Legal basis and related directives
- The resolution is issued under the Board’s quasi-legislative rule-making authority under Sec. 8, Art. II of P.D. 1308.
- The resolution cites Section 12, Art. III of P.D. 1308 as the requirement for examination for registration of qualified applicants for the practice of environmental planning.
- The resolution cites Section 15 of P.D. 1308 as the basis for the various subjects covered in the licensure examination.
- The resolution bases its syllabus adoption on prior PRC policies and directives on licensure examinations, including Memorandum Circular No. 8, Series of 1992, Res. No. 265, Series of 1993, Memorandum Circular No. 93-03, Series of 1993, and Memorandum Circular No. 93-04, Series of 1993.
- The resolution states that each adopted syllabus containing concepts, principles, and their application will be the basis for examination questions placed into the test questions bank.
Purpose of the resolution
- The resolution adopts a set of syllabi for the subjects in the Environmental Planning Licensure Examination.
- The syllabi are intended to guide licensure examination coverage by specifying concepts, principles, and applications for each examination subject.
- The syllabi are intended to support standardized examination question construction through a test questions bank based on the adopted syllabi.
Environmental planning subjects adopted
- The resolution adopts the syllabi for the Environmental Planning Licensure Examination in Annex A.
- The adopted subjects include Physical Planning Aspects, Social Planning Aspects, Economic Planning Aspects, Planning Laws and Administration, and Special Planning Studies.
- Each subject carries a specified percentage weight within the examination.
- The syllabus structure includes (a) an introduction defining the subject area and (b) a syllabus listing the detailed topics and study concerns.
Physical Planning Aspects syllabus
- Physical Planning Aspects is weighted at 25% in the licensure examination.
- Physical planning is defined as the rational use of land for development purposes.
- Physical planning is described as a field of concern for environmental planners to promote new approaches, schemes, and emerging concepts of land development.
- Physical planning is identified as the foundation and building block of related subjects that elicit understanding and respect for natural endowments and physical environmental realities.
- Physical planning includes the study of inter-relationships among factors affecting land and the planning area, including:
- Land Use Planning for strategies for growth and development across political delineations or naturally defined boundaries (including watersheds and river basins).
- Proper allocation of land areas for future development needs consistent with universally accepted planning principles and explicit policies in legislations promoting national growth and development.
- Maintenance of ecological balance between forest and non-forest use, with failure described as potentially leading to catastrophic consequences amid explosive urbanization.
- Preservation/conservation of unique or special natural features such as wildlife sanctuaries, virgin forests, inland bodies of water (including archaeological areas), battle memorials, and other areas with historical significance.
- Protection/conservation and efficient management of environmentally critical areas such as coastal reefs and shore lines and other lands covered by special laws, and other economically viable lands for food production such as prime agricultural lands and lands devoted to permanent crops or croplands.
- Urban land use planning, addressing location, intensity, and amount of land development required for space-using functions for human settlements, including residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreational, cultural, and other activities.
- Comparable alternatives and innovative approaches to planning for peculiar situations, integrating multi-sectoral variables influencing plan formulation.
- Physical infrastructure development supporting and complementing increasing demand for urbanization and modernization.
Social Planning Aspects syllabus
- Social Planning Aspects is weighted at 20% in the licensure examination.
- Social Planning is defined as activities concerned with planning, development, and management of social services/facilities required by specific population groups or communities at the town, city, province, region, or nation level.
- Social planning includes the study of seven subsectors with specific concerns:
- Demography, covering population, population growth factors and trends, age and sex groups, dependency ratio, labor force, and income, and emphasizing that adequate population data serve as the basis for computation of current and future requirements.
- Education, focusing on literacy ratios, school-going age population versus gross enrollment at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, dropout rates and causes, proportion of population with college degrees, and connecting these with standards for required educational facilities and proper teacher-pupil ratios for projecting projects consistent with national policy.
- Housing, covering characteristics of available housing and related basic services (including water, power, and utilities), adequacy of present housing, provision of basic utilities, housing problems, number of families affected, present and future housing needs estimates, affordability levels of income groups, matching income groups with alternative housing options, and assessment of resource requirements (land, building materials, infrastructure, and finance) to ensure implementation.
- Health Services, focused on life expectancy as a development indicator, infant mortality and morbidity as indicators of poor health situation, and comparison of current health facilities and services with required standards to assess current and projected population requirements.
- Social Welfare Services, aimed at improving socio-economic status of the lowest thirty percent (30%) of the income percentile of the population, addressing nutrition, family planning, education, and self-employment; and requiring data such as unemployed/under-employed skills inventory for skills upgrading, malnutrition among children, fertility rates, and average number of children per household to assess nutrition and family planning needs.
- Protective Services, covering police and fire protection services/facilities versus required standards for efficient delivery, including assessment of policemen/firemen population ratio, peace and order program, and calculations of current and projected requirements of additional policemen/firemen and police/firefighting facilities and services.
- Sports and Recreation, studying needs/preferences of the population for indoor or outdoor sports/recreation facilities, recognizing adequacy of facilities for built environment quality and population health, and emphasizing the provision of places for recreation and their routine maintenance.
Economic Planning Aspects syllabus
- Economic Planning Aspects is weighted at 20% in the licensure examination.
- Economic Planning is defined as activities concerned with uplifting quality of life and income levels through assessment of advantages from economic activities in agriculture, industry, tourism, services, and other areas.
- Economic planning requires assessing a locality’s functional role in relation to the province, region, and nation.
- Economic planning provides for management based on comparative/competitive advantage, including specialization in distinct agricultural, industrial, commercial, or service activity(ies) or a combination.
- Economic planning includes the study of four subsectors:
- Commerce, studying types of commercial activities, assessing adequacy and future requirements, including specific locations, spatial requirements, infrastructural support facilities, and amenities for accessibility and adequacy of commercial facilities.
- Industry, assessing feasible industrial activities, including local potential raw materials and agricultural products for cottage or small-scale industries, and potential for medium or large industries depending on infrastructure support facilities (ports, airports, telecommunications) and strategic location for economic linkages, including allocation of area requirements compatible with adjacent land uses.
- Tourism, identifying local attractions with tourism potential, including cultural, educational, recreational, or leisure value, prioritizing areas with more potential, developing a domestic tourism base complementing areas patronized by foreign tourists, ensuring conformity with development standards for tourist facilities and amenities, and ensuring compliance with regulations on land use, environmental protection, building requirements, and accommodation standards.
- Agriculture, assessing past and potential productivity of the agriculture sector, enabling development based on potential for agricultural development for certain commodity types, and encouraging high value cash crops beyond rice and corn; including suitability analysis of existing agricultural areas for appropriate high value cash crops to achieve local food security.
Planning Laws and Administration syllabus
- Planning Laws and Administration is weighted at 20% in the licensure examination.
- The subject focuses on general principles of planning legislation and administration to promote environmental planning and general welfare.
- The subject includes consideration of government policies, programs, and requirements enhancing urban and rural inter-relationships and regional and national development goals of the country.
- The syllabus requires study of:
- Working knowledge of the basic law regulating the practice of environmental planning (P.D. 1308) and its implementing rules and regulations.
- Familiarization with existing laws, executive orders, administrative issuances, and other legal orders pertaining to planning of specific areas in the country.
- Administration and implementation of planning laws consonant with government policies, programs, and requirements for national development.
- Formulation of appropriate rules and regulations and setting desirable standards in preparing development plans and establishing the proper administrative mechanism for plan implementation.
- Promulgation of zoning ordinances as implementing tools for local government units to execute local development plans.
Special Planning Studies syllabus
- Special Planning Studies is weighted at 15% in the licensure examination.
- The subject is designed to test the examinee’s awareness or knowledge of new approaches and techniques for special planning areas identified and proclaimed through legal orders.
- The syllabus includes practical application of planning concepts and theories suitable to a particular site or planning area.
- The syllabus includes environmental planning and development management for identified special planning areas or sites, requiring critical eye and sensibility to respond to future needs and evolve a progressive plan that may require detailed studies.
- The syllabus promotes development of a desirable character/ambience of an area and fosters public participation in plan formulation and enforcement.