Town Watching: Angeles City

A Final Project

Submitted by:
Group 2
Allen Aceret
Joaquin Ollero
Sheena Sablan
Erwin Tolentino
Eriza Valeriano
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
Geography 161: Principles and Concepts of Land Use
Submitted to:
Prof. Emmanuel Garcia

December 15, 2014

1.0 Introduction
Angeles City, Pampanga is bounded by Mabalacat (north), Bacolor (south), Mexico
(east) and Porac (west). It was founded by Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda (hence the name
Angeles). During the American Colonial Period a military base was setup which was only
abandoned by the Americans in 1991 after the Laurel-Langley Agreement was not extended.
The Mount Pinatubo eruption greatly affected the City as lahar covered agricultural,
residential and commercial lands.

A first class municipality with a population of 326,336 inhabitants, it was inaugurated

as a city on January 1, 1964 under republic act no. 3700. All in all Angeles City has 33
barangays namely: Agapito del Rosario, Amsic, Anunas, Balibago, Capaya, Claro M Recto,
Cuayan, Cutcut, Cutud, Lourdes North West, Lourdes Sur, Lourdes Sur East, Malabanias,
Margot, Ninoy Aquino, Mining, Pampang, Pandan, Pulungbulu, Pulung Cacutud, Pulung
Maragal, Salapungan, San Jose, San Nicolas, Santa Teresita, Santa Trinidad, Santo Cristo,
Santo Domingo, Santo Rosario, Sapalibutad, Sapangbato, Tabun, and Virgen de los
Remedios.

The Clark Freeport Zone and the Clark International Airport has greatly stimulated
growth and development for the City. Fields Avenue which caters to the night life of the city
is frequently visited by foreign tourists all year round. SM City-Clark, Robinsons Place,
Jenra Grand Mall, Nepo Mall, Savers Mall and the Ayala Marquee Mall have sprouted and
contributed to the thriving economy of the City. Today it is considered as the Premier City in
Central Luzon as it has become a hub for business, industry, entertainment, gaming and
tourism.

One of the objectives of this study is to apply the concepts and principles of land use
on Angeles City, looking particularly at the land use planning structure, process, the existence
of mandated plans and other documents which have been tackled in the course. The second
objective is to analyze the land use issue confronting Angeles City, what caused its
emergence, and how the Local Government Unit (LGU) is addressing it.

2.0 Background on Angeles City Local Government Unit

Angeles City is a highly urbanized city in the province of Pampanga. As a city, its
administration is autonomous to the administration of the province. The city has 33
barangays. The city is surrounded by Mexico, San Fernando, Mabalacat, Bacolor and Porac.

It is a first class municipality with a population of 326,336 as of 2010 census. Angeles City
has an area of 60.27 sq. km and it houses the Clark Air base which is now the Clark Special
economic Zone. It is also the site of the up and coming Diosdado Macapagal International
Airport (Angeles City Local Government, 2014).

The Citys name originated from its founder, Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda. He
was the city administrator of San Fernando at that time. He and his wife seeked new
settlement out of San Fernando and found a patch of land they called Culiat due to the
abundance of the vines of the same name. Don Angel asked the friars to move to the new
settlement but they did not. in 1812, he then passed a petition for independence. He was
denied at first. On another petition, he paid the full amount of independence for the petition to
be approved. They became a barrio under the municipality of San Fernando. Finally on Dec 8,
1829, it became a city and was then called El Pueblo de los Angeles, in honor of their patron
saint and Don Angel (Angeles City Local Government, 2014).

The American occupancy began in November 1899. Big changes came when the
americans turned barrio Sapang Bato into Fort Stotsenburg. They also turned the Holy rosary
parish church into an infirmary for the soldiers.The Japanese then conquered Angeles during
the second world war. They bombed Fort Stotsenburg and destroyed the American Airfleet in
minutes. The city was liberated from the Japanese on January 1945. Post-war, the Philippines
signed the Treaty of General Relations, which states that the americans would still have
control over the military bases (Subic and Clark). By the republic act 3700, Angeles City
became a Chartered City, and has become the Premier City in Central Luzon (Angeles City
Local Government, 2014).

An unfortunate incident changed the city. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo devastated
the Clark airbase. This caused the American troupes to partially abandon the facility. Then
President Fidel Ramos ordered the rehabilitation of the base (Angeles City Local
Government, 2014). He turned it into the Clark Special Economic Zone, which housed the
Expo Filipino in his administration. Todays Angeles is the Hub for food lovers, serving
famous kapampangan delicacies (Angeles City Local Government, 2014). It also offers
industries that often cater foreigners, like casinos, bars and exclusive resorts and villages.
Historical landmarks were also preserved for tourism purposes. Although there is a dark side
of the Angeles Industry. Adult entertainment and Prostitution flood the red light district at
night, commonly serving expatriates.

This year, Angeles City celebrates its 50th year of its Cityhood. They have launched
their Citizens Charter this year featuring the Contract with Angelenos. As part of the
christmas capital of the Philippines, they are also featuring the Pasku ning Riles as their grand
celebration of their 50th christmas as a city (Angeles City Local Government, 2014).

3.0 Land Use Management of Angeles City

3.1 Planning Process

The planning process as presented by Serote (2005) in his guidebook Rationalized

Local Planning System of the Philippines (RPS), is divided into three (3) stages namely: (1)
the long-term framework plan, followed by (2) the multi-year multi-sectoral development
plan, and finally resulting to (3) term-based plans. In-between stages are found
implementation instruments appropriate for the stage preceding it. Thus, for the long-term
framework plan that is the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), the implementation
instruments consist of the zoning ordinance as well as other regulatory measures (Serote,
2005); whereas for the multi-year multi-sectoral development plan, the implementation
instruments consist in the Executive and Legislative Agenda (ELA) (Serote, 2005). For the
purpose of this study, the group used this process presented by Serote.

The City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) of Angeles City through a
conducted interview by the group, affirmed that they have been using the RPS by Serote
(2005) in proceeding with their Land Use Planning. One way of verifying this is the existence
of the mandated plans, such as the CLUP and CDP, which will be further discussed in the
proceeding section of this paper. However, another way of verifying this is looking at the
Planning Structure of Angeles City. In the first place, it is important to recall that in the
planning structure described by Serote (2005), there must be both a political and technical
component in the local planning system.

Under the political component is the Local Development Council of Angeles City
(LDCAC) which is composed of the following:

Chairman

City Mayor

Vice-Chairman

City Administrator

Members

Congressman, 1st District, Pampanga

Chairman on Appropriation, Sangguniang
Panlungsod

33 Punong Barangays
17 Non-Government Organizations

In the Area Ecological Profile of Angeles City [AEPAC] (2013), it is stated that the
primary function of the LDCAC is to initiate the formulation of long-term, medium-term and
annual socio-economic development plans and policies. Moreover, [i]t also assists the
Sanggunian Panlungsod in setting the direction of economic and social development and in
coordinating development efforts within its territorial jurisdiction (AEPAC, 2013). Both the
composition and the function as stated by the AEPAC (2013) are in congruence with the
components described by Serote (2005) in the RPS. This only goes to show that they do
follow the said guidebook, and it is quite evident in the existing local planning structure of the
LGU.

In the same way, the technical component of the local planning structure of Angeles
City is patterned according to the RPS, where primarily, the Local Planning and Development
Office takes lead in the land use planning. It is good to note that there is an exact
correspondence of the statement of functions of the LPDO in the Departments Section of the
LGUs official website with those functions which Serote (2005) describes in the RPS. The
reader, if interested, can refer to the reference list for the LGUs official website address.
Again, here is an obvious proof of the LGUs reference to the said guidebook.

3.2 Mandated Plans & Implementation

Likewise, after examining the planning process being used by the LGU in
consideration, it is good to look at the mandated plans which the planning structure as a whole
has come up with. As said earlier in this paper, the LGU has the mandated plans, namely the
CLUP and CDP. An Ecological Profile was also provided and shared by the LPDO with the
research group. The Senior Zoning Inspector of the LPDO said that this profile was updated
last 2012 (R. Garcia, personal communication, November 10, 2014). One will find in this
same profile the existing CLUP of Angeles City. It is important to note what the document
says about the purpose of coming up with a comprehensive land use plan:

Historically, Angeles City is the most important urban center in Central Luzon
complemented by the neighboring City of San Fernando and the Mabalacat City. This
function is expected to be further enhanced due to the interplay of improving
infrastructure stock, growing economic base, expanding population, and rising
income. Said urbanization and development trends will pull Angeles City from all

directions. These require better planning and land use management to effectively
direct and control development. It is for this purpose that the city formulated its
comprehensive land use plan for 2010-2020. (p.148, AEPAC, 2013)

One will be able to deduce from this statement that planning and land use
management is indeed given importance and regarded as a necessary tool for an effective
control of the development of the city. The CLUP was said to be prepared by two members of
the LPDO including the LPDO head, and also by the Local Zoning Administrator. This then,
would later on be presented for a public consultation. Once made final, it is submitted to the
HLURB for approval. The existing CLUP of Angeles City is prepared for the period 20102020.
The implementation of the CLUP is said to be done through the Zoning Ordinance,
other building regulations which tackle details such as setbacks from roads, water bodies, etc.,
as well as through taxation. Variances and exceptions were also processed accordingly. It is
said during the interview conducted by the group that such parties will have to secure an
application which shall be subject to the approval of the local zoning administrator.
Inspection is said to be primarily dependent on the building permits being acquired by parties
desiring to build within the LGUs territory. Setbacks were said to be strictly implemented,
and in an interview, it was said that along the arterial road cutting across the city, the
McArthur Highway, a 6-meter setback from the road is being implemented. A certain
developer had his structure designed such that it violates the 6-meter setback, with the
building protruding up to 2 meters from the setback line. This having been discovered by the
LPDO, a demolition was enacted of the 2-meter portion of the structure that went beyond the
setback line. Finally, a special concern for the Urban Planning department of the LPDO is the
conservation of the heritage site of Angeles City, the Barangay Sto. Rosario. A specific
zoning ordinance for this particular barangay has been implemented by the LGU in view of its
vision for this portion of its territory.

The CDP of Angeles City is called their Contract with the Angeleos. Here they have
an Eight (8)-point program for the LGU, which they present using a mnemonic Agyu Tamu, a
Capampangan phrase which means together. The eight points pertain to education,
government transparency, environmental awareness, economic growth, fast and reliable
public service, quality public market, peace and order in the community and finally, the unity
of the barangay. Each point is expounded through various components, describing concretely
what the LGU aims to achieve at the end of the term. The CDP is correctly identified as
belonging to the term of the current mayor of the city. When asked how far the LGU and its
Mayor is in achieving the programs set in its CDP, they admitted that though they have

accomplished a number of things, some points were simply impossible to achieve yet, such as
that of planting one million trees as a project under the environmental awareness. The good
thing about this CDP is that it is made available in the LGUs official website, the site of
which the reader will find at the references section. The same document is also updated on
which points of the program are already accomplished at this point of the mayors term.

3.3 Vision
Isang pamahalaang may gawaing tama, marangal, at
pinagkakatiwalaan ng taong bayan, tapat at mabilis na serbisyo at may
pagkalinga sa kapwa tao, at nagbibigay ng abot kaya at kalidad na
edukasyon Isang pamayanang mapayapa at maayos, yumabong ang
kalikasan at malinis na kapaligiran, at umuunlad ang ekonomiya at
kabuhayan, maging sa larangan ng pangdaigdigang kalakalan.
The Vision of Angeles City presents the good governance present within the
administration by describing them as righteous and trustworthy, just, among others. It also
implies that the city is a desirable place to live, stating that it is a peaceful community. The
care for the environment is stated, as well its economic status.This vision lacks some of the
essential parts that would make it a better goal setter for the future. The first thing missing is
the role in a wider region. As a chartered city, it should not be complacent of its position as
the Premier City of Central Luzon. It should strive to be as competitive as metro cities like
Manila, Cebu and Davao. Being competitive in the world trade is not a unique characteristic
that would describe Angeles as a power in the region. As for the structure of the vision, the
vision is indeed in present tense, but it is not in the english language. A translation would
make it very dynamic in the sense that other nationalities could understand it once they reach
their goal of global trade.

As far as the Local Government Unit is concerned, they are on target and aligned
with their vision. The city has received numerous awards on its good governance from the
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.
They were also acknowledged as one of the top cities in terms of Competitive index. The
citys mayor, Edgardo Pamintuan, was included in the top 10 mayors of the Superbrand
Marketing International for the 2nd consecutive year. Policies and Programs about social
welfare are also in line. A national child center is being built and an anti dengue campaign is
in effect. Scholarship programs are continuous and new courses are available at the City
College of Angeles. Livelihood programs help people to have decent work or business.The
citizens health is also at check. Facilities at the Angeles Hospital are planned to be upgraded.

The waste segregation project has reduced their solid wastes for the past year. In the
infrastructure side, a lot of road work is lined up. A circumferential road to clark, road
widening of McArthur Highway, drainage system improvement and other road improvement
projects. Parks and open spaces are also being rehabilitated for public use. The public
transportation management is being addressed with meetings with the group leaders and
stakeholders for better policy making. As for the citys tourism, a heritage district in Balibago
shall be built with the help of some foreign countries. (Pamintuan,2014)

As a short assessment, the projects that were mentioned were short to medium term.
However, these projects are still in accordance with the Vision that the city has made. They
have a social contract with their people and the people have a Citizens charter to follow.

4.0 Land Use Issues

4.1 Land Use Issues of Angeles City

The province of Pampanga is known for cooks, gourmet delights and meat industry.
However, in line with its meat industry, the people from Angeles suffers from the by-products
that this industry yields, the people from Angeles lives with the stench of dozens of piggeries
located in various residential areas in the municipality. Furthermore, the foul odor emanating
from thirteen large-scale and forty-three backyard poultry and hog farms worsens when it
rains, and it has been a problem in the city since 1970s. Similar case also occurs in Porac
posing same problems under the same industry.

This matter is a concern between the Local Government Unit and the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, the social activist groups and the people of Angeles
have started to protest against this matter and seek to make reforms about this land use issue.
These social groups have pointed out that the government agencies concerned have been lax
in implementing zoning, land use and environmental laws. This will be described further in
later sections. It was also highlighted that the local government units have been slow to
respond to complaints, with some piggeries belonging to influential people related to local
officials.

This issue is a case of land use compatibility where the land use policy area
concerned is between Production and Settlement area. The location of hog raisers being
situated in a residential area is a land use compatibility that seems not ideal to be placed
together as it imposes series of health hazards that are detrimental to the people. The primary
effect that it produces is the inconvenience from the foul smell that the piggery produces,

making the area not suitable to live comfortably. Furthermore, it also creates health hazards
such as concerns pertaining to drainage, piggery wastes, and other sanitation practice
concerns.

The main problem about this land use issue is that there were series of violations
caused by these business owners, and such violations do not impose strict government
measures upon them with the goal of resolving them. Two reasons were noted that cause the
continued existence of this land use issue. The first problem is that there is a lax in
implementing zoning ordinance in the municipality. There is practically lack of punitive and
regulatory measures by the LGU that would ensure proper compliance by such business
owners. When we protest, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources comes in
and does some monitoring, as stated by Bishop Pablo Virglio David, the auxiliary bishop of
San Fernando and parish of the Holy Rosary Parish in Angeles and the leader of Krusada
Kontra Amoy (KKA) and Pinoy, Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM). The promise is that they
will issue a notice of violation and if the violations are proven, they will file a notice of
closure and then the hog raiser will comply for several days. The cycle continues, and it is
never ending. Indeed, despite the initial measures of LGU and DENR in extinguishing the
problem, the lack of punitive and regulatory measures posted by the government makes these
businesses continue to violate such regulations after initial effort to comply, and these occurs
despite multiple notices by the government. This cycle of events certainly proves that
government actions were ineffective.

Another cause is the lax in environmental laws, it was found out that backyard
piggeries are not complying with environmental standards. From the monitoring done by
DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), forty three livestock farms were found to
be lacking their ECC and discharge permits. With prudent monitoring by DENR in such
businesses, the establishment and non-compliance of these backyard piggeries could have
been prevented from the very start. However, government actions made these backyard
piggeries ordered to cease operation until they are able to complete their requirements.
Likewise, there were also cases where a considered environmentally critical project was able
to be constructed because of the lapses in environmental monitoring of infrastructure projects.
An example was the construction of a golf course in Angeles where under the Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) system, a golf course is classified as an environmentally critical.
Had the DENR able to monitor this beforehand, the owner of the project would not have been
allowed for its construction.

This land use issue not only affects Angeles but also the town of Porac in a similar
case. Several proposed solutions made by the latters municipality will be delineated on the
latter part of this topic which may also serve as a solution to the formers land use issues.

4.2 Biggest Concern

One of the biggest concerns regarding this land use issue is more on the Political
aspect. It was found out that several individuals closely related to the politicians are livestock
owners themselves which in cases of violations, poses a challenge for the LGU to fully
implement its authority. Such example would be the Paradise Farm in Angeles City; it is one
of the biggest livestock farms in Angeles City which is registered under Robin Nepomuceno,
brother of former Angeles City mayor and congressman, Blueboy Nepomuceno. Therefore,
actions that aim to resolve the land use issue is a challenge because the groups of people who
are suppose-to-be the ones who will formulate solutions are themselves, closely related to
these business owners.

Secondly, Pampanga has the famous meat processing businesses in the Philippines
such as Mekeni, Pampangas Best, and Ariels Meat Products. These businesses practically
provide processed meat products to the entire country. Therefore, regulation or closure of
such piggery businesses would generate detrimental effects to the meat processing industry
and consequently affects the food security as a whole. Hence, the major concern particularly
for planners and policy-making bodies is setting a priority that would benefit both the
residents and the aspect of food security.

Lastly, there is also a noted lack of proper equipment and manpower of the
Department of Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau Region III; a
manifestation as to why several measures in regulating piggeries have been ineffective.

4.3 How Is It Being Addressed

In terms of equipment procurement, the Environmental Management Bureau needs to

use an olfactometer, an instrument used to detect and measure ambient odor dilution; it is also
used to determine tolerable level of smell for humans. Likewise, a laboratory in Clark can
measure liquid and gaseous emissions. The device can measure if an emission is causing
damage to the environment and crossing the threshold levels.

Regarding zoning ordinance, Angeles City has already passed a resolution and
ordinance regulating the farms. On the land use, the Angeles City government gave the farms
a certain number of years before they close, this shows that the Local Government Unit has
the authority over such land use mandates. The time frame given to the farms in Angeles City
is for the farm owners to be able to get back the investment they had made in putting up their
businesses. After the said deadline ranging from two to three years, the farms will be ordered
closed because they dont fall under the citys land use needs.

As supplementary information in relation to the proposed solutions, having a similar

land use issue with the town of Porac, a solution to this town is the establishment of an agroindustrial zone as relocation site for the piggery farms and the approval of a resolution on the
land use and zoning plan for Porac. This action can also be adopted in the case of Angeles
where a proper allocation of land use appropriate for the piggery industry is most favored.

5.0 Summary and Conclusion

In conclusion, the LGU of Angeles City, Pampanga currently has a CLUP that is
enacted from 2010 to 2020. Although we were not able to find The CDP, the implementation
can be considered good but it is still far from perfect. One good sign is that the LGU has now
passed a resolution to resolve the lands use compatibility issue of the residential area and the
piggeries. The resolution states farms will be given two to three years to recover their
investments then will be closed if they are not compliant to the Zoning Ordinances. But the
LGU needs to create a better long term plan for the piggery issue, as closing them down is not
a long term solution because the city and region is known for its meat processing industry
which generates livelihood for its inhabitants. A creation of a specific agro-industrial zone
would be the best way to solve this problem.

As for the Vision of Angeles City, their implementation is on target. They have
implemented successful programs to achieve their vision and as a result have won numerous
awards. But their vision can be further improved by incorporating their role in a wider region
and translating it to English as they are considered as the Premier City of Central Luzon and
goals is to be an active participant of global trade.

Angeles City is developing and undergoing the process of urbanization at a fast phase
and in all directions. If issues such as lack of implementation of zoning ordinances, land use
and environmental laws are not resolved quickly then the growth of the city will be
uncontrolled and planned wrongly. The city might end up losing its title as the Premier City
of Central Luzon and end up like Metro Manila which needs drastic changes. All the actors of
the city must cooperate to place the interests of the majority and the city before themselves
(i.e. being related to the Mayor should not exempt one from the laws).

6.0 References

Angeles City Local Government (n.d.). City planning and development office. Retrieved from
http://angelescity.gov.ph/government/city_department_offices?ofc=8bcaf2cb887249ae8ccc0a
2df70b712c0700

Angeles City Local Government. (n.d.). City History. Retrieved December 14, 2014 from
http://angelescity.gov.ph/city/city_history

City Planning and Development Office. (2013). Area ecological profile. Angeles City:
Angeles City Local Government.

Pamintuan, E.D. (2014). Katuparan ng mga Pangako. Angeles City: Angeles City Local
Government

Serote, E.M. (2005). Rationalaized local planning system of the philippines. Retrieved from
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33610855/Rationalized-Local-Planning-System-of-thePhilippines-2005#force_seo

VERA Files project. (2011). Farms stench still an issue in Pampanga. Retrieved from
http://hri.verafiles.org/2011/07/15/farms-stench-still-an-issue-in-pampanga/