COUNCIL MEETING. Members of the Regional Development Council (RDC) during a meeting on June 26, 2024 in Ormoc City. Some PHP7.78 billion worth of projects proposed by eight agencies and tertiary schools have been endorsed by the RDC for additional funding for 2025, the National Economic Development Authority said on Thursday (July 11, 2024). (Photo courtesy of Ormoc City government)
TACLOBAN CITY – Some PHP7.78 billion worth of projects from eight agencies and tertiary schools have been endorsed by the Regional Development Council (RDC) for additional funding for 2025, the National Economic Development Authority said on Thursday.
These projects have been considered for inclusion in the list of 2025 priority programs, projects, and activities (PPAs) in Eastern Visayas, in addition to the PHP149.56 billion worth of PPAs earlier approved by the RDC for funding by the central government.
“The endorsement of the additional projects, amounting to PHP7.78 billion, resulted from the requests for reconsideration from several agencies and state universities and colleges, as well as their subsequent compliance with the required documents for implementation readiness,” the NEDA regional office said in a statement.
NEDA is the secretariat of the RDC, the region’s highest policy-making body and the primary institution that coordinates and sets the direction of all economic and social development efforts in the region.
Of the PHP7.78 billion PPAs, PHP424 million is for the Department of Social Welfare and Development, PHP90 million for Philippine Science High School, PHP130 million for Eastern Visayas State University, PHP257.81 million for Southern Leyte Satte University, PHP431.98 million for Leyte Normal University, PHP4.63 billion for the Department of Information and Communications Technology, PHP774.55 million for the Department of Agriculture, and PHP1.04 billion for Eastern Visayas Medical Center.
“These programs and projects were not endorsed during the first quarter meeting earlier this year as the RDC enacted a more stringent approach to ensure that only implementation-ready proposals were submitted to the agency’s national offices and included in the National Expenditure Program,” the NEDA added.
These endorsed PPAs support the attainment of the 2023–2028 Regional Development Plan.
The plan envisions that by the end of 2028, Eastern Visayas will attain economic growth by at least 7.5 percent, decrease joblessness to five percent, reduce poverty incidence to 16.7 percent of the population, and keep food and headline inflation rates low and stable between two and four percent. (PNA)
