W. Visayas to seek funding for 10 priority projects

Posted by watchmen
December 12, 2023
Posted in TOP STORIES
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, chairperson of the Regional Development Council in Western Visayas, said during a press conference at the Bacolod Government Center yesterday, December 11, 2023, that 10 priority projects for the region have been identified for funding by the Department of Budget and Management. He said the projects are mostly on social services and infrastructure. (PNA photo)
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, chairperson of the Regional Development Council in Western Visayas, said during a press conference at the Bacolod Government Center yesterday, December 11, 2023, that 10 priority projects for the region have been identified for funding by the Department of Budget and Management. He said the projects are mostly on social services and infrastructure. (PNA photo)

The Regional Development Council in Western Visayas (RDC-6) is set to submit to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) next month a funding request for 10 priority projects, its chairman, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, said yesterday.

“We made a selection. These are mostly on social services and infrastructure,” Benitez said.

These projects are the Aklan cruise port hub; the modernization of Guimaras’ parola ports; the heart, lung and kidney center; shared service facilities for solid waste management; farm schools; smart agriculture system; regional warehouses for disaster response and management; the Panay River Basin Integrated Development Project; the Iloilo-Capiz-Aklan Expressway; and the Bacolod Coastal Road, Iloilo Circumferential Roads, and other vital/strategic road networks.

The priority projects were identified during the RDC-6’s first full council meeting held in Macau, China last week.

Benitez was joined by heads of the regional line agencies, representatives of the private sector, and several local chief executives in the meeting and learning visit in China’s special administrative region from December 5 to 8.

“We understand the DBM and the National Economic and Development Authority are asking RDCs now to prioritize 10 projects that will be automatically funded by the DBM. We will submit it next month since there’s already the budget call for 2025,” he said.

Benitez underscored the need for the RDC-6 to be “more relevant to nation-building” with a shared responsibility and a vision for a “more inclusive and proactive Western Visayas.”

“It is not just in policy-making but also in investment programming, project implementation, and monitoring and evaluation,” he said. (PNA)

 

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