PGMA meets with the development plotters of Central Philippines

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
July 6, 2006

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte   –  President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her Cabinet will meet with the regional development councils of Regions 4B, 5, 6, 7 and 8, comprising the Central Philippines on July 7, 2006 at the Malacañang sa Sugbo, pursuant to her thrust of  reaching out to various local government leaders to review and revitalize investment and development blueprints from a supra-regional perspective.

Southern Leyte Governor Rosette Lerias, chairperson of the Regional Development Council of Eastern Visayas informed PIA that she, together with the Executive Committee of RDC 8, are looking forward to attending the scheduled meeting with the President in Cebu. Output of the discussions will be strategic thrusts and priority undertakings to be presented to the President for possible inclusion in the SONA and the proposed 2007 national budget, as well as LGU development and spending.

The Executive Committee of RDC 8 is composed of the RDC chair and co chair, the Vice Chair who is NEDA Director Buenaventura Gosoco, RDC Secretary Emma Sanopo, the Governors of the six provinces in the Region, the four City Mayors, the President of the League of Municipalities of Leyte, the President of the League of Municipalities of Biliran, the Private Sector Representative Chair, among others.

It would be remembered that President Arroyo wishes that her July 24 State of the Nation Address (SONA) vision should come from the perspective of the regional development councils as her partners in governance, hence, the Regional leaders and sectors will participate more intensively in planning, monitoring and fine-tuning development programs and projects in their regions.

The consultative planning and collaboration was hoped to be done on a mega-scale with four multi-regional groupings. The North Luzon which is composed of Regions 1, 2 and CAR, Aurora and Nueva Ecija, has had its planning task together with President Arroyo and her Cabinet on June 16, at Cauayan, Isabela.

The second group is the Metro Luzon composed of Regions 3, 4A and NCR has met with the President before the President’s trip to Europe. The same is true with the fourth group, Mindanao, which is composed of Regions 9-13 and ARMM.