LOCAL government unit (LGU) executives now have a bigger say in the selection, financing and implementation of major socio-economic development projects in their respective regions, on the strength of a new directive from President Marcos that overhauled and fortified the Regional Development Councils (RDC) to accelerate countrywide growth, according to Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte.

With the recently issued Executive Order (EO) No. 82, Villafuerte said the President had reorganized the RDCs by expanding their membership and empowering them to be the top planning and policymaking Councils for socioeconomic development programs and projects in their respective regions.

“The President, who himself had served previously as vice governor and then governor of his homeprovince of Ilocos Norte, has seen it fit to give LGU executives a bigger say in the selection and rollout of major socioeconomic development programs and projects in their localities by putting RDCs at the center of economic planning and implementation in their respective regions, in a fresh government effort to accelerate economic and social progress outside the national capital,” Villafuerte, National Unity Party (NUP) president and once a three-term governor of Camarines Sur, said.

In buttressing the RDCs by including more Council members from among the regional heads of national offices and local representatives from the private sector, and in broadening their tasks, by way of EO 82, Villafuerte said that, “President Marcos aims to accelerate economic and social development in the countryside by ensuring much better coordination between national and local government institutions and between these government bodies and the private sector in the choice, budgeting and implementation of key programs and projects across the country.”

“Henceforth, RDCs serve as the highest planning and policymaking institutions for regional growth and development, in step with the objectives of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, which puts a premium on accelerated and sustainable growth in the regions,” Villafuerte said.

President Marcos attended the recent RDC Region V meeting in CamSur’s capital town of Pili, where he gave a fresh directive to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to find ways to speed up the implementation of two major transport projects that would energize the economy and tourism industry in the province and the rest of the Bicol region.

Villafuerte said the President instructed DOTr Undersecretary Timothy John Batan during the RDC meeting for the Department to fast-track the expansion of the Naga Airport runway, so this secondary airfield can accommodate bigger aircraft like the Airbus jets that are good for international flights, and the implementation of the long-stalled South Long Haul (SLH) Project or “Bicol Express,” which will cut travel time from Metro Manila to Albay or Sorsogon—passing through Camarines Sur —from a half-day to just four or five hours.

The former governor had pushed for the implementation of both the Naga modernization and “Bicol Express” projects during the previous Duterte administration.

EO 82 does not apply to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which was set up under RA 11054; and to the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which was created under RA 7924.

As the President himself stated in EO 82, “Regional development councils must be restructured to respond effectively to the country’s economic challenges and ensure a better alignment of national and local priorities,” he said.

Villafuerte said that to make this happen, the EO beefed up the job of RDCs in overseeing the implementation of regional investment programs and budget allocations; and tasked the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to guide these Councils in the prioritization of key projects in their respective regions.

EO 82 repealed EO 325 that was issued in 1996 by increasing the members of every RDC to include the regional heads of over 30 national offices and from the private sector.

The expanded membership of RDCs now include the regional heads of 13 additional government offices, including those of the Departments of Energy (DOE) and of Migrant Workers (DMW), Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and Philippine Information Agency (PIA).

Barely a month after the issuance of EO 82 on Jan. 28, President Marcos reiterated the key role of LGU officials in the development of major infrastructure projects in their localities, during an RDC meeting that he attended in Iloilo City.

In the RDC meeting in Iloilo City last Feb. 13, the President called on provincial government executives to coordinate with the national government in the development of infrastructure projects in their provinces.

President Marcos said that local chief executives play a crucial role in improving their provinces as, “Nobody is more expert in your area than the governor and mayors, and so, we always consider your inputs to be very, very valuable.”

“Do not be hesitant if there’s something else that you want to bring up, if there is a problem or if you think there is a good idea that we can develop, iparating ninyo sa amin and we will look into it,” he told the RDC officials.

EO 82 points out that Section 14, Article X of the 1987 Constitution mandates the President to provide for RDCs for the purpose of “administrative decentralization to strengthen the autonomy and to accelerate the economic and social growth and development.”

Section 114 of Republic Act (RA) No. 7160, or the “Local Government Code of 1991,” provides, meanwhile, that, “The approved development plans of provinces, highly-urbanized cities, and independent component cities shall be submitted to the RDC, which shall be integrated into the regional development plan for submission to the NEDA, in accordance with existing laws.”

EO 325 of 1996, EO 308 of 1987, EO 318 of 1988, EO 347 and EO 366 both of 1989, EO 455 of 1991 and EO 505 of 1992 had reorganized the RDCs by expanding the membership of these councils and amending their socio-economic development functions.

Villafuerte said that EO 82 aligns with the PDP 2023-2028, which underlines the importance of regional development and the rationalization of the government’s functions, systems and mechanisms in order to attain deep social and economic transformation in the country.

RDCs include as members all provincial governors, city and municipal mayors, provincial chapter presidents of the League of Municipalities (LMP), the regional heads of some 30 national offices, and representatives from the private sector.

Under EO 82, the RDCs shall coordinate and set the direction of all socio-economic development efforts in their regions, as well as lead the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of regional development plans (RDPs), regional physical plans, regional spatial development frameworks, regional development investment programs (RDIPs), and special development plans.

RDCs shall also promote and oversee the inflow and allocation of private investments in their regions to support regional development objectives, policies and strategies; and shall pursue capacity building of LGUs on socio-economic planning, investment programming, and project development.

This EO directs all central offices of government agencies “to prioritize key RDC-endorsed programs, projects and activities in their investment programs and annual budgets, and provide feedback through their regional offices to the RDCs on their actions.”

Each RDC shall be jointly headed by a chairperson and a co-chairperson to be appointed by the President from among the local chief executives and private sector members of the Council.

The NEDA regional director is the ex-officio vice chairperson of every RDC, and the NEDA regional office is the secretariat of the Council.

The chairpersons and co-chairpersons of the RDCs shall each serve for a fixed term of 3 years, coinciding with the regular term of local elective officials, and they shall serve for a maximum of 3 consecutive terms.

Funding for the initial implementation of EO 82 shall be charged against the current budget of the NEDA and such other sources to be identified by the DBM.

Thereafter, the budgetary requirements for the continued implementation of EO 82 shall be included in the budget proposals of NEDA.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ryan Ponce Pacpaco