President Marcos encouraged all Regional Development Councils (RDCs) to actively ascertain the people’s needs and concerns as he assured them that government would listen.
According to the President, there is a need for RDCs to do their job to ensure that local voices are included in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
The reason why Marcos is pressing the RDCs, he said, is because the government needs to hear from the local government units.
“You have the Provincial Development Councils. That’s supposed to be the process,” the President said during a meeting in Malacanang Tuesday.
Marcos stressed the need to organize efforts together particularly in project development and funding.
“So, that’s the function really of NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority). That’s the original function of NEDA. So, we will return to that system. And that’s exactly (to find out what) 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 their selected 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.
The top three projects for the upcoming fiscal year are infrastructure, agriculture and transportation.
The top three regions with the highest project costs are Davao Region, Bicol Region and Ilocos Region.
Meanwhile, both NEDA and RDCs have asked the President 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 (We may also participate). 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 (Let’s not only focus on projects. Maybe you can also make suggestions to help the economy),” the President told RDC chairs.