The Regional Development Council (RDC) VIII endorsed more than PhP131 billion-worth of FY 2022 proposed programs and projects (PPs) of agency regional offices (AROs), government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), and state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the region during the First Quarter 2021 RDC VIII Full Council Meeting on 05 March 2021 on Zoom.

Of the 9,757 total projects endorsed, the bulk were for the Social Development sector (7,205) which includes the SUCs, followed by the Infrastructure and Utilities sector (2,197), Development Administration sector (220), and Economic Development sector (135).

Infrastructure and Utilities accounted for the largest chunk of allocated budget at PhP94.5 billion for FY 2022, followed by the Social sector (PhP22.9 billion), Development Administration sector (PhP7.0 billion), and Economic Development sector (PhP6.6 million).

The endorsed proposed programs and projects underwent thorough review and revision in the Sectoral Committees to ensure its responsiveness to regional needs and concerns, its contribution to the achievement of regional targets and priorities, and implementation-readiness.

Under the RDC VIII Guidelines on the Preparation and Review of Eastern Visayas Priority Programs and Projects, agencies’ proposed programs and projects must be responsive to regional goals and priorities stated in the Eastern Visayas Regional Development Investment Program (EV RDIP); Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) Program, Executive Order No. 70 (s. 2018) to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), and EV Regional Recovery Program (RRP) for COVID-19. The Guidelines also requires the implementation-readiness of PPs in the budget proposals to increase their chance of being funded at the national level.

Up next for the budget proposals is submission to Agency Central Offices while those of the SUCs will be submitted to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for inclusion in their respective budget proposals for FY 2022.

Article and Photos by:  Knulp Aseo