RDC 11 endorses P106B as budget

By Cheneen R. Capon
The Expanded Executive Committee of the Regional Development Council (RDC) 11 endorsed P106.43 billion worth of proposed programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) next year.
The proposed budget came from the PAPs of 36 Agency Regional Offices (AROs), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), and selected Government-owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) in Davao.
“The proposed amount is ten percent higher compared to what was endorsed by the Council in FY 2016,” the committee said in a statement.
RDC 11 vice-chairand National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA XI) regional director Maria Lourdes D. Lim said the annual budget preparation and review exercise has been institutionalized by the Council as a continuing effort to strengthen the link across development planning, investment programming, and budgeting processes.
Lim further informed the RDC 11 Executive Committee that pending the formulation of the successor Regional Development Plan, this year’s budgeting exercise will continue to advocate priority PAPs that directly contribute to the attainment of development goals, objectives, and targets under the current Davao Regional Development Plan, 2014-2016 as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.
Of the P106.43 billion proposed budget, P52 billion or 53 percent is for PAPs under the Social Development, P44.5 billion or 42 percent is for Infrastructure Development, and P5.9 billion or 5 percent is for the Economic and Development Administration Sectors.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 11 has the biggest investment with P42 billion, followed by the Department of Education (DepEd) 11 with P40.7 billion.
Aside from the regular programs of AROs/SUCs/GOCCs, PAPs for Gender and Development (GAD), youth development, Senior Citizens, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs); Climate-change; Payapa and Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) and other peace building-related concerns; PAPs proposed under the Bottom-up Budgeting and the Davao Region Industry Cluster Roadmaps were integrated into the budget proposals.
During the RDC 11 ExeCom Consultation and Review, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Assistant Secretary Maxine Tanya M. Hamada highlighted the important role of the RDCs in promoting meaningful devolution, emphasizing the role of the RDC in harmonizing national and local initiatives.
Hamada encouraged RDC 11 to add value to the budget proposals by linking the PAPs to the region’s overall development objectives and prioritize PAPs as there is a limit to what the national government can fund.