BUTUAN CITY, Philippines (PIA) – The Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Caraga Region is now preparing a 2011-2016 Medium-Term Regional Development Plan (MTRDP) for the region in support of President Aquino’s development program in the countryside.

The MTRDP will underscore the guiding principles that will be implemented starting next year and succeeding years, it was learned.

The RDC-Caraga Region is focusing on economic growth and poverty reduction programs, including on application of participatory and human rights-based approaches, integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation concepts and strategies, gender equality and development, vertical and horizontal plan integration, and support to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The guidelines were adapted during a recent council meeting at the Surigao Development Corporation (Sudecor) in Carmen town, Surigao del Sur.

The 64th RDC full council meeting was participated in by members from regional line agencies, local government units (LGUs), and the private sector.

The meeting was hosted by the Sudecor led by its senior vice president Wilfred Y. Alvarez. It was the first RDC meeting hosted by a private entity operating in the region.

Sudecor has significantly contributed to the economy of Surigao del Sur, RDC officials said.

The RDC members’ presence was a show of solidarity to Sudecor’s cause of fighting insurgency and alleviating poverty among the people, they said.

Sudecor is a logging and manufacturing company operating in Surigao del Sur under a Timber License Agreement (TLA) granting it 50 years of operation through a selective 30-year cycle logging operation.