Project Title & Location
PHYSICAL PLANNING OF THE MOUNT PINATUBO RESETTLEMENT SITES
Central Luzon, Philippines

Client
TASK FORCE MOUNT PINATUBO AND DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS
Malacanang and Manila

Project Completion
April 1992

Associated Firms
Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines
Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers
United Architects of the Philippines
Philippine Contractors Association

Services Provided
- Physical Planning
- Settlements Planning
- Site Selection
- Site Planning
- Oversight Coordination

The Physical Planning of the Mount Pinatubo Resettlement Sites covers nine resettlement sites for lowland dwellers affected by the Mount Pinatubo eruption of 1991.

The planning philosophy for the resettlement of the victims of the eruption is to put people in the forefront by addressing social services, livelihood, infrastructure and resettlement with the least of dislocation. The long-term goal is to transform the displaced population from a process of relief and rehabilitation, towards a normal life that is based on viable economic activities.

The basic planning concept is to resettle the displaced population in new and bigger settlements that can support livelihood activities in the form of a small to medium sized light manufacturing industries.

The New Settlement Strategy includes development of self-contained communities as sub-regional growth area under an agro-industrial economic development program. Amenities include productivity centers, government centers, support services such as paved roads, drainage system, electricity and water supply, open spaces and facilities that are anchored on a human settlement concept. The centers shall serve as strategic models for rural industrialization.

Three factors control the site selection process: (1) proximity to original sites of the displaced people; (2) availability of land donors, either government or private, with land of at least 20 hectares; and (3) not within the hazard zone as certified by the hazard zone analysis of Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Resettlement sites cover nine areas. These are: Botolan, San Marcelino and Castillejos in Zambales; Capas (O'Donnell) and Bamban in Tarlac; Mabalacat (Clark), Mexico, Porac and Floridablanca in Pampanga.

The planned resettlements are in modules of 50 and 100 hectares. Residential lot areas range from 90 to 150 square meters for urban settlements and 300 square meters for rural settlements.