The Advisory Committee of the Regional Development Council in Northern Mindanao will support the budget proposals of government agencies, state universities and colleges for Fiscal Year 2021 amounting to P900 –Billion.
The Advisory Committee of Northern Mindanao (RAC-X) consists of congressional representatives from the region, RDC-X officers and sectoral committees.
“How can we give the right services if we do not have the right funding? We have to connect the missing links and the missing gaps. There are many things that we can do for the region. We can make a plan we can call our own, that each of us can support,” challenged RDC-X Chair and Misamis Occidental Gov. Philip T. Tan during the council’s 1st Quarter Meeting held 6 March 2020 at a local hotel in Cagayan de Oro City,
NEDA-X Regional Director Mylah Faye Aurora B. Cariño, CESO III stressed that it is important for the region to harmonize its development interventions with its priorities in order to realize local goals and aspirations.
RAC-X reviewed and accepted majority of the proposed programs and projects with their additional recommendations and endorsed for the approval of the RDC-X Full Council on 16 March 2020.
Approved programs and project would be subsequently endorsed to the respective agencies’ central offices.
The body also approved the priority legislative agenda of the Regional Development Plan 2017-2022 Midterm Update and committed to lobby for 115 regional catalytic projects for inclusion in the following fiscal year.
These projects are identified as having: a) high potential to cause corresponding and complementary development impact on surrounding geographic areas particularly for Convergence Areas for Peace and Development (CAPDev), b) totaling budget costs of P1 billion and above, or c) existing RLA and SUC projects pending completion.
Also endorsed was the establishment of a regional government-run TV station, to be housed in the 4th Infantry Division, Philippine Army at Camp Evangelista.
“This will serve as a platform to promote government services, programs, policies and accomplishments, and to address the communication needs of our people in NorthMin,” explained Regional Director Franklin P. Gumapon of the Philippine Information Agency-X.
“It is about time the region has its own TV station,” remarked Committee Convenor and Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez as he pushed for the PhP126M-project for funding.
Rep. Ma. Lourdes Acosta-Alba (1st District, Bukidnon) cited the creation of the country’s first Government Communication Academy, planned to rise in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, which the RAC-X also endorsed.
