ILOLO CITY – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has formally appointed Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez as chairperson of the Western Visayas Regional Development Council (RDC).
Co-chairman is Atty. Jobert Peñaflorida, governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI)-Western Visayas.
“The appointed officials shall lead in setting forth development directions in the region during the length of their three-year term from 2022-2025,” said National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-Western Visayas in an announcement on Friday, Oct. 21.
Benitez was unanimously elected nominee to chair the Western Visayas RDC last August and had to wait for the formal appointment by Marcos.
Benitez had earlier disclosed he will continue to lobby for the actual start of the proposed trans-link bridges that will connect the islands of Panay, Guimaras, and Negros. These bridges have been on the drawing board for more than 50 years.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced last August that two South Korean firms have submitted bids for the detailed engineering design (DED) funded by a loan from the Korea Export-Import Bank.
Prior to becoming regional governor of PCCI, Peñaflorida was past president of PCCI-Iloilo and the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. (IFFI). He also was news anchor for the regional GMA and ABS-CBN in Iloilo.