RDC-7 officials tackle Central Visayas concerns with Pangulong Marcos

CEBU, Philippines — Officials of the Regional Development Council (RDC)-7 took advantage of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s presence at their recent meeting in Cebu to raise five major issues and challenges currently affecting Central Visayas.

These include water scarcity, urban flooding, connectivity and mobility issues, energy and power supply concerns, and challenges in distributing growth outside Metro Cebu and other urban centers.

As such, the RDC-7 officials presented eight of the 10 projects identified as the administration’s infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) that will hopefully address such concerns, including the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT).

Although the President acknowledged the benefits of the CBRT, he stressed the importance of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and local government units (LGUs) working together to ensure its successful implementation.

In a report by the Philippine Information Agency, Marcos emphasized the importance of involving LGUs in national government planning to address issues in local projects. For the CBRT, these include right-of-way acquisition and the relocation of residents affected by the project’s infrastructure developments.

“It will not succeed if you are not working in close coordination with the local governments. So please keep that in mind,” the President said.

Marcos noted that LGUs have a better understanding of local situations and should be actively involved in decision-making.

“Kasi may alam sila na hindi niyo alam. So, that’s the approach that we really should take,” he said.

Apart from the CBRT, other projects highlighted during the discussion were the New Cebu International Container Port, New Dumaguete Airport Development, Consolacion-Liloan Bypass Road, Upgrade and expansion of Bohol-Panglao International Airport, New Cebu-Mactan (4th) Bridge and Coastal Road, Metro Cebu Expressway and the Panglao-Tagbilaran Offshore Bridge Connector.

The P16.93-billion new international port recently broke ground in Consolacion, Cebu, and is expected to be completed in 2028.

The project involves the construction of an international container port equipped with five quay cranes on 25 hectares of reclaimed land. It will have a 500-meter berth length, a 14,000-container yard capacity, and a water depth of (-12) meters to accommodate two 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels.

Once completed, the project will increase the operational capacity of the main cargo gateway in the Central Visayas region by redistributing international container volume from the existing Cebu

International Port to the NCICP. This will enhance handling and container stacking facilities.

The project will also help ease road congestion around Cebu Baseport, providing a more efficient and reliable port infrastructure for the unimpeded flow of goods and services.

Other major projects identified by RDC-7 include the Siquijor Airport Development and the Celestino Gallares Multi-Specialty Medical Center in Bohol.

During the RDC meeting, Marcos was joined by National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan.

The meeting at the Department of Education (DepEd) Ecotech Pavilion in Cebu City was the first of 10 meetings between the President and various RDCs.

In the coming weeks, he will also meet with officials and members of other RDCs across the country.

According to RDC-7, the meeting aimed to update the President on the progress of top-priority projects in Central Visayas, propose ways forward, and discuss major development issues and their corresponding interventions, both existing and proposed.

Meanwhile, NEDA Regional Development Group Undersecretary Carlos Bernardo O. Abad Santos and Investment Programming Group Undersecretary Joseph J. Capuno visited NEDA-7 and engaged employees in a discussion on a wide range of topics.

The two officials visited NRO-7 following President Marcos Jr.’s meeting with the RDC-7 members.

Usec. Abad Santos commended NRO-7 personnel for successfully hosting the meeting and informed staff of upcoming deliverables, including the midterm update of both the Philippine Development Plan and the Central Visayas Regional Development Plan 2023-2028. He also mentioned the upcoming consultation on the draft guidelines for provincial planning.

During the visit, Santos and Usec. Capuno also briefed NRO-7 staff on the implications of reorganizing NEDA into the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) and how this would affect the agency’s existing mandate. They also solicited input to be forwarded to the DEPDev IRR committee.

Additionally, they provided updates on NEDA’s operations in the Negros Island Region and upcoming staff development initiatives.—  ATO (CEBU NEWS)