Legarda calls for integration of nature-based solutions in infrastructure costing frameworks

During plenary deliberations on the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Senator Loren Legarda reiterated the need to apply nature-based solutions in public infrastructure planning and costing.

While she has long emphasized in her speeches that “Nurturing nature is our strongest flood defense,” Legarda called for costing frameworks that also account for ecological and hybrid designs, compared with traditional civil works.

The four-term senator called on the Department of Public Works and Highways to extend the same rigor it has applied in revising its Construction Materials Price Data (CMPD) and Detailed Unit Price Analysis (DUPA) for traditional projects, such as roads, bridges, floodwalls, and pumping stations, to ecological and hybrid designs. Legarda urged the agency to ensure that nature-based solutions are given equal footing in the costing process, so they can be fairly considered alongside conventional civil works.

Legarda, a long-term advocate of environmental protection and climate action, said that constructed wetlands, vegetated floodplains, detention parks, bioswales, permeable surfaces, urban forests, mangrove and riparian restoration, and other climate-resilient landscape interventions are not only climate-resilient but also potentially more cost-effective over their lifecycle.

“These approaches reduce energy use, withstand climate extremes, and deliver co-benefits for biodiversity, health, and tourism. Yet without standardized costing frameworks, they remain excluded from formal programming and from fair comparison with conventional civil works,” she said.

Legarda underscored that the Philippines, with its abundance of indigenous resources and ecological diversity, is uniquely positioned to lead in modern, climate-conscious infrastructure design.

“We cannot continue to measure infrastructure value only in terms of cement,” Legarda declared. “True value-for-money must account for the resilience and sustainability that nature-based solutions bring to our communities. If DPWH fails to integrate these into its costing, we are missing the opportunity to build smarter, greener infrastructure.”

Legarda proposed a dedicated Nature-Based Solutions Costing Framework, parallel to CPMD and DUPA, that would establish standardized unit costs, design templates, and material benchmarks for ecological and hybrid infrastructure.

“We must conduct comparative cost–benefit and lifecycle analyses between traditional flood control structures and nature-based alternatives, particularly hybrid models that combine both approaches,” Legarda said.

Legarda further called for a formal study to assess the integration of indigenous and locally sourced materials, such as bamboo, coconut lumber, volcanic aggregates, local stone, and native plant species, into national standards.

“We have the resources, knowledge, and urgency. What we need is the institutional will to mainstream these solutions into our infrastructure program,” she added.

She also suggested a pilot program, in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Economic and Development (DEPDev), and the academe, to generate local cost data on nature-based and indigenous-material-based infrastructure. According to Legarda, such a program would ensure more sustainable, value-for-money investment decisions while grounding infrastructure planning in Philippine realities.

Legarda, in plenary deliberations with various agencies on the 2026 General Appropriations Bill, has consistently pushed for an all-government approach anchored on nature-based solutions. She underscored that embedding ecological resilience and sustainable practices into fiscal planning is vital to align infrastructure modernization with environmental stewardship. (30)

Legarda hinimok ang integrasyon ng nature-based solutions sa mga costing framework ng imprastruktura

Sa plenary deliberations para sa panukalang 2026 budget ng Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), muling iginiit ni Senador Loren Legarda ang kahalagahan ng paggamit ng nature-based solutions sa pagpaplano at pagkuwestiyon ng gastusin para sa pampublikong imprastruktura.

Habang matagal na niyang binibigyang-diin sa kanyang mga talumpati na ang pag-aalaga sa kalikasan ang pinakamabisang depensa laban sa pagbaha, nanawagan si Legarda na isama sa mga costing framework ang mga disenyo na ekolohikal at hybrid kumpara sa tradisyunal na civil works.

Hinimok niya ang DPWH na ipakita ang parehong dedikasyon na ipinamalas nito sa pagrebisa ng Construction Materials Price Data (CMPD) at Detailed Unit Price Analysis (DUPA) para sa mga tradisyunal na proyekto gaya ng mga kalsada, tulay, floodwalls, at pumping stationsmsa pagsasama ng mga disenyo na ekolohikal at hybrid. Binanggit ni Legarda na dapat tiyakin ng ahensya na magkaroon ng pantay na pagtingin sa nature-based solutions sa proseso ng costing upang maging patas ang kanilang konsiderasyon kasabay ng karaniwang civil works.

Binigyang-diin ni Legarda, na matagal nang tagapagtaguyod ng pangangalaga sa kalikasan at climate action, na ang constructed wetlands, vegetated floodplains, detention parks, bioswales, permeable surfaces, urban forests, mangrove at riparian restoration, at iba pang climate-resilient landscape interventions ay hindi lamang matatag sa harap ng climate extremes kundi maaaring mas matipid sa pangmatagalang panahon.

“Binabawasan ng mga paraang ito ang paggamit ng enerhiya, nakapagtitiis sa matinding epekto ng klima, at nagbibigay pa ng karagdagang benepisyo sa biodiversity, kalusugan, at turismo. Ngunit kung walang standardized costing frameworks, patuloy silang hindi isinasama sa pormal na programming at sa patas na paghahambing sa tradisyunal na civil works,” aniya.

Binigyang-diin pa ni Legarda na ang Pilipinas, na mayaman sa katutubong yaman at ekolohikal na pagkakaiba-iba, ay may natatanging oportunidad upang manguna sa makabago at climate-conscious na disenyo ng imprastruktura.

“Hindi natin maaaring patuloy na sukatin ang halaga ng imprastruktura base lamang sa dami ng semento,” pahayag ni Legarda. “Ang tunay na value-for-money ay dapat isinasaalang-alang ang tibay at sustenabilidad na hatid ng nature-based solutions sa ating mga komunidad. Kung hindi ito maisasama ng DPWH sa costing, sinasayang natin ang pagkakataong magtayo ng mas matalino at mas luntian na imprastruktura.”

Nagpanukala si Legarda ng isang hiwalay na Nature-Based Solutions Costing Framework, katumbas ng CPMD at DUPA, na magtatakda ng standardized unit costs, design templates, at material benchmarks para sa ekolohikal at hybrid na imprastruktura.

“Kailangan nating magsagawa ng comparative cost–benefit at lifecycle analyses sa pagitan ng tradisyunal na flood control structures at ng nature-based alternatives, lalo na ang mga hybrid na modelo na pinagsasama ang parehong pamamaraan,” sabi ni Legarda.

Nanawagan din siya ng pormal na pag-aaral para suriin ang integrasyon ng mga katutubo at lokal na materyales, gaya ng kawayan, coconut lumber, volcanic aggregates, lokal na bato, at mga katutubong species ng halaman, sa pambansang pamantayan.

“Taglay natin ang mga yaman, kaalaman, at agarang pangangailangan. Ang kailangan natin ay ang institusyonal na kagustuhang gawing bahagi ng ating imprastruktura ang mga solusyong ito,” dagdag niya.

Nagpahiwatig din si Legarda ng pagbuo ng pilot program, sa pakikipagtulungan sa Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Economic and Development (DEPDev), at akademya, upang makalikom ng lokal na cost data para sa nature-based at indigenous-material-based infrastructure.

Ayon kay Legarda, titiyakin ng naturang programa ang mas napapanatili at value-for-money na investment decisions habang iniaangkop ang imprastruktura sa mga realidad ng Pilipinas.

Sa plenary deliberations kasama ang iba’t ibang ahensya para sa 2026 General Appropriations Bill, patuloy na isinusulong ni Legarda ang isang whole-of-government approach na nakabatay sa nature-based solutions. Binigyang-diin niyang mahalagang isama ang ecological resilience at sustainable practices sa fiscal planning upang maging tugma ang modernisasyon ng imprastruktura sa wastong pangangalaga sa kalikasan. (30)