Davao City – The Regional Development Council in Davao (RDC XI) held its final Full Council Meeting for the term 2022-2025 on June 19, 2025 at Acacia Hotel, Davao City.
One of the highlights of the meeting was the presentation on the Davao Regional Development Plan (DRDP), 2023-2028 Midterm Assessment Report, which discussed the extent to which the desired outcomes in the DRDP strategic framework, based on the sectoral targets, were achieved. The Council reported that more than 60 percent of outcome indicators were met as of end of CY 2024, with indicators in the social and development administration sectors recording the highest accomplishment rates at 66 and 63 percent, respectively. The economic and infrastructure sectors followed closely at 59 and 55-percent accomplishment rates, respectively.
Among the notable programs and projects that were implemented to achieve the regional development outcomes include the following: 1) Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP); 2) Free Higher Education Program; 3) Tutok Kainan Dietary Supplementation Program (TKDSP); 4) Technical Education and Skills Development Program; 5) Livelihood Assistance Programs; 6) Micro-financing Programs; 7) completion of bulk water supply projects in Davao City and the Manat Irrigation Project in Davao de Oro; 8) construction and repair of 968 national and provincial roads and bridges all over the Region; 9) power projects initiated by the private sector that helped increase the renewable energy sources’ share in the Region’s power generation mix from 10 percent in 2023 to 17.2 percent in 2024; 10) Simultaneous Anti-Criminality Law Enforcement Operations (SACLEO); 11) the Revitalized Pulis sa Barangay (R-PSB) Program; and, 12) Support for the Local Governance Program (SLGP).
While the achievements were notable, Davao Region continues to face challenges in Plan implementation and these include the following: a) elevated food inflation especially on rice; b) decrease in aquaculture fisheries production; c) the AFF sector’s vulnerability to biological and climate-related hazards; d) slow growth particularly in Davao Region’s manufacturing subsector; e) relocation of settlements to MGB-certified safe areas; f) low adoption of digital payments in public markets, public transportation, and government transactions in LGUs; g) high jail congestion rate; h) high functional illiteracy rate as reflected in the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS); i) unmet targets on ratio of doctors/physicians to population; j) jobs and skills mismatch; k) fund insufficiency for government housing projects, digital connectivity projects, as well as disaster recovery and rehabilitation projects; and l) delays in the implementation of infrastructure flagship projects in the Region.
RDC XI Co-Chairperson and Presiding Officer, PSR Arturo M. Milan, thanked all outgoing officials and members of the Council for their dedicated service and invaluable support to the RDC. He also challenged everyone to continue working together in advancing Davao Region’s development agenda and to catalyze transformative progress that will further accelerate the Region’s growth trajectory.
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