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Nationally, green building certification in the Philippines is voluntary — there's no single law requiring every project to get certified. But a growing number of cities have passed their own local ordinances that make it mandatory for certain projects within their borders.
This matters because if your project is in one of these cities, getting a Green Building Professional involved early isn't optional — it can directly affect whether you receive your Building Permit or Certificate of Occupancy at all.
| City | Ordinance | What It Requires |
|---|---|---|
| Quezon City | Green Building Ordinance (SP-1917, 2009; updated under GBPO 2022) | One of the first LGUs to mandate green building compliance; Certificate of Occupancy now requires a post-construction energy-efficiency audit. |
| Mandaluyong City | Ordinance No. 535, S-2014 (updated 2018) | The first fully mandatory green building code in the Philippines. Applies based on building floor area thresholds per building type. |
| Pasig City | Ordinance No. 06, Series of 2016 | Adopts BERDE as the mandatory certification system, with required 1-star minimum certification especially for Planned Unit Developments. |
| Cebu City | Enacted 2021 | Requires green practices in the design, construction, and rehabilitation of all vertical structures — new, remodeled, renovated, or retrofitted — across all use types. |
| Mandaue City | Enacted 2015 | Requires maximized sunlight and natural ventilation, with BERDE adopted as the official certifying tool. |
A few other cities have green building initiatives in progress, but haven't yet finalized a mandatory ordinance as of this writing:
Green building ordinances are passed city by city, not tracked in one central national registry. New LGUs adopt these policies regularly, and existing ordinances get updated. Because of this, always confirm current requirements directly with your project's local Office of the Building Official (OBO) before finalizing your permit strategy — don't rely solely on any single list, including this one.
FESMC's Green Building Design team is BERDE-certified and can confirm what your specific city requires, then guide you through design, documentation, and certification from start to finish.
See Our Green Building Design Service →