2 December 2025, Cagayan de Oro City -- Following the initial dialogue with the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) in late September, the Cagayan de Oro Trade and Investment Promotions Center (Oro-TIPC), led by Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Officer (LEDIPO) and concurrent Acting Manager of the City Housing and Urban Development Department, John W. Asuncion, convened a meeting with the Office of the City Building Official (OBO), the City-Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (CLENRO), the City Engineer's Office (CEO), and the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) regarding SHDA's concerns about the application process for Preliminary Subdivision Development Permits (PSDPs) and Development Permits (DPs).
This meeting -- which was attended by City Building Official Engr. Ma. Rosanna D. Rodriguez, and CLENR Officer EnP Elvisa Mabelin themselves, with Organizational Development Consultant Mary Anne A. Cortes, representatives from CPDO, and members of Mr. Asuncion's teams from both CHUDD and Oro-TIPC -- focused on aligning interpretations of existing laws, clarifying documentary requirements, and identifying redundant steps that can be simplified or removed altogether.
The group noted that while certain reviews, such as, zoning conformity and technical engineering checks, are clearly required by national (PD 957, with corresponding Implementing Rules and Regulations) and local laws (City Ordinance No. 13901-2020), other steps in the present workflow consolidated by Oro-TIPC Investment Services' Oxanna S. Custodio and Carol Anne M. Chua, need to be revisited to ensure relevance, consistency, and legal grounding. This includes the long-standing requirement for endorsements from bodies that do not serve as approving authorities under PD 957 and its IRR.
The team also examined ways to reduce unnecessary duplication of submissions and to eliminate repeated endorsements to the City Council committee and full-council levels. Participants agreed that a unified checklist would significantly reduce both delays and inconsistencies.
Another area of improvement identified was document verification, with the group acknowledging the need for tighter inter-office coordination, including the eventual establishment of a simple tracking mechanism to monitor application progress across departments until a more automated system can be developed.
CHUDD likewise clarified its primary mandate in the context of private development applications, particularly since its mandate focuses on resettlement, transitory shelters, and socialized housing compliance.
The group is now working toward the creation of a draft One-Stop Development Permit (OSDP) workflow, outlining a streamlined, step-by-step process that will eventually serve as basis for updated internal guidelines.
The next meeting will consolidate the proposed workflow, complete the unified checklist, and identify which steps must be maintained, realigned, or removed for greater efficiency.
These continuing sessions reflect the city's commitment to further strengthening the local business-enabling environment, addressing Cagayan de Oro's growing housing needs, and easing the permitting process through collaborative, evidence-based reforms.n
