Palafox: From Complaints to Plans to Action

Clear rivers and esteros. Restore watersheds and protect mangroves. Enforce easements and stop building in danger zones. Make public buildings and critical infrastructure structurally safe. Invest in drainage, rainwater harvesting, retention ponds and open spaces. Build walkable, inclusive communities.

These are not radical ideas but practical solutions from Ar. Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr., internationally acclaimed architect and environmental urban planner.

Ar. Palafox will be in Naga City on November 9, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, at Villa Caceres Hotel for LIGTAS: Safe Spaces vs. Flooding and El Niño Forum. The University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) CamSur leads the forum with the Camarines Sur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI), Mariners Polytechnic Colleges Foundation, Bicol Mail, the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners, AIM Alumni Association, United Architects of the Philippines and Tabang Bikol Movement. It seeks to move our conversations beyond complaints and toward solutions.

For this Bicol forum, Jun has generously waived his professional fee as a much sought-after speaker. The ₱500 registration fee will help cover the forum’s expenses.

I thought UPAA CamSur could take the lead with partners who share a concern for community safety. Jun is a proud UP alumnus with 53 years in architecture and 51 years in environmental and urban planning. His work includes contributions to Dubai’s transformation from desert sand to global city. In 2024, he received the UP Alumni Association Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award. Bringing his experience to Bicol is his way of public service.

My decision to reach out to Jun was also personal. During Typhoon Kristine in 2024, I was stranded on the third level of SM Naga while much of the city and parts of Camarines Sur were submerged. It reinforced a difficult truth: we cannot respond only after lives and livelihoods are disrupted. The poor are often the most affected. We must rethink how we plan and build in a region repeatedly exposed to natural hazards.

Jun was also a family friend of my late brother, Dante. They shared the conviction that corruption, poor planning and weak enforcement undermine public safety. Public resources must serve the common good; private interests must never take precedence over community safety.

Bicol’s challenge is not simply to produce more plans, but to translate sound recommendations into funded programs, enforceable policies and accountable institutions. We must move from fragmented projects to integrated planning, and from disaster response to prevention.

Our conversations and studies shared by Palafox Associates and Palafox Architecture Group, Inc. emphasize five priorities:

1. Plan with science. Update hazard maps and integrate them into land-use plans, permits and decisions on where people and critical facilities belong.

2. Restore nature’s defenses. Rehabilitate rivers and esteros; protect watersheds, forests, wetlands and mangroves. Pair flood-control infrastructure with rainwater harvesting, retention ponds and green spaces.

3. Make communities safe. Audit public buildings and infrastructure. Enforce building standards and easements, strengthen early-warning systems and provide safe evacuation facilities. Relocation must include decent housing and livelihood opportunities.

4. Plan beyond city boundaries. Naga’s growth must complement surrounding municipalities. Connect urban development, public transport and services with agriculture, fisheries, tourism and local enterprises.

5. Demand accountability. Every plan needs a budget, timeline, responsible agency and measurable results. Public spending must be transparent; citizens must monitor implementation. Good governance is key. There can be no place for corruption.

These priorities require immediate action, medium-term investment in infrastructure and environmental restoration, and long-term commitment to change.

This is especially important as Naga moves toward becoming a highly urbanized city, subject to the November 21 plebiscite. For Mayor Leni Robredo and the city government, this brings opportunities and responsibilities. It must deliver a safer, greener, more inclusive and better-governed city. We cannot keep rebuilding and asking for ayuda after disasters while ignoring the failures that make communities vulnerable. It is time to move from complaints to plans, and from plans to action.

I personally wish to see this vision become reality in my lifetime. Is that too much to hope for? Dubai’s transformation reminds us what sustained vision, sound planning and determined execution can achieve in 15 to 20 years. Why can’t we begin now? We need leaders who think beyond their terms of office, institutions that sustain plans beyond political transitions, and citizens who demand accountability. Good governance is key. Without it, even the best plans will remain on paper. The goal is urgent: safe, sustainable and smart spaces—our homes, our neighborhoods and our communities.