Regional councils meeting cancelled due to typhoon

Typhoon Frank yesterday forced the cancellation of the scheduled meetings of the Central Visayas Regional Development Council, and that of the Regional Peace and Order Council.

The meetings were supposed to be held in Siquijor but Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, chairwoman of both councils, decided to cancel and postpone the meetings due to bad weather condition.

Garcia, taking with her the department heads of the Capitol and members of the Capitol Press Corps, was already in Santander town on their way to Siquijor via Dumaguete City when the weather prompted her to call off their trip.

“We might as well cancel the meeting, kay bisan mag chopper pa ko, ang mga regional directors cannot make it unya ang mahitabo walay quorum ang meeting,” she said.

Garcia said the regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority was already in Siquijor a day before the scheduled meeting but the four governors of Central Visayas, including their police chiefs, were still on their way to Siquijor as of yesterday morning.

She said the meeting will be held next week instead and this time it will be in Cebu.  The agenda of the intended meeting will include various infrastructure projects, such as the proposed Lapu-Lapu reclamation project and the North Coastal Road project, power issues, and the regional rice crisis, among others.

Last April, leaders of the three regional development councils (RDC-6, RDC-7, and RDC-8) elected Garcia as their head of the Visayas RD Committee. 

With her at the help of the RDC and RPOC, Garcia executed plans not just for the benefit of Cebu but also for Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.

The RDC serves as a venue for interactions among the government and the private sector to promote growth and development in the region. It is the region’s highest policy-making body, serving as the counterpart of the NEDA Board at the sub-national level.

The RDC is the primary institution that coordinates and sets the direction of all economic and social development efforts in the region.   — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/RAE