Why Cebu City Must Revisit Its 2025 CLUP: Lessons from the Binaliw Upland Landfill
The collapse of the Binaliw landfill in Cebu City has been explained away in familiar terms. It has been called an accident. An operational failure...
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When Freedom of Contract Yields: Article 1306, Public Markets, and the Lessons from Baguio
The withdrawal of SM Prime Holdings from the proposed public market redevelopment in Baguio City has often been framed as a failed deal or a breakd...
Read ArticlePlanning Is Preventive Law
By the end of 2025, one idea became clearer—not because it was new, but because it finally had a precise legal shape. Years of working around land ...
Read ArticleWhy the Issuance of the PENCAS IRR Is a Win for Lawful and Sustainable Planning
The recent issuance of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act ...
Read ArticleGreen on Paper, Wet on the Ground: How Multiple-Use Zoning Shapes Cebu’s Flood Risk
The Cebu City Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) 2023–2032 is often defended on the ground that it significantly expands environmental protection b...
Read ArticleA Welcome Pause — But One That Exposes a Deeper Contradiction
The recent announcement of a moratorium on upland development is, at first glance, a welcome development. It signals an overdue recognition that wh...
Read ArticleBringing PENCAS to Cebu: A Legal Challenge to the City’s New Land Use Plan
Environmental planner and economist Gus Agosto has taken a significant step in Cebu City’s ongoing land‑use debates by filing a formal notice and r...
Read ArticleEnvironmental Rights Are Human Rights: Why Cebu Must Defend Its Constitutional Right to a Balanced and Healthful Ecology
HUMAN RIGHTS DAY MESSAGE Today, the world commemorates International Human Rights Day , marking the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Hum...
Read ArticleLEGALESE
Why the CLUP Cannot Be Overridden by a Simple Ordinance In conversations about Cebu City’s development, one dangerous misconception keeps circulati...
Read ArticleCLUP/ZO SERIES – PART 1
Why Cebu City’s Housing Plan Cannot Work: A Critical Look at the CLUP’s Most Serious Weakness This article begins my multi-part series on Cebu City...
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