The Regional Development Council (RDC) VIII – Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RPMC) recently conducted their first batch of monitoring for the 1st Quarter of 2020 on 30 January 2020.

The team, composed of representatives from NEDA, the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), 8th Infantry Division – Philippine Army (8th ID-PA), and RDC VIII-Private Sector Representatives (PSRs), monitored four (4) projects in and around Tacloban City and Palo.

Among the projects visited were the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) Modernization Project; Road Heightening and Tide Embankment (RHTE) Project in Tacloban City, Palo, and Tanauan; and By-pass and Diversion Roads in Tacloban City and Palo, Leyte.

During their visit to the EVRMC modernization project, the monitoring team noted that several construction projects are already nearing completion despite the setbacks experienced by the contractors. Projects such as the Dietary and Supply Building and the Trauma Center are already more than 80 percent complete while construction of the Cancer Center is now ongoing.

Already completed are the Mother and Child Hospital Building and the Out-Patient Department Building, while the Isolation Building, Blood Bank Center, Mental Hospital, and Center for Tropical Medicine and Emerging Diseases will start construction soon.

The modernization of the EVRMC aims to provide accessible high quality health care to the people of Eastern Visayas and help solve the problem of overcrowding in public hospitals.

Meanwhile, construction of the RHTE is currently ongoing. The project, which spans from Tacloban City to Tanauan, Leyte, is composed of 6 sections. Section 4 from Brgy. 89 in Tacloban City to MacArthur Shrine in Palo, Leyte, and Section 5 from Brgy. Cogon in Palo, Leyte to Mohon, Tanauan, Leyte are currently under construction.

The project aims to reduce the damage of future storm surges by providing a barricade to protect communities near the coastline. At the same time, the 33-km structure is also being eyed as recreational spaces for the local communities. Even now, cyclists, joggers, and strollers already populate the completed parts of the RHTE during weekends.

The monitoring team also visited the continued construction of the by-pass and diversions roads in Tacloban City and Palo West. In Tacloban, work continues as teams build the slope protection system aimed at preventing damage from landslides.

In Palo West, construction of the by-pass and diversion roads were extended due to the revision of the original plan from construction of a four-lane road to a six-lane road, which came about due to the availability of space and the ease of right of way in the area.

The complete results of the monitoring activity will be presented by the team during the 1st Quarter 2020 RPMC meeting in February. Two more batches of monitoring visits are scheduled for the 1st Quarter of the year.

The RPMC monitoring is pivotal in attaining the national and regional goals of economic growth and reduction of poverty and inequality in all dimensions identified in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 and the Eastern Visayas Regional Development Plan 2017-2022. The attainment of both goals is a crucial component in realizing the Filipinos’ long-term vision of a Matatag, Maginhawa, at Panatag na Buhay Para sa Lahat, as embodied in AmBisyon Natin 2040.

Article by:  Knulp Aseo/Prisco Boco III
Photo by:  RPMC VIII Monitoring Team