The WILUP team conducted its fifth meeting with the TWG representatives from various agencies that primarily aimed to discuss the updates on the project activities. The said meeting happened on January 11, 2023, and was attended by representatives from ELUPDB-DHSUD, FMB-DENR, CODE-NGO, DPWH-BOD, OCD-NDRRMC, NEDA, NCIP-OSESSC, and The Asia Foundation. Included in the updates presented by the WILUP team are the stakeholders’ consultation and workshop with LGUs of the Watersheds within Los Banos, Laguna; finalization and reviewing of the MOAs; continued updating and development of the WILUP website; ongoing editing of the WILUP Guidelines draft; and the scheduled face-to-face meeting of the team with the DHSUD-ELUPDB.During the meeting, Ma’am Alma Monica de La Paz, a representative from CODE-NGO, opened the need for considering the monitoring of the non-conforming uses in the development of the CLUP.

She also mentioned that it is important that the plans that will be crafted for the watershed must interface with the plans of the IPs in their ancestral domain.Regarding the concern for the lack of monitoring of non-conforming uses, Sir Ivan Sumilang, a representative from DHSUD, provided an update regarding one of their works in progress which is the development of a monitoring framework that will address this problem.Moreover, Dr. Rex Victor Cruz mentioned that in the case of non-conforming uses, reversible cases must be reversed.

On the other hand, mitigation plans will be demanded from those that are engaged in irreversible non-conforming uses.Ma’am Carmelita de Silva, a representative from NCIP-OSESSC, expressed her gratitude towards the WILUP team for being in touch with them. She is also thankful that their unit is being considered in projects that involve the ancestral domain which concerns the IPs.Dr. Rex ensured that WILUP can further help IPs to be protected. He also mentioned that what is good for the watershed must be the paramount concern of every sector and must serve as a reference in developing sectoral programs.Before the meeting ended, the TWG representatives agreed to set March 15, 2023, as the tentative date for the next TWG meeting where the updates for the WILUP Guidelines will be discussed.