Concom: Planning gap stifles regional growths

By URIEL C. QUILINGUING,
Contributing Editor

TWO members of the Department of Interior and Local Government-created constitutional committee (Concom) shared the view the regions could realize their potentials under the envisioned federal form of government if these are truly empowered.

But “there is a gap between the formulation and development plans by local government units and the programs and policies developed by the national government agencies at both national and local level,” Concom member Vicente Homer B. Revil pointed out.

Currently, there are 17 administrative regions, including the newly formed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) and the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR).     

This gap, Revil said, can be addressed if the existing regional development councils (RDC), which is composed of selected regional directors of national line agencies, governors, city mayors and private sector and civil society organizations representatives, be transformed into regional development authorities (RDA).

Institutionalizing a regional policy, planning and decision-making body that will also oversee and monitor program and project implementations is one of the constitutional reforms (Core) DILG Concom is pursuing to pave the way for a shift in the form of government, from the current unitary-presidential to federal-presidential. 

The former Masbate vice governor said each region, through the proposed RDA, should be given an appropriate amount of budget according to their financial needs, organizational capacities and resources.

He said the functions of the RDC, at present, are critical since these involve the approval of regional development plans and investment programs, budget review and endorsement to the national government, and harmonization of regional development plan consistent with that of local government priorities.

But regional project and budget recommendations of the RDC, Revil said, are often set aside by national government agencies since these are not aligned with agency mandated programs.   

Meanwhile, Prof. Alfredo S. Sureta Jr., also a Concom member, said the RDAs, as proposed by an inter-agency task force, should either be headed by a provincial governor on a rotation basis or by the regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority.

The rotation of chairmanship of the RDC is currently practiced among governors and city mayors while the Neda regional director serves as vice-chair of the RDC executive committee and heads the RDC secretariat.

During an open forum here last week, a suggestion was raised that the RDA should be headed by a duly-elected regional governor, not just among the provincial governors and city mayors, so that the RDA head would have the people’s mandate, thus having regional authority over local government officials.

The proponent also dismissed the proposal for the Neda regional director as RDA head since the regional planning chief may come from other regions and that they are agents of a unitary or centralized form of government, being appointed by the President.

Sureta, who is a senior consultant at the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, said the suggestion for an elected regional governor to head the RDA is commendable and would be considered by the DILG Core committee and by an inter-agency task force.

Revil agreed: “This is the very reason why we are conducting this Constitutional Reform Roadshow, and we welcome suggestions.”