TACLOBAN CITY – The Eastern Visayas Regional Development Council (RDC) is optimistic the PHP118.19 billion worth of projects for the development of the poverty-stricken region will be pushed through following the endorsement of the body’s advisory committee.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said on Monday the multi-billion projects endorsed by the committee last month is from the long list of more than 2,000 priority program and projects identified by different sectors.
“These mainly consist of infrastructure projects seen to address perennial problems in the region, such as flooding and inadequate water supply,” said NEDA Eastern Visayas Regional Director Bonifacio Uy, vice chair of the RDC, the region’s highest policy-making body.
Major projects endorsed include the feasibility study and master plan, and construction of a flood control system of Tacloban City; feasibility study for Leyte’s Binahaan River flood control; storm surge protection: road heightening and tide embankment for Tacloban-Palo-Tanauan in Leyte, Luzon-Samar, Leyte-Surigao, Bohol-Leyte inter-island link bridges; and feasibility study on the proposed Janbatas bridge (the second San Juanico Bridge).
Other projects are convergence and special support roads program; Daram Circumferential Road with Bridge and Daram-Talalora Bridge in Samar; Priority airport development projects in the region; Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) extension in Villaba, Leyte; Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone; Eastern Visayas Yolanda Remembrance and Learning Center; Comprehensive master plan for Ormoc City waterworks system; and Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan, infrastructure program for conflict-stricken communities.
Uy said in a mobile phone interview that the endorsement by lawmakers from the six provinces will help ensure the prioritization of project for funding by concerned central offices of national government agencies.
“We really need these priority programs and projects considering that these are aligned with the priority thrusts espoused under the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 and the Eastern Visayas Regional Development Plan 2017-2022, both anchored on the 0 to 10 Point Socioeconomic Agenda of the Duterte administration,” Uy said.
The RDC’s advisory committee is composed of members of the House of Representatives, key council officials, and private sector representatives.
The committee is tasked to advice, assist and support the council in discharging its functions. The creation of the committee is provided under Executive Order No. 325, issued 1996, entitled "Reorganization of Regional Development Councils."
Eastern Visayas or Region 8 is the third poorest among 18 regions in the country. As of 2015, the region’s poverty incidence among families is pegged at 30.7 percent, which means that three out of every 10 families in the region are poor.
However, in 2016, its Gross Regional Domestic Product grew by 12.4 percent, the fastest growing region in the country, offsetting economic losses incurred from super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
For 2018 to 2022, the average target economic growth is 5.8 percent to 7 percent. (PNA)
