementation funding requirements must be included in the budget proposals of the agencies, subject to the usual budget preparation process.
Guidelines, Reporting, and Accountability
- Section 4 requires the Inter-Agency Council to formulate and issue guidelines necessary for effective implementation of the Order.
- Section 5 directs the Inter-Agency Council, through DHSUD, to submit to the Office of the President, through the Office of the Executive Secretary, a quarterly status report on implementation.
Separability, Repeal, and Effectivity
- Section 6 provides separability: if any section or part is declared unconstitutional or invalid, other sections or provisions not affected remain in full force and effect.
- Section 7 repeals or modifies inconsistent issuances, rules and regulations, or parts thereof.
- Section 8 states that the Order takes effect immediately.