President Marcos has issued Executive Order (EO) No. 82, reinforcing the Regional Development Councils (RDCs) to accelerate socioeconomic growth across all regions.

In his EO, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Jan. 28, the President said the move is aligned with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, which highlights the importance of supporting regional development and rationalizing government functions, systems, and mechanisms to achieve the country's deep social and economic transformation.

"It is imperative to further reorganize the RDCs to strengthen their role in the pursuit of regional socioeconomic development," he said in his EO.

Under the EO, RDCs will serve as the highest planning and policymaking bodies for regional development. The RDC is tasked with coordinating and overseeing regional socio-economic development efforts.

Its other key responsibilities include prioritizing and reviewing investment programs for funding approval, facilitating private sector participation in development projects, and monitoring and evaluating the implementation of regional plans.

Each RDC will be composed of all provincial governors, all provincial mayors, mayors of municipalities designated as provincial capital, all provincial chapter presidents of the League of Municipalities, and private sector representatives, who will comprise one-fourth of each RDC’s total membership.

The private sector representatives must be experienced in socio-economic development and will be selected through a standardized process.

The RDCs shall all comprise regional heads from the following agencies:

• National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
• Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
• Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)
• Department of Agriculture (DA)
• Department of Budget and Management (DBM)
• Department of Education (DepEd)
• Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
• Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
• Bureau of Local Government Finance
• Department of Health (DOH)
• Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD)
• Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)
• Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)
• Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
• Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
• Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
• Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
• Department of Tourism (DOT)
• Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
• Department of Transportation (DOTR)
• Department of Energy (DOE)
• Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA)
• Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU)
• National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)
• Office of Civil Defense (OCD)
• Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)
• Philippine Information Agency (PIA)
• Other agencies or instrumentalities that the RDCs deem critical to their respective regions

The EO mandates the NEDA and the DBM to strengthen regional investment programming and budgeting, ensuring that national funding priorities align with local needs, by prioritizing key programs, projects, and activities under regional development plans (RDPs).

"All central offices of government agencies are hereby directed 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," the EO read.

To streamline decision-making, an Executive Committee will be created within each RDC.