President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. encouraged the Regional Development Councils to raise their needs and concerns as he rallied them to assume their role in developing the various regions in the country.
The President has conveyed in several events the need to reactivate RDCs’ role to ensure the inclusion of local inputs to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
“That’s precisely why we’re doing this, we need to hear from the local governments through the RDCs, you have the Provincial Development Councils. That’s supposed to be the process,” President Marcos said during a meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday.
The Chief Executive highlighted the need to organize efforts together particularly in project development and funding. “So, that’s the function really of NEDA. That’s the original function of NEDA. So, we will return to that system. And that’s exactly your concerns are. We’re hoping to address those concerns by doing this, by returning the RDCs to the actual line function that they originally had,” he explained.
During the meeting, each RDC presented to the President their selected its top three region-specific or inter-regional PAPs for possible inclusion in the concerned agencies’ Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 or FY 2026 budget aimed at aligning regional, national, and sectoral developmental priorities and support the capacity-building of LGUs.
For the 2025 to 2026 budget, the projected cost for the 45 PAPs is PhP67,925.76 million, with the top three projects listed as infrastructure, 16 PAPs; agriculture, 11 PAPs; and transportation, nine PAPs. The top three regions with the highest project costs (in PhP million) are Davao Region, PhP13,940.98; Bicol Region, PhP8,338.16; and Ilocos Region, PhP6,409.42.
The RDC Chairpersons present were Apayao Governor Elias Bulut (Cordillera Administrative Region), Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc (Region 1), Isabela Governor Rodolfo Albano III (Region 2), Tarlac Governor Susan Yap (Region 3), Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas (Region 4-A), Romblon Governor Jose Riano (Region 4-B), Edna Cynthia Berces (OIC, NEDA for Region 5), Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (Region 6), Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado (Region 7), Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Marie Torres-Gomez (Region 8), Zamboanga City Mayor John Dalipe (Region 9), Lanao del Norte Governor Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo (Region 10), Davao Oriental Governor Niño Sotero Uy (Region 11), Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza (Region 12) and Dinagat Islands Governor Nilo Demerey Jr. (Region 13).
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Regional Development Councils (RDCs) has also asked President Marcos to amend Executive Order (EO) No. 325, s. 1996 to improve their roles in local governance and help facilitate the maximization of budgetary usage through the alignment of national and local priorities.
The President urged the RDCs to inform the national leadership what they “would want us to look into, to help your development.”
“Baka magawa rin namin. Maybe we can do something to adjust, fine tune certain policies that will be more applicable to what you’re trying to do. So, huwag lang ‘yung project. Kung ano rin ang suggestion ninyo para gumanda ‘yung takbo ng ekonomiya,” the President told RDC chairs.
RDCs set the direction of economic and social development of the region, through which the regional development efforts are coordinated. Strengthening them further could lead to regional and local development given the emerging challenges, the President said.
NEDA and the RDC Chairpersons also presented to the President the proposed amendments to EO No. 325, s. 1996 in accordance with the directive of the President for a more strengthened and participative RDCs in national development.
The RDC is proposing to amend EO No. 325, s. 1996 to increase the RDCs’ presence and engagements with LGUs and address the RDCs’ limited influence in funding priority regional programs, activities, and projects (PAPs). It will also allow higher budgetary allocation to support RDC operations by capacitating LGUs on socioeconomic planning, investment programming, project development, and monitoring and evaluation. Priority regional and inter-regional PAPs were also tackled during the meeting.
Each RDC selected its top three region-specific or inter-regional PAPs for possible inclusion in the concerned agencies’ Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 or FY 2026 budget aimed at aligning regional, national, and sectoral developmental priorities and support the capacity-building of LGUs.
For the 2025 to 2026 budget, the projected cost for the 45 PAPs is PhP67,925.76 million, with the top three projects listed as infrastructure, 16 PAPs; agriculture, 11 PAPs; and transportation, nine PAPs. The top three regions with the highest project costs (in PhP million) are Davao Region, PhP13,940.98; Bicol Region, PhP8,338.16; and Ilocos Region, PhP6,409.42. PND
